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What does a college instructor do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
Quoted expert
Rebecca Sarver

A certified veterinary technician is in charge of performing laboratory tests, participating in medical procedures, and performing clerical support tasks at veterinary clinics, zoos, and private laboratories. Their responsibilities often include collecting information from pet owners, studying patients' medical histories, gathering and analyzing samples from patients through various laboratory procedures, operating equipment and machines, and monitoring patients' conditions. Moreover, under the supervision of a veterinarian, they may also provide first-aid to animals and administer medication.

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College instructor responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real college instructor resumes:

  • Excel in achieving proficiency in teaching mathematics to students which is measured through tests ensuring accuracy of information teach.
  • Teach college composition and literature courses.
  • Provide ESL instruction to adult learners.
  • Serve on faculty committee to revise and restructure placement process for incoming ESL students.
  • Instruct graduate and undergraduate courses in leadership, management, ethics, organizational studies ,
  • Provide instruction to college students in the areas of sociology, psychology and addiction treatment.
  • Work with the goal of providing leadership that reflects good work ethics, efficiency, and timeliness.
  • Tutor of chemistry and advisor to pre-professional health science students (MCAT, DAT, PCAT, etc )
  • Conduct lectures to students on topics involving the sociology of the developing world, information technology theories, and microcomputer application.
  • Design syllabus, implement curriculum, assist and evaluate students
  • Carry out responsibilities appropriate to teaching anatomy and physiology.
  • Organize classroom presentations and present classes in AutoCAD, engineering and mathematics.
  • Develop the original curriculum and syllabus for this new secondary education program.
  • Serve as theory instructor for medical-surgical nursing and pharmacology for junior students and leadership and management nursing for senior students.
  • Provide psychiatric nursing instruction and supervision at a Boston teaching hospital for students enroll in generic undergraduate BSN degree program.

College instructor skills and personality traits

We calculated that 17% of College Instructors are proficient in Classroom Management, Mathematics, and Syllabus. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Organizational skills, and Patience.

We break down the percentage of College Instructors that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Classroom Management, 17%

    Work effectively on deadline and in stressful situations; possess key strategies to develop positive reinforcement in classroom management.

  • Mathematics, 7%

    Organized classroom presentations and presented classes in AutoCAD, engineering and mathematics.

  • Syllabus, 6%

    Developed syllabus and overall course structure, including vocational program for developmentally disabled students at Community College.

  • Social Work, 5%

    Acted as college-level instructor for a wide variety of social work courses, provided academic and student counseling.

  • Course Curriculum, 5%

    Developed innovative and creative course curriculum, exams, content, and grading scale.

  • Student Learning, 5%

    Measured student learning outcomes, developing curriculum, assessing and improved student learning and evaluating course efficacy.

Most college instructors use their skills in "classroom management," "mathematics," and "syllabus" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential college instructor responsibilities here:

Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for a college instructor to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "career and technical education teachers must explain concepts in terms that students can understand." Additionally, a college instructor resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "prepared course syllabus taught communication skills subjects. "

Organizational skills. Another essential skill to perform college instructor duties is organizational skills. College instructors responsibilities require that "career and technical education teachers must coordinate their time and teaching materials." College instructors also use organizational skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "published thesis for masters in human resources on military ethics and organizational change. "

Patience. This is an important skill for college instructors to perform their duties. For an example of how college instructor responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "working with students of different abilities and backgrounds can be difficult." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a college instructor: "embodied and honored the instructor s code of ethics of professionalism, patience, rapport, respect, and admission. ".

Most common college instructor skills

The three companies that hire the most college instructors are:

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Compare different college instructors

College instructor vs. Faculty

A faculty member is an individual whose primary responsibility is to provide teaching and research to students in colleges and universities. Faculties must work with colleagues to design a curriculum to keep up with the changes in the discipline. They help their students choose majors and mentor them by way of face-to-face or electronic means. They also keep up their communication with alumni to assist with employment searches or career changes.

