How To Become A Nursing Professor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a nursing professor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Alex Holte PhD

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a nursing professor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $35.82 an hour? That's $74,506 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 12% and produce 159,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a Nursing Professor?

Alex Holte PhD

Assistant Professor of Psychology, Website

My advice for someone new to the field of academia is to learn time management skills early and learn what type of service work you find interesting and would like to contribute to. From there, learn how to say “no” to opportunities that may not align with your goals as well. I feel a lot of new professors tend to find the need to be involved in everything, which can result in burning out later in their career.

ScoreNursing ProfessorUS Average

Salary

5.8

Avg. Salary $74,506

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

8.6

Growth Rate 12%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.28%

Asian 11.27%

Black or African American 7.16%

Hispanic or Latino 10.20%

Unknown 4.94%

White 66.16%

Gender

female 84.77%

male 15.23%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress Level

8.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

10.0

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

6.9

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Newest jobs for Nursing Professor in Ashburn, VA

Receive alerts for the newest job postings.

Key steps to become a nursing professor

Explore nursing professor education requirements

Most common nursing professor degrees

Bachelor's

39.0 %

Master's

33.6 %

Associate

15.6 %

Start to develop specific nursing professor skills

Skills	Percentages
BSN	10.03%
Student Learning	9.13%
Med/Surg	7.73%
Mental Health	5.94%
DNP	5.53%

Complete relevant nursing professor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New nursing professors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a nursing professor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real nursing professor resumes.

Research nursing professor duties and responsibilities

Implement and evaluate nursing curriculum with an appreciation for diversity, cultural awareness, ethics, integrity, and professional judgment.
Assemble and use equipment, such as catheters, tracheotomy tubes, or oxygen suppliers.

Prepare your nursing professor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your nursing professor resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a nursing professor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Nursing Professor Resume templates

Build a professional Nursing Professor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Nursing Professor resume.