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What does a professor do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
Quoted expert
Rebecca Sarver
What does a professor do

A professor is a teaching professional who provides instructions to students on various academic and vocational subjects in colleges, universities, and vocational schools. Professors design curriculums for courses and ensure that they meet college and department students. They continuously conduct research and experiments so that advanced knowledge in their field is completed. They share their research and works by publishing them in books and academic journals. They also provide assistance to graduating students.

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Professor responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real professor resumes:

  • Used blackboard online to manage students tests, grade papers and assign materials.
  • Instruct students in anatomy, physiology, medical terminology, college mathematics, and pharmacology math and dosage calculations.
  • Educate adult students in medical math, anatomy & physiology, business communications ,
  • Teach social science subjects including sociology, psychology and human services.
  • Mentore newly hire philosophy teachers on school culture as well as the program s academic requirements.
  • Prepare and deliver material to students on topics such as ethics, logic, and contemporary religious think.
  • Serve on the faculty as professor of anatomy lecturing and teaching lab courses for first year medical students.
  • Work closely with co-workers on coordination of course material, test question, PowerPoint slides, content issues etc.
  • Design the professional ethics course to integrate face to face and online environments for students to grasp the class content.
  • Implement faculty development seminar series.
  • Promote from professor assistant to professor in mathematics after one semester.
  • Assist educators with research and development of practicum topic for professional seminar
  • Conduct independent researches and supervise research in resource economics especially irrigation water.
  • Design lesson plans and syllabus focuse on class curriculum and correlating requirements.
  • Design and revise intellectual property syllabus and teach course for undergraduate students.

Professor skills and personality traits

We calculated that 10% of Professors are proficient in Philosophy, Curriculum Development, and Mathematics. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Speaking skills, and Writing skills.

We break down the percentage of Professors that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Philosophy, 10%

    Maintained and enhanced traditional classroom delivery including lectures, content-driven media, and contextual applications of contemporary Humanities and Philosophy.

  • Curriculum Development, 9%

    Collaborate with the Business Technology Department team concerning plans of study, curriculum development, budgets and stakeholder evaluations.

  • Mathematics, 6%

    Served on committees to develop and implement Statistics Major, Statistics Minor and Applied Statistics Concentration within the Mathematics curriculum.

  • C++, 5%

    Worked with C sharp, a C++ variant, to improve models and excel to analyze costing data.

  • Literature, 5%

    Project management certificate: Cornell University Translation certificate: Global Translation Institute Bachelor of Arts in French/Arabic Literature Ste.

  • Graduate Courses, 4%

    Develop and teach graduate and undergraduate courses including beginning through advanced computer graphics animation Member of SCAD Interdisciplinary Committee.

Common skills that a professor uses to do their job include "philosophy," "curriculum development," and "mathematics." You can find details on the most important professor responsibilities below.

Interpersonal skills. The most essential soft skill for a professor to carry out their responsibilities is interpersonal skills. This skill is important for the role because "postsecondary teachers need to work well with others for tasks such as instructing students and serving on committees." Additionally, a professor resume shows how their duties depend on interpersonal skills: "created original syllabus with emphasis on movement experiences to foster intra and interpersonal awareness. "

Speaking skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling professor duties is speaking skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "postsecondary teachers need good communication skills to present lectures and provide feedback to students." According to a professor resume, here's how professors can utilize speaking skills in their job responsibilities: "presented literature review and summary of sustainable agriculture"

Writing skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of professors is writing skills. This skill is critical to many everyday professor duties, as "postsecondary teachers need strong writing ability to publish original research and analysis." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "conducted legal research in connection with the preparations of materials for legal analysis, writing, and research courses. "

See the full list of professor skills

The three companies that hire the most professors are:

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Compare different professors

Professor 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.

