Do professors' assistants get paid?

Yes, professor's assistants get paid for their work in several different ways. Assistant professors, unlike TAs, are employed by the college or university and receive a traditional salary.

Do you need a Ph.D. to be an assistant professor?

Yes, you need a Ph.D. to be an assistant professor. The ranking of professorship positions can be complicated, but there are specific reasons for each level and the education required. An assistant professor represents the first stage or level of a professorship at a college or university.

What is the difference between a professor and an assistant professor?

The difference between a professor and an assistant professor lies primarily in their status and salary. While some of the professorial duties are similar, there are several significant differences between the two positions.

Why are they called "assistant professors"?

They are called "assistant professors" to indicate their beginning level or status at a college or university. While all professors share some duties and responsibilities, there is a strict hierarchy indicated by the type of professor one is identified as.

How To Become An Assistant Professor: What It Is and Career Path

What is an assistant professor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Rebecca Sarver

Assistant professors are entry-level academic staff who assist full-time professors at universities or colleges. They write proposals for research funding, voice their concerns and suggestions at faculty meetings, recruit and train junior staff, and answer students' questions via email or over the phone.

Academic environments are highly competitive, so you need to be able to keep a fast pace and show what you are made of. You will need to have a Ph.D. degree to be considered for this position, but this does not mean your learning days are over. You will have to write and publish papers in academic journals in your field and do presentations at conferences if you have the chance. Assistant professors give classes and supervise graduate and undergraduate students in their work as well.

Being an assistant professor is a challenging and promising phase in an academic career, as long as you get the chance to eventually upgrade to full employment. As an entry-level tenure track position, an assistant professor makes $60,167 per year on average.

What general advice would you give to an Assistant Professor?

Rebecca Sarver

Lecturer in Human Services Studies, Elmira College

Listen more than you talk. There is so much to be learned from clients, seasoned human service workers, and the community that you work within. By listening and observing versus always feeling compelled to speak, you will learn job skills, people skills, and your clients' needs.

ScoreAssistant ProfessorUS Average

Salary

6.8

Avg. Salary $87,099

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.8

Growth Rate 12%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.28%

Asian 17.43%

Black or African American 6.17%

Hispanic or Latino 8.89%

Unknown 4.77%

White 62.47%

Gender

female 44.49%

male 55.51%

Age - 46

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 - 46

Stress Level

6.8

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

6.9

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

4.0

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an assistant professor

Explore assistant professor education requirements

Most common assistant professor degrees

Bachelor's

43.9 %

Master's

25.0 %

Doctorate

24.6 %

Start to develop specific assistant professor skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	17.04%
Public Health	6.33%
Pediatrics	4.83%
Curriculum Development	4.31%
Research Projects	4.31%

Complete relevant assistant professor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New assistant professors 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 an assistant professor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real assistant professor resumes.

Gain additional assistant professor certifications

Assistant professor 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 assistant professor certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for assistant professors include Clinical Research Assistant and Anatomic Pathology.

More About Certifications

Research assistant professor duties and responsibilities

Lead outreach to community and statewide stakeholders in the PPCC entrepreneurship program.
Used blackboard online to manage students tests, grade papers and assign materials.
Develop courses in immunology and research ethics, and develop super laboratory courses in cellular physiology and molecular biology.
Conduct research using molecular biology, genetics, histochemistry, cell biology, biochemistry.

Prepare your assistant professor resume

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

Choose From 10+ Customizable Assistant Professor Resume templates

Build a professional Assistant Professor 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 Assistant Professor resume.

Apply for assistant professor jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an assistant professor job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How Did You Land Your First Assistant Professor Job

Kirkland Fulk

Assistant Professor

My name is Kirkland (Alex) Fulk and I’m an Assistant Professor of Instruction and the long-time undergraduate advisor for the Department of Germanic Studies at UT-Austin. Marc Pierce forwarded me you email about an article on German language jobs, and I’d be happy to address your questions as best as I can.

I’d say, firstly, that I’m not entirely certain what a “German Language Specialist” is or what that particular job would entail. Our undergraduate majors are normally double majors who combine German with any number of other disciplines (International Relations, Government, Business, etc.). This means that our majors normally go into a variety of professional fields in which their German major may serve very different purposes (marketing, translating, online learning platforms such as Duolingo/Babble, content moderation for Facebook or YouTube). Accordingly, I fear there’s no single answer to your questions as the day-to-day work varies; the profession itself, German language specialist, as I understand it would pertain to academics (MA/PhD in the fields of linguistics, pedagogy, or cultural/literary/film studies); and what one may like/dislike would pertain more to the specifics of the job in which one employs their knowledge of German (language and culture). I would note, however, that our graduating majors’ knowledge of German does often open doors to their chosen other professions or even to post-bachelor studies.

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Assistant Professor reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2019

Cons

salary and the requirements