# Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary

> Demonstrate and teach patient care in classroom and clinical units to nursing students. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

- Edition: Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition
- Page: https://www.collegesref.com/careers/nursing-instructors-and-teachers-postsecondary
- SOC code: 25-1072.00
- Career family: Education
- Median annual pay: $80,250 (10th percentile $48,800, 90th percentile $129,500)
- Projected growth: Much faster than average, +17.1%
- Openings a year: 8,500
- Typical entry education: Doctoral or professional degree
- Bright outlook: yes
- Data years: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

## Interest profile (code SIA)

| Interest area | Score (0–100) |
| --- | ---: |
| Realistic (R) | 32 |
| Investigative (I) | 65 |
| Artistic (A) | 38 |
| Social (S) | 100 |
| Enterprising (E) | 19 |
| Conventional (C) | 36 |

## What you'd do

- Training and Teaching Others (importance 99/100)
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge (importance 93/100)
- Getting Information (importance 92/100)
- Assisting and Caring for Others (importance 91/100)
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships (importance 90/100)
- Working with Computers (importance 90/100)
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems (importance 88/100)
- Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work (importance 87/100)
- Documenting/Recording Information (importance 86/100)
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events (importance 82/100)

## Skills

Instructing, Learning Strategies, Speaking, Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Writing, Active Learning, Critical Thinking, Judgment and Decision Making, Monitoring

## Knowledge

Medicine and Dentistry, Education and Training, Psychology, English Language, Biology, Customer and Personal Service, Mathematics, Therapy and Counseling, Sociology and Anthropology, Computers and Electronics

## Also called

Adjunct Clinical Nursing Instructor, Adjunct Instructor, Adjunct Nursing Instructor, Advanced Nursing Professor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Clinical Instructor, Clinical Nursing Instructor, Clinical Nursing Professor, Continuing Education Instructor

## Majors that lead here (NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk, 4-digit CIP)

- [Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/5138) (CIP 5138, 1,954 colleges)
- [Health Professions Education, Ethics, and Humanities](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/5132) (CIP 5132, 352 colleges)

## Colleges with strong outcomes (College Scorecard, 2025)

| College | Program | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yrs | Median debt |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| [California State University-East Bay](https://www.collegesref.com/college/california-state-university-east-bay-368) | Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | $139,123 | $150,921 | $18,751 |
| [San Francisco State University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/san-francisco-state-university-2349) | Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | $145,008 | $150,102 | $13,331 |
| [Dominican University of California](https://www.collegesref.com/college/dominican-university-of-california-828) | Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | $128,516 | $149,622 | $26,243 |
| [Sonoma State University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/sonoma-state-university-2438) | Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | $134,423 | $143,886 | $12,500 |
| [University of San Francisco USF](https://www.collegesref.com/college/university-of-san-francisco-usf-3034) | Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | $120,438 | $143,356 | $25,000 |
| [Pacific Union College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/pacific-union-college-2063) | Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | $126,952 | $140,542 | $29,584 |
| [California State University-Monterey Bay](https://www.collegesref.com/college/california-state-university-monterey-bay-373) | Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | $127,203 | $134,489 | $6,375 |
| [Pacific College-California](https://www.collegesref.com/college/pacific-college-california-2055) | Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | not reported | $132,148 | $32,611 |

## Related careers

- [Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/health-specialties-teachers-postsecondary): $107,310 median pay
- [Clinical Nurse Specialists](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/clinical-nurse-specialists): $97,550 median pay
- [Health Education Specialists](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/health-education-specialists): $64,070 median pay
- [Registered Nurses](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/registered-nurses): $97,550 median pay
- [Health Informatics Specialists](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/health-informatics-specialists): $105,850 median pay
- [Nurse Practitioners](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/nurse-practitioners): $132,300 median pay

## Sources

- [O*NET Database](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), version 31.0 (CC BY 4.0)
- [BLS Employment Projections](https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables.htm), version 2025-35, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm), version 2025, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk](https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/resources.aspx?y=56), version 2020, data year 2020 (Public domain (U.S. government work))

O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.