University professor vs instructor, adjunct faculty

The differences between university professors and instructors, adjunct faculty can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a university professor and an instructor, adjunct faculty. Additionally, a university professor has an average salary of $64,567, which is higher than the $52,225 average annual salary of an instructor, adjunct faculty.

The top three skills for a university professor include undergraduate courses, sociology and political science. The most important skills for an instructor, adjunct faculty are syllabus, student learning, and course syllabus.

University professor vs instructor, adjunct faculty overview

	University Professor	Instructor, Adjunct Faculty
Yearly salary	$64,567	$52,225
Hourly rate	$31.04	$25.11
Growth rate	12%	2%
Number of jobs	12,202	37,739
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	4	4

University professor vs instructor, adjunct faculty salary

University professors and instructors, adjunct faculty have different pay scales, as shown below.

	University Professor	Instructor, Adjunct Faculty
Average salary	$64,567	$52,225
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $111,000	Between $33,000 And $81,000
Highest paying City	-	Albany, NY
Highest paying state	-	Massachusetts
Best paying company	-	Ohlone College
Best paying industry	-	Education

Differences between university professor and instructor, adjunct faculty education

There are a few differences between a university professor and an instructor, adjunct faculty in terms of educational background:

	University Professor	Instructor, Adjunct Faculty
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Business	Nursing
Most common college	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	University of Pennsylvania

University professor vs instructor, adjunct faculty demographics

Here are the differences between university professors' and instructors, adjunct faculty' demographics:

	University Professor	Instructor, Adjunct Faculty
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 63.0% Female, 37.0%	Male, 43.1% Female, 56.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.0% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 11.4% White, 66.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 7.0% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 11.3% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between university professor and instructor, adjunct faculty duties and responsibilities

University professor example responsibilities.

Used blackboard online to manage students tests, grade papers and assign materials.
Provide assistance in conducting literature reviews on obesity issues and data analysis of her surveys on obesity risk reduction behaviors
Develop syllabus, overall course structure, and administer all grades.
Design and teach courses in leadership, ethics, and professional writing at the collegiate level.
Develop course curriculum, syllabus, materials and instructional objectives in line with traditional and modern theological teaching and researching.
Develop contextually sensitive evidence aggregation methods from patient records that consider whole patients over time, rather than just linguistic correctness.

Instructor, adjunct faculty example responsibilities.

Lead early childhood program initiatives.
Design course content, and present lectures using PowerPoint and other multimedia resources
Inform students about course requirements, evaluation procedures and class participation and attendance requirements according to the course syllabus.
Incorporate real-world and professional experiences with classroom discussion in health care management, leadership, healthcare sustainability, and healthcare economics.
Serve as pre-health advisor for students interest in healthcare careers.
Instruct ESL students on computer research methodologies for writing research papers.

University professor vs instructor, adjunct faculty skills

Common university professor skills

Undergraduate Courses, 11%
Sociology, 10%
Political Science, 9%
Literature, 8%
Economics, 5%
Ethics, 5%

Common instructor, adjunct faculty skills

Syllabus, 12%
Student Learning, 9%
Course Syllabus, 7%
Course Curriculum, 7%
Learning Outcomes, 7%
PowerPoint, 5%

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University Professor vs Instructor, Adjunct Faculty

Updated January 8, 2025

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