People who go into this career path tend to be very passionate about students both in the lab and the classroom. These are student-centric roles, focused on maximizing the learning experience for students in STEM. People in these career paths usually find mentoring and connecting with students extremely satisfying. Faculty in these roles are motivated by the mentoring relationships they develop and enjoy seeing their students progress further in their careers.

Salaries for RT faculty can range widely depending on the location and the position. Just one data point in this wide range: In the California State system, lecturers averaged $66,000 and professors averaged $85,000-110,000 annually.

Salaries for jobs at public institutions are publicly available online at sites like TransparentCalifornia and The Sacramento Bee.

Another thing to keep in mind is that faculty compensation can be complicated. Faculty salary can sometimes come partly from other sources, such as grants the faculty member must procure themselves. The numbers you find online may reflect some but not all of the sources of funding for a position. The best way to get accurate numbers is to talk to people who are currently in those positions and learn about salary breakdowns from them.

Job titles for faculty in academia are largely the same at R, RT, and T institutions, while the actual job responsibilities associated with those titles varies greatly with the specific institution. Below we cover the broad categories of faculty job titles. To learn more about what is required in these roles, we recommend consulting our study on the hiring requirements for life science faculty and also talking to faculty at the specific institutions you are interested in.

Faculty job titles in academia typically follow a ranking ladder from assistant professor (more junior) to associate professor to (full) professor (more senior). Progression through these rankings is constrained by processes and milestones articulated by each individual institution, usually in a document like a Faculty Handbook (which is frequently publicly available and can be found on the internet!). As faculty move up the ladder, compensation and seniority typically increase, often accompanied by tenure (which usually means an indefinite appointment and job security).

Other titles can include lecturer (typically non-tenure track instructors) and adjunct professors (part-time instructors/researchers).

They tend to involve more teaching

At R institutions, grant funding is a large source of support for the institution. At RT institutions, tuition is usually a larger factor. This plays out in the greater emphasis on teaching. An RT faculty often teaches 2-3 classes per semester (or more, in some cases).

They emphasize student learning in research

PI responsibilities tend to be more hands-on, as part of the purpose of the research is the mentoring and skill-building. There are usually not postdocs or staff scientists in the lab, so most research mentoring comes from the PI. Resources available at RT institutions often differ from those available at R institutions and research programs are tailored accordingly. While a RT faculty may spend up to 50% time on research, that time is likely spent in 1:1 work with students.

Pace of research is different

More students are contributing to a project, publication, or grant over a longer period of time. Research is done on a smaller scale, with a greater focus on student learning rather than scientific discovery.

Important caveat

Because of the broad range of RT institutions, each RT faculty position may look different! Learn more about three different examples of what RT faculty positions can look like in our podcast series where we interview UCSF alums who are now faculty at different RT institutions [add link].

• Primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs)
• Liberal Arts Colleges (LACs)
• Master's-granting institutions
• Medical schools
• Community colleges

One way to think about this question is to consider what faculty hiring committees are looking for. We've detailed this in our study on the hiring requirements for life science faculty, and summarize the results for RT institutions below.

Teaching practices

• Resources for teaching
• Free online courses about teaching that we recommend:
  • The Scientific Teaching Video Series from iBiology
  • How Students Learn, a collection of recorded lectures from Berkeley faculty
  • The Inclusive STEM teaching project, a free 6-week MOOC that provides a certificate of completion (NSF-funded).

Teaching experience

• Lab instructor positions (SFSU, USF)
• Lecturer roles
• K12 teaching
• Community college teaching

Conducting research with students and available resources

• UCSF SRTP program
• Propel scholars
• Inclusive Mentor/Manager Training

It's important to note also specific differences between RT institutions and to highlight your understanding of the specific resources available by tailoring your application materials to the institutions you are applying to.

For more, listen to our podcast series where we spoke to UCSF alums who are now faculty at different RT institutions in California about the experiences that were most valuable to them as they prepared and applied for RT faculty positions [add link].

Typically these positions do not require a postdoc, but it can greatly strengthen your application if it provides you more opportunities to teach and mentor. Additionally, doing a postdoc can prepare you for running your independent research program, especially if you are establishing this research program in a system more easily supported by the resources available at the institutions you have in mind.

For guidance on how to think about whether a postdoc is a good option for you, check out our "Should I Do A Postdoc?" page. For real-life stories from UCSF alums who both did and did not do a postdoc prior to applying for RT faculty positions, listen to our podcast series [add link].