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Faculty vs adjunct instructor

The differences between faculties and adjunct instructors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a faculty has an average salary of $80,405, which is higher than the $52,030 average annual salary of an adjunct instructor.

The top three skills for a faculty include philosophy, patients and rehabilitation. The most important skills for an adjunct instructor are student learning, syllabus, and student performance.

Faculty vs adjunct instructor overview

FacultyAdjunct Instructor
Yearly salary$80,405$52,030
Hourly rate$38.66$25.01
Growth rate2%2%
Number of jobs21,14240,633
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 51%Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Average age4642
Years of experience--

What does a faculty do?

A faculty member is an individual whose primary responsibility is to provide teaching and research to students in colleges and universities. Faculties must work with colleagues to design a curriculum to keep up with the changes in the discipline. They help their students choose majors and mentor them by way of face-to-face or electronic means. They also keep up their communication with alumni to assist with employment searches or career changes.

What does an adjunct instructor do?

An adjunct instructor is a faculty member responsible for teaching an area of expertise within a specific contract period. The duties of an adjunct instructor are almost identical as a regular instructor, only that the work benefits are limited. These duties include preparing comprehensive lesson plans, monitoring the students' learning progress, and evaluating their knowledge by conducting tests and activities. An adjunct instructor must have an extensive comprehension of the learning curriculum to provide lectures accordingly.

Faculty vs adjunct instructor salary

Faculties and adjunct instructors have different pay scales, as shown below.

FacultyAdjunct Instructor
Average salary$80,405$52,030
Salary rangeBetween $42,000 And $152,000Between $32,000 And $83,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCBakersfield, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companySchool of Visual ConceptsKern Community College District
Best paying industry-Education

Differences between faculty and adjunct instructor education

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

FacultyAdjunct Instructor
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 51%Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Most common majorNursingBusiness
Most common collegeCarnegie Mellon UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Faculty vs adjunct instructor demographics

Here are the differences between faculties' and adjunct instructors' demographics:

FacultyAdjunct Instructor
Average age4642
Gender ratioMale, 43.8% Female, 56.2%Male, 45.2% Female, 54.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.2% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.2% Asian, 13.1% White, 64.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 13.8% Asian, 7.5% White, 60.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage16%11%

Differences between faculty and adjunct instructor duties and responsibilities

Faculty example responsibilities.

  • Lead early childhood program initiatives.
  • Launch new BSN program and lead program review for all programs.
  • Manage curriculum to meet regulatory requirements for accreditation; teach medical coding and billing, anatomy and physiology and medical terminology.
  • Prepare course syllabus that follow the prescribed institutional format.
  • Lecture topics examine regulatory compliance and legal risks associate with medical products and healthcare administration.
  • Receive NIH RO1 research grant and launch laboratory.
  • Show more

Adjunct instructor example responsibilities.

  • Utilize blackboard management system to encourage online discussions and manage grades.
  • Develop syllabus, PowerPoint presentations on the disease model of alcoholism, physiology and pharmacology of addictive drugs and introduction to counseling
  • Revise and update syllabus with contemporary psychology, economics, and sociology research.
  • Experience with blackboard online software, facilitate on line instruction and assessments, utilize advanced technologies for presentations.
  • Prepare and deliver brief lectures to undergraduate students on topics such as mammalian physiology, reproduction, genetics, etc.
  • Modele positive work ethics, punctuality and professionalism.
  • Show more

Faculty vs adjunct instructor skills

Common faculty skills
  • Philosophy, 7%
  • Patients, 7%
  • Rehabilitation, 5%
  • Student Learning, 4%
  • Professional Development, 4%
  • Social Work, 4%
Common adjunct instructor skills
  • Student Learning, 10%
  • Syllabus, 7%
  • Student Performance, 5%
  • Professional Development, 5%
  • Philosophy, 5%
  • Course Curriculum, 4%

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