Laboratory instructors teach students how to conduct experiments in laboratories. They usually work closely with a professor or teacher, who teaches students scientific concepts in the lecture hall, while the laboratory instructor handles the hands-on aspect of students' learning. They make sure that students learn appropriate scientific methods and how to follow lab safety protocol by designing experiments, modeling how to use laboratory equipment, and supervising students as they work. Laboratory instructors also grade student lab reports. Besides working with students, laboratory instructors conduct additional administrative tasks that are needed to keep their laboratory running. They set up and maintain equipment and keep track of supply inventory.

Most laboratory instructors have an advanced degree in biology or another science, such as a master's or a doctorate. Sometimes, laboratory instructors are students themselves working towards a graduate degree who supervise younger students.

Laboratory instructors need plenty of professional experience working in a laboratory before they can teach others how to do the same. Many have previous work experience as laboratory assistants. They earn an average salary of $52,568 a year.

What Does a Laboratory Instructor Do

There are certain skills that many laboratory instructors have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed communication skills, organizational skills and patience.

Learn more about what a Laboratory Instructor does

How To Become a Laboratory Instructor

If you're interested in becoming a laboratory instructor, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 65.6% of laboratory instructors have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 17.1% of laboratory instructors have master's degrees. Even though most laboratory instructors have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Laboratory Instructor

Laboratory Instructor Career Paths

Average Salary for a Laboratory Instructor

Laboratory Instructors in America make an average salary of $49,931 per year or $24 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $78,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $31,000 per year.
Average Laboratory Instructor Salary
$49,931 Yearly
$24.01 hourly

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Roles and Types of Laboratory Instructor

The role of a laboratory instructor includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general laboratory instructor responsibilities:

  • Designated as a resource person to students in the nursing skills laboratory. Provide practice areas for students to prepare for the performance of nursing skills. Assist students to achieve proficiency in performance of nursing skills. Evaluate student's performance of nursing skills through on campus validations
  • Maintain license and/or professional certification specific to program requirements. Support the college’s vision, mission, goals,
  • This is a full-time faculty research-track instructor position responsible for performing translational laboratory research in the area of immunology

There are several types of laboratory instructor, including:

Instructor

Role:

Instructors are knowledgable about a topic and work to pass that knowledge off to their students. Whether you work in a gym or a school, instructors are super important to the students' success.

There are lots of possibilities for you as an instructor. You could work at a health club or a gym or you could work for a school and instruct math. There are so many different instructors out there, basically any topic you can think of probably needs an instructor.

Your hours will vary depending on what industry you decide to go with. You may find some jobs require you to work nights and weekends, like if you were to become a fitness instructor, while school instructors only work during school hours. Your schedule really depends on what you're passionate and knowledgable about and when people want to learn it.

  • Average Salary: $53,426
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Adjunct Instructor

Role:

As an adjunct instructor, your goal is to impart your wisdom onto students. While also being in charge of coming up with a syllabus for your class, holding office hours and grading their papers. We should note that adjunct instructors aren't full-time. And you probably shouldn't expect the same benefits that are accosted to professors.

Adjunct Instructors are hired on a contractual basis, meaning it's a nice way to make a little extra money but probably shouldn't be your only gig. If your goal is to become a full-time professor in the future, then this is definitely the right stepping stone on that path. If nothing else, you'll at least be able to work on your public speaking. We don't have to tell you how handy that can come in.

  • Average Salary: $52,030
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Adjunct Faculty

Role:

The adjunct faculty is responsible for teaching graduates and undergraduate students in a specific field of expertise. You are allowed to plan, create, lecture, and provide in-class discussions and assignments. Your job allows you to plan and develop a syllabus and ensure it meets college and departmental standards. Plus, you are responsible for grading and assigning papers, exams, and quizzes.

You will give class instructions, evaluate students' performance, and also coordinate courseware and curriculum with the academic department head. However, you will need to be a people person as you need to develop and sustain relationships with students for effectiveness. You will also need to participate in faculty meetings involving departmental updates, prepare materials and supervise the distribution, and make copies of supplementary materials available for distribution in class. You may also be required to maintain a record of student progress, involvement, and attendance.

An adjunct faculty must be detail-oriented, punctual, and must be able to motivate. He/She must also be a lover of academics, possess excellent communication skills, self-discipline, and the ability to teach well. The average salary of an adjunct faculty yearly is $50,000. An adjunct faculty must have a Master's degree in a related academic field.

