How To Become A Student Instructor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a student instructor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Rodney Foster,

Dr. Aniruddha (Rudy) Banerjee Ph.D.

A student instructor does all of the regular duties that a teacher does, except that they are still a student themselves. Most student instructors are gaining professional experience in order to become full-time teachers or instructors.

Student instructors can work with any age group and specialize in any subject. Just like regular instructors, they plan lessons, lecture students on important topics, and grade assignments. They make sure that students are engaging with material by including interactive elements into their lessons, like discussions or lab experiments. Student instructors need to have excellent public speaking skills, classroom management skills, and strong organizational skills in order to handle the vast amounts of grading they need to do.

By definition, student instructors are still in school themselves. Most are working towards a bachelor's or master's degree in education. Since this is a training position, they don't need much prior experience but some experience working with children or young people is helpful. Student instructors earn an average annual salary of $55,232, although some student teaching positions are unpaid.

What general advice would you give to a student instructor?

Rodney Foster

Instructor - Aviation Maintenance Technology Instructor - Airframe & Powerplant Technology, Orange Coast College

Orange Coast College (OCC) teaches Aircraft Maintenance Technology (AMT) and Avionics. Although the Government has dampened air travel by putting up restrictions to prevent a Covid-19 spread, there is still a certified mechanic/skilled labor shortage. I believe all our students will have permanent jobs within a six-month search. OCC AMT is listed as an essential workforce by the state of California and is back in classes full-time, Face-to-face labs, and online lectures. Our next semester registration maximum filled in two days and still has over 35 additional students per class on the waiting list.

ScoreStudent InstructorUS Average

Salary

3.9

Avg. Salary $49,436

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

3.7

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.11%

Asian 11.07%

Black or African American 11.27%

Hispanic or Latino 17.97%

Unknown 4.57%

White 54.03%

Gender

female 50.91%

male 49.09%

Age - 45

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 - 45

Stress level

3.7

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.0

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.0

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a student instructor

Explore student instructor education requirements

Most common student instructor degrees

Bachelor's

68.2 %

Master's

17.6 %

Associate

6.7 %

Start to develop specific student instructor skills

Skills	Percentages
Kids	20.36%
Professional Development	14.08%
Classroom Management	7.44%
Lab Reports	7.03%
C++	6.60%

Research student instructor duties and responsibilities

Develop expanded communication and teaching skills on explaining the human anatomy and its functions to achieve student understanding and patient education.
Present eye-catching PowerPoint shows to introduce and cement biological concepts.
Prepare written materials and PowerPoint presentations to supplement college courses.
Develop expanded communication and teaching skills on explaining the human anatomy and its functions to achieve student understanding and patient education.

Prepare your student instructor resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable student instructor resume templates

Build a professional student instructor 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 student instructor resume.