Top 7 Differences between Instructor and Professor

The teaching roles performed at different levels make everyone confused. There are a lot of roles like teachers instructors professors lecturers etc. that we get to see in our student life. It is important to know the differences between them as it will make the life of the student easier. In some institutions, you may find the instructor taking the class. Thus, here we will help you understand what are the differences between instructor and professor.

Quick Takeaways

• An instructor is your professor or lecturer who will teach you or provide instructions in your classes at a college or university level.
• A professor is responsible for teaching the students creating the course work conducting research and grading the students.
• Some of the key differences between both of them are about the salaries, duties and the work environment.
• A professor usually has a higher salary and more job security than an instructor.

However, you must really and so that you get a complete knowledge of the difference between an instructor and a professor.

Who is an Instructor?

An instructor is your professor or lecturer who will teach you your classes at a college or university level. As an instructor, you will be responsible for planning the classes creating the course structure delivering the lectures and grading the students. In short, you will be performing almost similar duties to that of a professor.

Who is a professor?

A professor is a teacher at a high level of education. Again as a professor, you will be responsible for teaching the students creating the course work conducting research and grading the students. You will also be responsible for taking part in different administrative roles like being a dean. Most of the professors have a doctoral degree and have a tenure with the institution. 

What are the differences between instructor and professor?

Following are the points that will help you to understand the main difference between an instructor and a professor-

1. Employment

Instructors are basically known for giving the instructions. Therefore instructors can be employed at college universities or even in schools. Whereas, professors are the ones who are only appointed at a high level of education that is your colleges and universities.

2. Duties

As an instructor, your primary duties can vary from institution to institution. It may also vary depending upon for what purpose you are appointed. Some of the duties you may perform are teaching the students, evaluating them and guiding the students. In addition to that you may also be responsible for instructing in labs. Whereas if we talk about professors primary responsibilities are to teach the students guide them and give them grafwa based on their performances. Additionally, as a professor, you may also take part in different administrative duties and may also take part in developing the rules for the department you are working in.

3. Working environment

As already discussed an instructor performs duties like giving instructions in labs in addition to teaching the students. It gives more flexibility to them than the professors as they have to take part in different meetings related to the department. However, one thing you must remember is that if you are an instructor you will be getting less job security than as a professor. Therefore the working environment of both also differs in their own ways.

4. The rank of the individual

As we already discussed an instructor is the one who will be responsible for teaching and may also be found in schools, the rank of an instructor is generally lower than the professors. Also, the rank may vary depending upon for what purpose an instructor is hired. 

5. Salary

If you are an instructor your salary will be lower than that of a professor. This is because the professor generally performs higher and a lot more duties than the instructor. The salary may also vary depending on what duties are being performed by an instructor. 

6. Education

The educational requirements for becoming an instructor or a professor in an institution will be different. You may need to have a master’s degree to become a professor in some institutions whereas others may need to have a doctorate or PhD in a specific subject. Similarly, the educational requirement for becoming an instructor is different for different institutions. Depending upon the duties you will need to perform as an instructor, you may need to either have a master’s or an undergraduate degree.

7. Experience needed

Again it will depend upon the institution you are applying to and the duties you need to perform. Some institutions might want an instructor to have at least one year of experience and others might not want any kind of experience. Similarly, if you are applying for the professor position you may need to have some experience in teaching. If you also want to gain some kind of experience you can always try applying for an adjunct professor or a visiting assistant professor.

Can you call an instructor a professor?

It is a very common question among students at universities and in colleges. It all depends upon what are the duties of an instructor. If an instructor is a teacher in your class you will be calling them a professor. Sometimes the lab instructor is also known as a professor in some institutions.

What is the average salary of a professor and an instructor?

The average salary of a professor and an instructor will depend upon various factors like the location of the institution and the rank you are at. Usually, the average salary of an instructor may vary from $30,000 to $50,000. Whereas if we talk about professors the average salary ranges from $60,000 to $150,000. It may also depend on how many courses you are teaching at a time. Further, if you are a tenured professor then the salary will even increase.

Conclusion

An instructor is your professor or lecturer who will teach you or provide instructions in your classes at a college or university level. On the other hand, a professor is responsible for teaching the students, creating the coursework, etc. Also, the salaries of the professors are generally higher than the instructors. In addition to that the job security of a professor is much higher than an instructor. Also, the salaries are higher for a professor than for an instructor. 

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