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Job outlook for faculty assistants in the United States
Are faculty assistant jobs in demand?
Faculty assistant job and salary trends over time
Faculty assistant jobs over time
Faculty assistant job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,220 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 1,207 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 1,260 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 682 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 710 | 0.00% |
Average faculty assistant salary over time
Faculty assistant salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $63,373 | $30.47 | +2.1% |
| 2025 | $62,098 | $29.85 | +8.5% |
| 2024 | $57,233 | $27.52 | +3.8% |
| 2023 | $55,127 | $26.50 | --5.2% |
| 2022 | $58,150 | $27.96 | +11.1% |
Faculty assistant jobs by state
Most common states for faculty assistants
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | 739,795 | 127 | 17% |
| 2 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 114 | 16% |
| 3 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 101 | 10% |
| 4 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 591 | 7% |
| 5 | Indiana | 6,666,818 | 391 | 6% |
| 6 | Kentucky | 4,454,189 | 208 | 5% |
| 7 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 272 | 4% |
| 8 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 208 | 4% |
| 9 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 145 | 4% |
| 10 | New York | 19,849,399 | 578 | 3% |
| 11 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 199 | 3% |
| 12 | South Carolina | 5,024,369 | 129 | 3% |
| 13 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 82 | 3% |
| 14 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 51 | 3% |
| 15 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 34 | 3% |
| 16 | Texas | 28,304,596 | 506 | 2% |
| 17 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 319 | 2% |
| 18 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 207 | 2% |
| 19 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 141 | 2% |
| 20 | New Mexico | 2,088,070 | 49 | 2% |
Most common cities for faculty assistants
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cambridge | 2 | 2% | $60,602 |
| 2 | Jupiter | 1 | 2% | $53,647 |
| 3 | West Lafayette | 1 | 2% | $64,898 |
| 4 | Aurora | 3 | 1% | $45,568 |
| 5 | Washington | 3 | 0% | $63,965 |
| 6 | Baltimore | 1 | 0% | $72,244 |
| 7 | Boston | 1 | 0% | $60,628 |
| 8 | Charlotte | 1 | 0% | $56,743 |
Faculty Assistant job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of faculty assistant experts
Connecticut College
Southeast Missouri State University
Lehigh University
Ferris State University
University of Central Missouri
Seattle University
University of Alabama
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Faculty Assistant job market given the pandemic?
Simon Feldman: My sense is that the pandemic will make it even more important to have a breadth of skills--from listening skills and critical reading and writing skills, to mastery of communication using social media and videoconferencing tools.
Joseph M. Snyder Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of HistorySoutheast Missouri State University
Department of History and Anthropology
What experience really stands out on Faculty Assistant resumes?
Joseph M. Snyder Ph.D.: Students who study history develop the types of critical thinking, analytical, and written and oral communication skills, and are trained to synthesize multiple perspectives with often incomplete or inconsistent evidence and draw informed conclusions from it. Such skills are valued in dozens of professions, from public relations and marketing to financial analysis, political advising, teaching, journalism, and everything in between.
History students -- so, the first thing I like to explain to students is that the skills they are developing as history majors are transferrable across a wide spectrum of professions. Most students-and their parents-have a fairly narrow idea of the types of careers open to history majors. Part of my job is to help students understand that that isn't the case.
Before applying for a job, I always recommend students research their potential employer and then tailor their resume accordingly. For example, if a student is applying to be an entry-level marketing specialist, they should highlight the public-speaking and presentation skills they developed as part of their coursework. Upper-division history courses often require a large capstone project where students develop an argument which they must "sell" to an audience. They accomplish this by marshaling the evidence to convince their audience of their thesis. Arguably, this is the very essence of marketing.
On the other hand, a student who is considering applying to be a research specialist in a museum or library ought to emphasize archive-based research or relevant coursework. Many history programs have courses that touch on archival research; some even offer courses specifically in public history or museology. But lacking these, history coursework always involves students in research-intense projects that help them develop theories and arguments and then guide them through the processes of writing about the outcomes. Such coursework is the building blocks of the work of professional historians, of course, but it is no less important to a research specialist in a museum, a policy analyst in a lobbying firm, or a journalist.
I could go on, but in a nutshell, the research and problem-solving skills required of history majors, honed over years of coursework and practical experience, are always attractive to potential employers. Having worked for over a decade as a business executive in software development and telecommunications with a hand in hiring supervisory and managerial staff, I can attest that I always sought out history majors because I knew they brought these skills with them.
