College professor vs adjunct professor

The differences between college professors and adjunct professors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a college professor, becoming an adjunct professor takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an adjunct professor has an average salary of $98,821, which is higher than the $81,207 average annual salary of a college professor.

The top three skills for a college professor include curriculum development, classes taught and mathematics. The most important skills for an adjunct professor are course curriculum, syllabus, and semester.

College professor vs adjunct professor overview

	College Professor	Adjunct Professor
Yearly salary	$81,207	$98,821
Hourly rate	$39.04	$47.51
Growth rate	12%	12%
Number of jobs	27,390	22,488
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	2	4

College professor vs adjunct professor salary

College professors and adjunct professors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	College Professor	Adjunct Professor
Average salary	$81,207	$98,821
Salary range	Between $39,000 And $166,000	Between $44,000 And $219,000
Highest paying City	-	Providence, RI
Highest paying state	-	Rhode Island
Best paying company	-	Rhode Island School of Design
Best paying industry	-	Education

Differences between college professor and adjunct professor education

There are a few differences between a college professor and an adjunct professor in terms of educational background:

	College Professor	Adjunct Professor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Northwestern University	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

College professor vs adjunct professor demographics

Here are the differences between college professors' and adjunct professors' demographics:

	College Professor	Adjunct Professor
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 50.2% Female, 49.8%	Male, 51.5% Female, 48.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.1% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.1% Asian, 11.3% White, 66.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 7.0% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.1% Asian, 11.3% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between college professor and adjunct professor duties and responsibilities

College professor example responsibilities.

Used blackboard online to manage students tests, grade papers and assign materials.
Create and teach lessons about business management, business procedures, economics, finance, and religion
Model when creating new course work each semester.
Work as a part-time mathematics instructor teaching courses from basic mathematics to pre-calculus in the evening program.
Survey literature pertaining to health consequences in the disruption of biological rhythms, with particular emphasis on fatigue.
Administer instructional align with the collegiate level syllabus.

Adjunct professor example responsibilities.

Lead outreach to community and statewide stakeholders in the PPCC entrepreneurship program.
Develop and prepare class syllabus and teaching materials for strategic management, business and government ethics, and organizational behavior classes.
Provide instruction/guidance for nursing students; deliver didactic lectures on human anatomy and physiology.
Identify course objectives, design syllabus, develop all instructional activities and materials, including written exams.
Facilitate courses in communications, economics, leadership, management, corporate finances, strategic planning and organizational behavior.
Develop and teach course curriculum on the subject of exercise science and clinical pharmacology to athletic training students.

College professor vs adjunct professor skills

Common college professor skills

Curriculum Development, 31%
Classes Taught, 9%
Mathematics, 6%
Syllabus, 4%
Semester, 4%
Anatomy, 3%

Common adjunct professor skills

Course Curriculum, 11%
Syllabus, 8%
Semester, 6%
Blackboard, 4%
Student Learning, 4%
Course Materials, 4%

College Professor vs. similar jobs

College Professor related careers

College Professor related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Education, Training, and Library Industry
College Professor
College Professor vs Adjunct Professor

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse education, training, and library jobs