Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between course instructors and adjunct faculties can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a course instructor and an adjunct faculty. Additionally, an adjunct faculty has an average salary of $83,069, which is higher than the $49,389 average annual salary of a course instructor.
The top three skills for a course instructor include course curriculum, syllabus and course materials. The most important skills for an adjunct faculty are student learning, syllabus, and philosophy.
| Course Instructor | Adjunct Faculty | |
| Yearly salary | $49,389 | $83,069 |
| Hourly rate | $23.74 | $39.94 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 28,255 | 26,791 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| Average age | 44 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A course instructor typically works at a school or other instructional institution. Besides teaching, they are primarily responsible for developing syllabi, creating learning materials, creating lesson plans, creating coursework, administering examinations, grading, and monitoring the students' progress. Additionally, a course instructor may organize seminars for their students and invite guest speakers to provide additional insights.
Adjunct faculty is the collective term for adjunct professors or lecturers. The adjunct faculty teaches students based on the limited-term of their contract. Oftentimes, they teach preparatory or introductory courses by semester arrangement for the entire academic year. Most of them are employed in higher education. Unlike regular professors, adjunct faculty do not have benefits and are not required to be present in meetings. They can work as either a contract professor or a part-time professor.
Course instructors and adjunct faculties have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Course Instructor | Adjunct Faculty | |
| Average salary | $49,389 | $83,069 |
| Salary range | Between $31,000 And $77,000 | Between $45,000 And $152,000 |
| Highest paying City | Arlington, VA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | California |
| Best paying company | Jacobs Engineering Group | Hca Hospital Services Of San Diego |
| Best paying industry | Non Profits | Government |
There are a few differences between a course instructor and an adjunct faculty in terms of educational background:
| Course Instructor | Adjunct Faculty | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Nursing |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between course instructors' and adjunct faculties' demographics:
| Course Instructor | Adjunct Faculty | |
| Average age | 44 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9% | Male, 40.9% Female, 59.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 6.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 6.9% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 7.2% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.3% Asian, 11.2% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 16% |