Nevertheless, the trick is to read up on the potential employer, develop an understanding of the company or firm, and then customize your resume to show HR managers, who are inundated with resumes and applications for highly-competitive positions, how your skillsets work toward the employer's goals and aims.
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Faculty Assistants in the next 3-5 years?
Joseph M. Snyder Ph.D.: The past few years have witnessed an uptick in the use of digital tools for conducting research, such as digital cameras, data-mining software, and conversion software. In particular, the marriage of digital cameras-often phone-based, but not always-with apps for converting images into text-searchable PDFs (I use Prizmo) enable historians to collect and document vast stores of primary source documents as quickly and efficiently as possible while on brief research trips to archives abroad. Doing so enables historians to compile a great deal of material to parse at a more sustainable level when they return home to write.
It's worth mentioning, though, that the widespread popularity of these tools has been subject to institutional resource availability and individual proclivities among the professoriate. Recent studies have demonstrated, though, that the trend in the use of these tools has been increasing, most perceptibly, among cohorts who've recently entered the field. The trend suggests that familiarity with these tools will become increasingly important for research and publication, both of which are necessary components of promotion at universities and most colleges.
In addition, history professors do a great deal of teaching, and the online/hybrid learning revolution is well underway, a trend accelerated by the pandemic. While most institutions have typically offered online and/or hybrid learning modalities, the foundation of instruction has traditionally tended toward in-class/face-to-face modality. While this is still a very important component of learning in higher ed, we are increasingly using telelecturing software and devices to reach students who aren't physically present in our classrooms. I teach multiple online courses each semester, as well as face-to-face sections that are hybridized asynchronous with telelecturing components. I expect that this trend will continue unabated, at least for the foreseeable future.
Many aspects of learning have, of necessity, entered the digital realm for the first time when before there was no real need to or indeed belief they could be delivered via any other modality. Recent graduates will likely need to prepare themselves for this altered learning landscape and so develop skills in the usage of video-conferencing software (such as Zoom) and learning management software (such as Moodle, Blackboard, and Canvas).
Dr. John Savage
Director, Lehigh in Paris Director of Graduate Studies, History Dept. Associate ProfessorLehigh University
History Department
How do you envision technology impacting Faculty Assistants in the next 5 years?
Dr. John Savage: The intense and sometimes disastrous recent experience of online learning at all levels from pre-K through graduate education will act as a watershed in making educators face the challenges and opportunities provided by the online learning environment and digital resources. It will be an exciting time for educators when they are able to integrate these tools more fully into in-person teaching, "flipping classrooms" and using what is most effective and valuable from digital resources while preserving what works best from traditional methods. This will require new generations of teachers and education professionals at all levels, who should have training not only in education administration but a deep exposure to humanistic, text, and skill-based disciplines like History.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Faculty Assistant job market given the pandemic?
Tracy Nichols Busch: Graduates who have technology skills will have an advantage. The ability to offer virtual tours at a museum or to provide virtual consultations, for example, will be good assets. People will expect it in a post-Covid world. Companies will rely on websites, more than ever, to communicate with customers.
Dr. Klaire Brumbaugh
Assistant Professor, Director of Clinical ServicesUniversity of Central Missouri
Department of Communication Disorders
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Faculty Assistants to find work opportunities?
Dr. Klaire Brumbaugh: I'm not sure what is available outside of my geographic region, but I would say wherever they end up, make sure there are mentorship opportunities. Make a plan with the clinical fellowship supervisor and stick to it.
How do you envision technology impacting Faculty Assistants in the next 5 years?
Dr. Klaire Brumbaugh: There has been a significant shift to teletherapy since COVID-19 has impacted face-to-face services. I anticipate that this shift will not continue to grow as SLPs can reach a wider population with fewer resources (travel, time, etc.).
Alexander Mouton
Chair, Associate ProfessorSeattle University
Department of Art, Art History & Design
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Faculty Assistants?
Alexander Mouton: It is hard to tell how the coronavirus pandemic will affect graduates. Some I know are joining the workforce or doing creative work, which is a good sign. How this will play out will be interesting to see, though it's a little hard for me to judge from the classroom!
What type of skills will young Faculty Assistants need?
Dr. Stephen Waring: Young people today find a very different job market than their parents did. Their parents were more likely to stay in a single field, and sometimes even a single employer, for much of their work lives. Today, they are likely to change fields and employers AND experience technological change. But important job skills remain constant: communication skills in writing and in person, experience in working on teams, an ability to research and analyze complex problems, and an ability to learn and re-tool to accommodate change. These are skills that are central to contemporary education in the liberal arts and humanities.