What does a lecturer do?
A lecturer, also known as a university lecturer, is a teaching professional who teaches students in colleges and educational establishments. Lecturers provide support to students in their research activities by assessing their work and through a pastoral and advisory role. Aside from teaching students, lecturers may carry out administrative tasks such as student enrolment, induction programmers, and involvement in committees and boards. They may also contribute to professional seminars and seminars about their expertise and participate in the training activities of staff members.
Lecturer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real lecturer resumes:
- Create web sites and documentation, using HTML, to manage various projects.
- Manage a database, compile, retrieve, review and analyze test scores.
- Develop and lead ELA lessons at the 8th grade level, with an emphasis on critical reading and literary analysis.
- Establish and maintain practical pharmacology, anatomy and physiology labs.
- Prepare course syllabus, instructional materials and assignments, assessment materials in an online distance education format.
- Provide the necessary background including anatomy, chemistry, physiology, genetics, development, and environmental interactions of microorganisms.
- Used blackboard to retrieve and send information to students.
- Develop algorithms for the interfaces and implement in C/C++.
- Advance to TA mentor to advise incoming graduate students.
- Input grades, communicate, and upload documents via blackboard.
- Assist senior professors in designing architecture and various minor projects.
- Assist the professor and graduate-level TA during lecture of calculus-base physics course aim at first- and second-year undergraduates.
- Plan and develop creative and engaging learning events in conflict resolution and meditation philosophy, theories, and methodologies.
- Provide an overview of negotiation strategies.
- Prepare and lecture undergraduate introduction to sociology classes
Lecturer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 20% of Lecturers are proficient in Semester, Philosophy, and Syllabus. They’re also known for soft skills such as Speaking skills, Writing skills, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Lecturers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Semester, 20%
Selected interesting course content and designed academically rigorous assignments for a teaching load of four undergraduate Composition courses each semester.
- Philosophy, 10%
Lectured masters students studying philosophy on Foucault theory and the practical uses of philosophical theory in anthropological studies through inter-disciplinarian approaches.
- Syllabus, 5%
Prepared course syllabus, instructional materials and assignments, assessment materials in an online distance education format.
- Course Materials, 5%
Guided curriculum development, reviewed and developed teaching methodology, created initial database of substantive course materials and assessment tools.
- Literature, 4%
Developed entire curriculum for Modern Literature program, created and delivered seminars and lessons, and evaluated student progress.
- Graduate Courses, 4%
Conceptualized undergraduate courses in a wide range of mathematical subjects to cultivate students' mathematical skills and theoretical knowledge.
Common skills that a lecturer uses to do their job include "semester," "philosophy," and "syllabus." You can find details on the most important lecturer responsibilities below.
Speaking skills. One of the key soft skills for a lecturer to have is speaking skills. You can see how this relates to what lecturers do because "postsecondary teachers need good communication skills to present lectures and provide feedback to students." Additionally, a lecturer resume shows how lecturers use speaking skills: "developed course content/materials and presented weekly lectures for the oil & gas law and international business law modules. "
Writing skills. Another essential skill to perform lecturer duties is writing skills. Lecturers responsibilities require that "postsecondary teachers need strong writing ability to publish original research and analysis." Lecturers also use writing skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "instructed first year undergraduates in academic writing while attending weekly professional development sessions. "
Interpersonal skills. This is an important skill for lecturers to perform their duties. For an example of how lecturer responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "postsecondary teachers need to work well with others for tasks such as instructing students and serving on committees." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a lecturer: "fort waynecourses taught: fundamentals of speech (public speaking, interpersonal communication, and small group communication); interpersonal communication".
The three companies that hire the most lecturers are:
- University of Colorado47 lecturers jobs
- The City University of New York42 lecturers jobs
- Univ Of Colorado-Colorado Spgs
35 lecturers jobs
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Compare different lecturers
Lecturer vs. Visiting professor
Visiting professors are faculty members from an institution who must visit a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic they are knowledgeable in. These professors are required to create a positive learning environment among undergraduate students by inviting them to participate and engage in classroom activities, which can consistently enhance the learning process of their students. They must serve as dissertation research chairperson for Ph.D. students in qualitative and quantitative research studies. Visiting professors must also conduct in-person lectures and direct undergraduate theses for special topics research courses.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a lecturer are more likely to require skills like "semester," "public health," "molecular biology," and "course syllabus." On the other hand, a job as a visiting professor requires skills like "evaluates," "health assessments," "course objectives," and "capstone." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Visiting professors earn the highest salaries when working in the education industry, with an average yearly salary of $107,231. On the other hand, lecturers are paid more in the education industry with an average salary of $60,593.On average, visiting professors reach similar levels of education than lecturers. Visiting professors are 2.9% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 10.4% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Lecturer vs. Summer school teacher
A Summer School Teacher is a teacher who works during the summer period. They develop and implement schemes of work and lesson plans in line with curriculum objectives. Generally, they have the same duties as a school teacher.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real lecturer resumes. While lecturer responsibilities can utilize skills like "semester," "philosophy," "course materials," and "graduate courses," summer school teachers use skills like "classroom management," "math," "kids," and "cpr."
On average, summer school teachers earn a lower salary than lecturers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, summer school teachers earn the most pay in the education industry with an average salary of $51,590. Whereas lecturers have higher pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $60,593.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Summer school teachers tend to reach lower levels of education than lecturers. In fact, they're 14.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 10.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for lecturers in the next 3-5 years?
Rebecca Sarver
Lecturer in Human Services Studies, Elmira College
Lecturer vs. Education instructor
An Education Instructor is responsible for planning, developing, and delivering appropriate individualized educational services. They provide individualized instruction to each student through promoting interactive learning lessons and create, and they distribute educational content, such as notes and summaries.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a lecturer is likely to be skilled in "semester," "philosophy," "literature," and "graduate courses," while a typical education instructor is skilled in "classroom management," "kids," "cpr," and "math."
Education instructors make a very good living in the health care industry with an average annual salary of $52,699. On the other hand, lecturers are paid the highest salary in the education industry, with average annual pay of $60,593.education instructors typically earn lower educational levels compared to lecturers. Specifically, they're 15.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 9.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Lecturer vs. Adjunct faculty
Adjunct faculty is the collective term for adjunct professors or lecturers. The adjunct faculty teaches students based on the limited-term of their contract. Oftentimes, they teach preparatory or introductory courses by semester arrangement for the entire academic year. Most of them are employed in higher education. Unlike regular professors, adjunct faculty do not have benefits and are not required to be present in meetings. They can work as either a contract professor or a part-time professor.
Types of lecturer
Updated January 8, 2025
