What does a faculty assistant do?
Faculty assistants, also known as teaching assistants, aid the primary instructor of an institution. They help the primary instructor map out learning strategies, prepare teaching aids, and distribute handouts. They also give feedback, evaluate learning plans, and assess students' progress. Faculty assistants must be organized, know basic first aid, be resourceful, be team-oriented, be able to multitask, and have a significant level of patience.
Faculty assistant responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real faculty assistant resumes:
- Manage curriculum to meet regulatory requirements for accreditation; teach medical coding and billing, anatomy and physiology and medical terminology.
- Provide sociology instruction though lectures and preparation of relate course materials.
- Train students to teach yoga base on human anatomy and physiology.
- Contribute to the development of class syllabus; maintain MBA course websites.
- Tutor engineering students in calculus, chemistry, and other classes as required.
- Teach lab course on the synthesis, purification and characterization techniques of organic chemistry.
- Design websites and make changes to websites using Dreamweaver (HTML, CSS).
- Instruct students of all degree levels in the subjects of critical thinking, business ethics and orientation courses.
- Help organized and present workshops to faculty and students on the proper way to create and deliver a PowerPoint presentation.
- Plan lessons for both face to face and online courses in writing and research, and in writing about literature.
- Design PowerPoint promotional materials and create PowerPoint class materials.
- Tutor students in accounting, business and mathematics coursework.
- Integrate multimedia and humanities approaches to teaching sociology and communication by using film and instructional technology.
- Utilize and instruct co-workers on navigating organizational tools such as Trello, video makingsoftware, and basic Photoshop usage.
- Assist faculty members in laboratory course instruction and assist students as a personal tutor for introductory electronics and mathematics courses.
Faculty assistant skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Faculty Assistants are proficient in PowerPoint, Professional Development, and Word Processing. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Speaking skills, and Writing skills.
We break down the percentage of Faculty Assistants that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- PowerPoint, 12%
Assist students and faculty with computer programs such as, Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, AutoCAD, and GIS.
- Professional Development, 7%
Attend and participate during Team data meetings and Professional development meetings.
- Word Processing, 6%
Performed duties of copying, word processing, faxing, scanning materials, typing, editing, and proof-reading.
- Research Projects, 6%
Helped students by providing assistance with periodontics diagnosis and treatment Assisted faculty with research projects
- Computer Lab, 5%
Repaired computer laboratory workstations and assisted at the electronics lab counter.
- Proofread, 5%
Prepared and proofread correspondence and research publication submissions containing scientific and technical terminology, tables, equations, and figures.
Common skills that a faculty assistant uses to do their job include "powerpoint," "professional development," and "word processing." You can find details on the most important faculty assistant responsibilities below.
Interpersonal skills. One of the key soft skills for a faculty assistant to have is interpersonal skills. You can see how this relates to what faculty assistants do because "postsecondary teachers need to work well with others for tasks such as instructing students and serving on committees." Additionally, a faculty assistant resume shows how faculty assistants use interpersonal skills: "developed, designed and facilitated an interpersonal communications skills course as part of the general education curriculum. "
Speaking skills. Many faculty assistant duties rely on speaking skills. "postsecondary teachers need good communication skills to present lectures and provide feedback to students.," so a faculty assistant will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways faculty assistant responsibilities rely on speaking skills: "planned, organized and presented information providing an instructional environment which are conducive for student learning. "
Writing skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of faculty assistants is writing skills. This skill is critical to many everyday faculty assistant duties, as "postsecondary teachers need strong writing ability to publish original research and analysis." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "conducted campus workshops that promoted the writing center and provided academic support for the university community. "
The three companies that hire the most faculty assistants are:
- Harvard University11 faculty assistants jobs
- University of Virginia4 faculty assistants jobs
- University of Colorado4 faculty assistants jobs
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Compare different faculty assistants
Faculty assistant vs. Graduate researcher
A graduate researcher is responsible for supporting an educational institution's academic research processes. Graduate researchers assist in data gathering and performing in-depth analysis using research methodologies under the supervision of a research professor. In some cases, graduate researchers also conduct field investigations and analyze other research publications to verify data accuracy. They prepare reports, share recommendations, and keep an organized database for research records. A graduate researcher must have excellent communication skills, both written and oral, as this task requires interaction with the researchers and writing duties.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between faculty assistants and graduate researcher. For instance, faculty assistant responsibilities require skills such as "professional development," "word processing," "computer lab," and "proofread." Whereas a graduate researcher is skilled in "r," "cell culture," "protein expression," and "synthesis." This is part of what separates the two careers.
The education levels that graduate researchers earn slightly differ from faculty assistants. In particular, graduate researchers are 5.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a faculty assistant. Additionally, they're 3.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Faculty assistant vs. Teaching fellow
An individual who works at an institution to foster the students' academic strive is known as a teaching fellow. They are known as a self-motivated and education-based counselor. They help to pursue a better career perspective in an individual's academic endeavors.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that faculty assistant responsibilities requires skills like "professional development," "word processing," "computer lab," and "proofread." But a teaching fellow might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "classroom management," "rehabilitation," "math," and "teaching methodologies."
Teaching fellows earn a lower average salary than faculty assistants. But teaching fellows earn the highest pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $49,553. Additionally, faculty assistants earn the highest salaries in the education with average pay of $63,203 annually.In general, teaching fellows achieve higher levels of education than faculty assistants. They're 7.5% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 3.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.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.
Assistant Professor of History, Southeast Missouri State University
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).
Faculty assistant vs. Graduate research student
Graduate research students are learners who conduct degree program-related research in a research unit or an academic department. These students manage themselves independently as well as their work. They make certain that they have familiarized the requirements of the university. Educators and other scholars expect them to develop enough research and skills. Their responsibilities include academic honesty, participation in supervisory meetings, and maintenance of effective supervisor communication. In terms of their research, they should have a research plan ahead.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from faculty assistant resumes include skills like "professional development," "word processing," "research projects," and "computer lab," whereas a graduate research student is more likely to list skills in "lab equipment," "laboratory equipment," "python," and "cell culture. "
Graduate research students make a very good living in the education industry with an average annual salary of $41,968. On the other hand, faculty assistants are paid the highest salary in the education industry, with average annual pay of $63,203.When it comes to education, graduate research students tend to earn similar degree levels compared to faculty assistants. In fact, they're 1.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.6% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Faculty assistant vs. Doctoral student
Types of faculty assistant
Updated January 8, 2025