  • Average Salary: $83,069
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

States With The Most Laboratory Instructor Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active laboratory instructor jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where laboratory instructors earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Laboratory Instructor Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California3,895$51,099
2Florida1,919$36,036
3Texas1,741$38,175
4New York1,490$54,428
5North Carolina1,175$55,467
6Illinois1,120$44,301
7Georgia1,106$40,007
8Pennsylvania1,060$57,895
9Michigan1,048$64,846
10New Jersey997$62,900
11Virginia958$51,658
12Massachusetts943$70,082
13Ohio892$46,408
14Minnesota814$65,122
15Colorado805$44,140
16Washington753$52,756
17Maryland711$49,387
18Arizona665$34,286
19Wisconsin558$59,525
20South Carolina549$36,462
21Indiana520$51,731
22Tennessee517$45,896
23Iowa481$56,643
24Missouri468$47,136
25Oregon463$51,356
26Alabama388$43,433
27Kentucky353$48,461
28Louisiana328$38,468
29Kansas310$43,583
30Utah306$37,038
31Connecticut280$51,020
32Nevada247$35,476
33Oklahoma230$37,608
34Arkansas228$41,175
35New Hampshire208$51,961
36Mississippi201$39,737
37New Mexico195$37,383
38Nebraska190$48,705
39Idaho180$33,508
40West Virginia165$50,091
41Montana160$40,031
42South Dakota157$45,568
43Maine143$50,291
44Delaware123$56,548
45North Dakota115$57,041
46Alaska108$49,574
47Hawaii108$47,600
48Vermont99$52,993
49Rhode Island84$52,421
50Wyoming82$42,294

Laboratory Instructor Education

Laboratory Instructor Majors

20.9 %
8.8 %

Laboratory Instructor Degrees

Bachelors

65.6 %

Masters

17.1 %

Associate

8.9 %

Top Colleges for Laboratory Instructors

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

2. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-State Tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

3. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-State Tuition

$6,381

Enrollment

34,564

4. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

5. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

6. University of Virginia

Charlottesville, VA • Private

In-State Tuition

$17,653

Enrollment

16,405

7. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

In-State Tuition

$53,740

Enrollment

5,567

8. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$59,430

Enrollment

8,216

9. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

In-State Tuition

$49,816

Enrollment

6,840

10. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

Top Skills For a Laboratory Instructor

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 26.1% of laboratory instructors listed lab procedures on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and organizational skills are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Laboratory Instructor Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Laboratory Instructor templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Laboratory Instructor resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Laboratory Instructor diversity

Laboratory Instructor Gender Distribution

Male
Male
51%
Female
Female
49%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among laboratory instructors, 48.7% of them are women, while 51.3% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among laboratory instructors is White, which makes up 63.0% of all laboratory instructors.

  • The most common foreign language among laboratory instructors is Spanish at 44.3%.

Online Courses For Laboratory Instructor That You May Like

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Best States For a Laboratory Instructor

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a laboratory instructor. The best states for people in this position are Massachusetts, Minnesota, Michigan, and New Jersey. Laboratory instructors make the most in Massachusetts with an average salary of $70,082. Whereas in Minnesota and Michigan, they would average $65,122 and $64,846, respectively. While laboratory instructors would only make an average of $62,900 in New Jersey, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. Michigan

Total Laboratory Instructor Jobs: 1,048
Highest 10% Earn:
$103,000
Location Quotient:
1.26

2. Minnesota

Total Laboratory Instructor Jobs: 814
Highest 10% Earn:
$103,000
Location Quotient:
1.14

3. New Jersey

Total Laboratory Instructor Jobs: 997
Highest 10% Earn:
$99,000
Location Quotient:
1.17
Full List Of Best States For Laboratory Instructors

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Top Laboratory Instructor Employers

Most Common Employers For Laboratory Instructor

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Rochester Institute of Technology$75,685$36.3916
2Full Sail University$74,630$35.8823
3California State University$70,040$33.6718
4Mount Holyoke College$67,798$32.6014
5University of Nevada, Reno$58,481$28.1214
6SUNY Geneseo$57,232$27.5220
7University of Central Florida$48,801$23.4615
8University of Hartford$48,604$23.3714
9Arizona State University$48,341$23.2415
10University of Tennessee$48,220$23.1816

Laboratory Instructor Videos