What does an instructor do?
Instructors are responsible for imparting knowledge to students. They are well-versed in different topics related to their area of teaching. They prepare lessons, create presentation materials and other collaterals, and present these to the students. They manage the classroom and ensure that students are attentive. Instructors are also responsible for creating ways to check the students' knowledge retention through schoolwork and examinations. They also evaluate their teaching style as well to further improve their skills for the next batch of students. Instructors should be patient, creative, and well-versed in classroom management.
Instructor responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real instructor resumes:
- Discipline kids when necessary, and manage lifeguarding duties during swimming portions of the camp.
- Own and manage a small business as a CPR and first aid instructor and consultant for diverse clients.
- Instruct all areas of massage therapy program including anatomy, physiology, pathology, contraindications and ethics.
- Teach a broad range of ESL classes, such as pronunciation, grammar, and conversation classes.
- Develop curricula for college-level philosophy and ethics courses with clear expectations and objectives in mind.
- Plan and provide human anatomy and physiology course instruction and laboratory activities for students in the nursing program.
- Facilitate public speaking and oral interpretation of literature training classes and assist with the development of relate educational materials.
- Instruct adults in a variety of topics including; emotional psychology, biological psychology, anatomy and physiology, motivational psychology ...
- Assist with BLS instructor updates.
- Maintain an assign grade at the end of each semester.
- Examine and evaluate the students in the end of each semester.
- Develop a syllabus, quizzes, and tests for an intro to earth science course.
- Serve as an operations officer, mentor, and grader alongside active duty military and DoD instructors.
- Perform detailed review and analysis of HUMINT operations lessons learned to apply to the training and curriculum.
- Assist student with reading, writing, grammar, and math ensuring they stay focuse and on task.
Instructor skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Instructors are proficient in Customer Service, CPR, and Course Curriculum. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Speaking skills, and Writing skills.
We break down the percentage of Instructors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 11%
Planned, scheduled and facilitated customer service training; conducted employee performance evaluations; designed Gate Agent performance evaluation standards and format
- CPR, 11%
Coordinated and supervised CPR certifications for the University at Albany Police Department.
- Course Curriculum, 8%
Developed Proficiency Examinations and course curriculum
- Professional Development, 7%
Participated in quarterly professional development activities
- Classroom Management, 5%
Acquired additional hours of professional development in classroom management, curriculum development, and information related to gifted & talented students.
- Student Learning, 4%
Demonstrated experience in developing curriculum, assessing courses to improve student learning, measuring student learning outcomes and evaluating course efficacy.
Common skills that an instructor uses to do their job include "customer service," "cpr," and "course curriculum." You can find details on the most important instructor responsibilities below.
Interpersonal skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for an instructor to have is interpersonal skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "postsecondary teachers need to work well with others for tasks such as instructing students and serving on committees." Instructors often use interpersonal skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "teach interpersonal communication, public speaking, and the basic communication course utilized innovative project-based approach to course content"
Speaking skills. Many instructor duties rely on speaking skills. "postsecondary teachers need good communication skills to present lectures and provide feedback to students.," so an instructor will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways instructor responsibilities rely on speaking skills: "developed and presented course material in the areas of psychology and sociology. "
Writing skills. instructors are also known for writing skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to instructor responsibilities, because "postsecondary teachers need strong writing ability to publish original research and analysis." An instructor resume example shows how writing skills is used in the workplace: "formulated and evaluated curriculum in english iⅈ, business writing, psychology, and sociology. "
The three companies that hire the most instructors are:
- Public Consulting Group177 instructors jobs
- ICF95 instructors jobs
- Good Shepherd Services62 instructors jobs
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Compare different instructors
Instructor vs. Learning center instructor
Learning center instructors' primary goal is to give direct mediation instruction for recognized students. They cooperate with staff members on suitable student placement for constructive learning. Their duties include directing all activities concerning planning, organization, development, communication, and delivery of training programs as well as initiatives. They work on leadership strategies for assisting children's emotional and social development and handling their behavior. Additionally, they coordinate with community organizations, facilities, and other professionals to design balanced recreational routines for participants.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an instructor are more likely to require skills like "customer service," "cpr," "classroom management," and "student learning." On the other hand, a job as a learning center instructor requires skills like "math," "basic mathematics," "child care," and "study." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Learning center instructors earn the highest salaries when working in the health care industry, with an average yearly salary of $37,954. On the other hand, instructors are paid more in the government industry with an average salary of $65,060.The education levels that learning center instructors earn slightly differ from instructors. In particular, learning center instructors are 1.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an instructor. Additionally, they're 1.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Instructor vs. Adjunct english instructor
An Adjunct English Instructor prepares and distributes a departmental syllabus that informs students about course requirements, testing assignments, and other pertinent information. They maintain necessary records about student performance and submit reports in a timely manner.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real instructor resumes. While instructor responsibilities can utilize skills like "customer service," "cpr," "mathematics," and "classroom environment," adjunct english instructors use skills like "learning outcomes," "american literature," "fine arts," and "course syllabi."
Adjunct english instructors may earn a higher salary than instructors, but adjunct english instructors earn the most pay in the education industry with an average salary of $52,797. On the other hand, instructors receive higher pay in the government industry, where they earn an average salary of $65,060.In general, adjunct english instructors achieve higher levels of education than instructors. They're 21.0% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 1.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for instructors in the next 3-5 years?
Rebecca Sarver
Lecturer in Human Services Studies, Elmira College
Instructor vs. Communications instructor
A Cosmetology Instructor is trained to teach a variety of skills used by hairstylists, manicurists, makeup artists, and other workers in the beauty industry. They teach students from vocational and technical schools how to perform cosmetology practices.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from instructor resumes include skills like "customer service," "classroom management," "student learning," and "learning environment," whereas a communications instructor is more likely to list skills in "autism," "incident reports," "community integration," and "interpersonal communication. "
Communications instructors earn the best pay in the education industry, where they command an average salary of $44,811. Instructors earn the highest pay from the government industry, with an average salary of $65,060.When it comes to education, communications instructors tend to earn similar degree levels compared to instructors. In fact, they're 0.7% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.9% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Instructor vs. Cosmetology instructor
Types of instructor
Updated January 8, 2025
