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College professor vs instructor, adjunct faculty

The differences between college professors and instructors, adjunct faculty 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 instructor, adjunct faculty takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a college professor has an average salary of $81,207, which is higher than the $52,225 average annual salary of an instructor, adjunct faculty.

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

College professor vs instructor, adjunct faculty overview

College ProfessorInstructor, Adjunct Faculty
Yearly salary$81,207$52,225
Hourly rate$39.04$25.11
Growth rate12%2%
Number of jobs27,39037,739
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 46%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age4646
Years of experience24

College professor vs instructor, adjunct faculty salary

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

College ProfessorInstructor, Adjunct Faculty
Average salary$81,207$52,225
Salary rangeBetween $39,000 And $166,000Between $33,000 And $81,000
Highest paying City-Albany, NY
Highest paying state-Massachusetts
Best paying company-Ohlone College
Best paying industry-Education

Differences between college professor and instructor, adjunct faculty education

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

College ProfessorInstructor, Adjunct Faculty
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 46%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common majorBusinessNursing
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

College professor vs instructor, adjunct faculty demographics

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

College ProfessorInstructor, Adjunct Faculty
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 50.2% Female, 49.8%Male, 43.1% Female, 56.9%
Race ratioBlack 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, 10.0% Asian, 11.3% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage16%16%

Differences between college professor and instructor, adjunct faculty 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.
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Instructor, adjunct faculty example responsibilities.

  • Lead early childhood program initiatives.
  • Design course content, and present lectures using PowerPoint and other multimedia resources
  • Inform students about course requirements, evaluation procedures and class participation and attendance requirements according to the course syllabus.
  • Incorporate real-world and professional experiences with classroom discussion in health care management, leadership, healthcare sustainability, and healthcare economics.
  • Serve as pre-health advisor for students interest in healthcare careers.
  • Instruct ESL students on computer research methodologies for writing research papers.
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College professor vs instructor, adjunct faculty skills

Common college professor skills
  • Curriculum Development, 31%
  • Classes Taught, 9%
  • Mathematics, 6%
  • Syllabus, 4%
  • Semester, 4%
  • Anatomy, 3%
Common instructor, adjunct faculty skills
  • Syllabus, 12%
  • Student Learning, 9%
  • Course Syllabus, 7%
  • Course Curriculum, 7%
  • Learning Outcomes, 7%
  • PowerPoint, 5%

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