If we compare the average college instructor annual salary with that of a faculty, we find that faculties typically earn a $29,821 higher salary than college instructors make annually.Even though college instructors and faculties are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require classroom management, mathematics, and syllabus in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, college instructor responsibilities require skills like "math," "money management," "learning outcomes," and "learning environment." Meanwhile a typical faculty has skills in areas such as "patients," "rehabilitation," "scholarship," and "professional work." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Faculties tend to reach similar levels of education than college instructors. In fact, faculties are 0.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 6.1% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

College instructor vs. Instructor, adjunct faculty

An adjunct faculty member works in a state university or college. They typically work on a part-time or contractual basis. Although they work in a university, they have limited responsibilities compared to those who work as a regular instructor, but they still need appropriate work etiquette and a love of teaching and working with students. Like any other instructor, they develop learning material, conduct lectures, prepare exams, and assess students' grades.

A career as a instructor, adjunct faculty brings a higher average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a college instructor. In fact, instructors, adjunct faculty salary is $1,641 higher than the salary of college instructors per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. College instructors and instructors, adjunct faculty both require similar skills like "mathematics," "syllabus," and "course curriculum" to carry out their responsibilities.

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, college instructor responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "classroom management," "social work," "math," and "money management." Meanwhile, an instructor, adjunct faculty has duties that require skills in areas such as "instructional strategies," "lms," "medical terminology," and "organizational behavior." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

Instructors, adjunct faculty may earn a higher salary than college instructors, but instructors, adjunct faculty earn the most pay in the education industry with an average salary of $54,888. On the other hand, college instructors receive higher pay in the education industry, where they earn an average salary of $50,236.In general, instructors, adjunct faculty achieve similar levels of education than college instructors. They're 2.4% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 6.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for college instructors in the next 3-5 years?

Rebecca SarverRebecca Sarver LinkedIn profile

Lecturer in Human Services Studies, Elmira College

The use of remote and virtual meetings will continue even after COVID-19. Face to face meetings may still be the preferred method of contact, but the reality is that many clients who need to access services do not have reliable and consistent transportation to get to the services. Phones and computers enable more convenient meetings that are less costly in terms of time and travel. Some clients may prefer not to leave their homes.

College instructor vs. Instructor of spanish

A Spanish Instructor specializes in teaching the Spanish language in a classroom or one-on-one setting. Their responsibilities typically include preparing lesson plans according to the students' needs and capacity, researching and creating learning materials, facilitating discussions, conducting quizzes and examinations, organizing activities to enhance their language skills, grading the students' performances, and assisting students as necessary. Spanish Instructors monitor the students' progress while maintaining a safe and healthy learning environment for everyone.

On average scale, instructors of spanish bring in higher salaries than college instructors. In fact, they earn a $4,346 higher salary per year.Using the responsibilities included on college instructors and instructors of spanish resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "classroom management," "syllabus," and "student learning.rdquo;

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, college instructors are more likely to have skills like "mathematics," "social work," "course curriculum," and "math." But a instructor of spanish is more likely to have skills like "language acquisition," "spanish language courses," "foreign language," and "language learning."

Instructors of spanish make a very good living in the manufacturing industry with an average annual salary of $61,981. On the other hand, college instructors are paid the highest salary in the education industry, with average annual pay of $50,236.Most instructors of spanish achieve a similar degree level compared to college instructors. For example, they're 1.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.9% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

College instructor vs. Adult education instructor

Adult education instructors are teachers in continuing and adult education who are working in various settings. The instructors teach adult students a range of courses including high school equivalency, math, literacy, and art. They teach English as a secondary language to students as well as cooking, health, and technology. It is their responsibility to instruct adults in preparatory and remedial education classes. Their job may or may not be performed in a traditional educational institution.

Adult education instructors tend to earn a lower pay than college instructors by an average of $4,658 per year.According to resumes from college instructors and adult education instructors, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "classroom management," "mathematics," and "syllabus. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between college instructors and adult education instructors, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a college instructor might have more use for skills like "social work," "student learning," "course content," and "money management." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of adult education instructors require skills like "equivalency," "basic mathematics," "language," and "adult education. "

In general, adult education instructors earn the most working in the government industry, with an average salary of $51,266. The highest-paying industry for a college instructor is the education industry.adult education instructors reach lower levels of education compared to college instructors, in general. The difference is that they're 6.6% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.7% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of college instructor

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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