How To Become A Preceptor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a preceptor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Alicia Cardona

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a preceptor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $46.42 an hour? That's $96,558 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 195,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a preceptor?

Alicia Cardona

Nursing instructor, Morton College

For nurses beginning their careers, take every opportunity to learn everything you can. There is so much to do in nursing; you never know what you will find that you are good at or that you will enjoy. There are good days and bad days in nursing. Enjoy the good, and realize the bad is only temporary. Be flexible and take care of yourself. Nursing is demanding, so take care of yourself, so you do not burnout.

ScorePreceptorUS Average

Salary

7.5

Avg. Salary $96,558

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.44%

Asian 12.35%

Black or African American 10.05%

Hispanic or Latino 9.21%

Unknown 4.28%

White 63.67%

Gender

female 76.28%

male 23.72%

Age - 43

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 - 43

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.1

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.8

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a preceptor

Explore preceptor education requirements

Most common preceptor degrees

Bachelor's

56.0 %

Associate

21.3 %

Master's

10.0 %

Start to develop specific preceptor skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	33.87%
Direct Patient Care	6.72%
CPR	5.84%
Preceptorship	4.38%
IV	4.28%

Complete relevant preceptor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New preceptors 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 preceptor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real preceptor resumes.

Obtain the necessary licensing

Becoming a licensed preceptor usually require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed preceptor in most of states. 43 states require preceptors to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.

State	Education	Exam	License url
Alabama	Degree required	State exam required	Registered Nurse (RN)
Alaska	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Nurse, Registered
Arkansas	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Registered Nurse (RN)
California	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Nurse, Registered
Colorado	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Registered Nurse

Gain additional preceptor certifications

Preceptor certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific preceptor certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for preceptors include Basic Life Support for Healthcare and Public Safety (BLS) and Basic Life Support (BLS).

More About Certifications

Research preceptor duties and responsibilities

Provide continuous telemetry monitoring and managing multiple patients with multiple high-risk medical conditions, utilizing interdisciplinary collaboration.
Perform blood draws and specimen collection on patients for phlebotomy Preceptorship course.
Monitor patients on EKG, are able to detect abnormal rhythms.
Provide emotional support with patients before pending surgery, and provide advocacy by calling doctor to answer the pt's questions.

Prepare your preceptor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your preceptor 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 preceptor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable preceptor resume templates

Build a professional preceptor 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 preceptor resume.