The annual salary of adjunct faculties is $74,501 lower than the average salary of professors.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between professors and adjunct faculties are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like philosophy, curriculum development, and mathematics.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a professor are more likely to require skills like "c++," "research projects," "data analysis," and "architecture." On the other hand, a job as an adjunct faculty requires skills like "student learning," "course syllabus," "learning environment," and "student performance." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

Adjunct faculties really shine in the government industry with an average salary of $115,189. Comparatively, professors tend to make the most money in the education industry with an average salary of $148,195.adjunct faculties tend to reach higher levels of education than professors. In fact, adjunct faculties are 8.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 5.6% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Professor vs. Faculty

A faculty member is an individual whose primary responsibility is to provide teaching and research to students in colleges and universities. Faculties must work with colleagues to design a curriculum to keep up with the changes in the discipline. They help their students choose majors and mentor them by way of face-to-face or electronic means. They also keep up their communication with alumni to assist with employment searches or career changes.

On average, faculties earn a $77,165 lower salary than professors a year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both professors and faculties have skills such as "philosophy," "curriculum development," and "mathematics. "

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that professor responsibilities requires skills like "graduate courses," "data analysis," "legal research," and "business administration." But a faculty might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "patients," "rehabilitation," "student learning," and "social work."

Faculties earn similar levels of education than professors in general. They're 2.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 5.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for professors in the next 3-5 years?

Rebecca SarverRebecca Sarver LinkedIn profile

Lecturer in Human Services Studies, Elmira College

The use of remote and virtual meetings will continue even after COVID-19. Face to face meetings may still be the preferred method of contact, but the reality is that many clients who need to access services do not have reliable and consistent transportation to get to the services. Phones and computers enable more convenient meetings that are less costly in terms of time and travel. Some clients may prefer not to leave their homes.

Professor vs. Adjunct faculty member

An adjunct faculty member teaches part-time at learning institutions, usually on a contractual basis. Although their duties depend on their position or area of expertise, it usually includes preparing lessons and coursework plans, administering examinations, producing learning materials, grading tests and quizzes, and assisting students as necessary. They also organize various activities meant to enhance the students' skills and abilities. Moreover, they may participate in different committees and work together with fellow educators in maintaining an effective and safe learning environment for everyone.

On average scale, adjunct faculty members bring in lower salaries than professors. In fact, they earn a $96,753 lower salary per year.professors and adjunct faculty members both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "philosophy," "curriculum development," and "mathematics," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from professor resumes include skills like "c++," "graduate courses," "research projects," and "pharmacology," whereas an adjunct faculty member is more likely to list skills in "english language," "student learning," "student performance," and "learning environment. "

Adjunct faculty members earn the best pay in the start-up industry, where they command an average salary of $66,491. Professors earn the highest pay from the education industry, with an average salary of $148,195.When it comes to education, adjunct faculty members tend to earn higher degree levels compared to professors. In fact, they're 8.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 5.9% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Professor vs. Faculty member

A faculty member is responsible for teaching students a wide range of both vocational and academic subjects. As a faculty member, you will teach and impart knowledge to your students and help them with the learning process and knowledge application. Some of the duties that you will perform include collaborating with colleagues in modifying the curriculum, counseling them about learning difficulties, life choices, and personal problems, and writing recommendations to aid students to secure internships or jobs. You will also participate in activities of professional associations to advance research and standards in the field.

Faculty members average a lower salary than the annual salary of professors. The difference is about $54,721 per year.While both professors and faculty members complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like curriculum development, mathematics, and c++, the two careers vary in some skills.

Even though a few skill sets overlap between professors and faculty members, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a professor might have more use for skills like "philosophy," "graduate courses," "mentoring students," and "research projects." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of faculty members require skills like "public health," "general education," "student learning," and "advisory boards. "

Faculty members enjoy the best pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $143,955. For comparison, professors earn the highest salary in the education industry.faculty members reach similar levels of education compared to professors, in general. The difference is that they're 1.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 3.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of professor

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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