Research associate professor vs visiting professor

The differences between research associate professors and visiting professors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a research associate professor, becoming a visiting professor takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a visiting professor has an average salary of $116,217, which is higher than the $94,301 average annual salary of a research associate professor.

The top three skills for a research associate professor include public health, biomedical and research projects. The most important skills for a visiting professor are course content, student learning, and professional development.

Research associate professor vs visiting professor overview

	Research Associate Professor	Visiting Professor
Yearly salary	$94,301	$116,217
Hourly rate	$45.34	$55.87
Growth rate	12%	12%
Number of jobs	57,738	27,139
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	4	2

What does a research associate professor do?

The work of a research associate professor is conducting research, publishing papers, and attending conferences. The professor is also tasked with the job of attending academic events and networking with other researchers and field experts, as well as supervising, advising, and mentoring teaching assistants and graduate students.

What does a visiting professor do?

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.

Research associate professor vs visiting professor salary

Research associate professors and visiting professors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Research Associate Professor	Visiting Professor
Average salary	$94,301	$116,217
Salary range	Between $58,000 And $151,000	Between $56,000 And $241,000
Highest paying City	Salt Lake City, UT	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Utah	California
Best paying company	University of Massachusetts Medical School	UMiami Health System
Best paying industry	Health Care	Education

Differences between research associate professor and visiting professor education

There are a few differences between a research associate professor and a visiting professor in terms of educational background:

	Research Associate Professor	Visiting Professor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Most common major	Chemistry	Nursing
Most common college	Cornell University	University of Texas at Austin

Research associate professor vs visiting professor demographics

Here are the differences between research associate professors' and visiting professors' demographics:

	Research Associate Professor	Visiting Professor
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 69.6% Female, 30.4%	Male, 60.3% Female, 39.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 17.6% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 13.9% White, 64.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between research associate professor and visiting professor duties and responsibilities

Research associate professor example responsibilities.

Process and manage GIS databases to contribute towards research in human transportation behavior.
Conduct NIH sponsor studies on HIV/AIDS in African-American and Hispanic populations in Alabama.
Train students in electron microscopy, laser safety, vacuum technology, chemistry, instrumentation, and other laboratory procedures.
Identify glucose-induced increases in the phosphorylation levels of interest proteins, including metabolic enzymes and transcription factors by analyzing phosphoproteomics data.

Visiting professor example responsibilities.

Used blackboard online to manage students tests, grade papers and assign materials.
Teach various humanities, sociology, communications and ethics courses.
Design and teach a graduate seminar.
Graduate seminar in post-1945 art theory and criticism
Develop educational resources that supplement core BSN courses.
Review professor's syllabus and acquire full knowledge of his semester coursework in a short turnaround time.

Research associate professor vs visiting professor skills

Common research associate professor skills

Public Health, 15%
Biomedical, 12%
Research Projects, 11%
SAS, 6%
NIH, 6%
Data Collection, 6%

Common visiting professor skills

Course Content, 11%
Student Learning, 10%
Professional Development, 8%
Philosophy, 7%
Health Assessments, 5%
Economics, 4%

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Research Associate Professor
Research Associate Professor vs Visiting Professor

Updated January 8, 2025

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