Assistant Professor Vs Associate Professor, Check Job Profile, Eligibility Here

Assistant Professor Vs Associate Professor is big question for NET Aspirants. Here candidate can Check Job Profile, Eligibility Here for Assistant Professor and Associate Professor in details

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Assistant Professors and Associate Professors are both key players in academia, but their roles differ in several ways. Assistant Professors typically hold entry-level positions without tenure, focusing heavily on teaching and establishing their research trajectory. Associate Professors, on the other hand, are mid-level tenured or tenure-track faculty with more experience and established research records.

They often take on additional responsibilities like mentoring junior colleagues and leading research projects. In this article, we aim to offer an in-depth exploration of the job profiles, distinctions, and hierarchical positions within the realms of Assistant Professors and Associate Professors

Who is the Assistant Professor?

An Assistant Professor is an entry-level educational professional in a college or university environment. An Assistant Professor is an academic position at a college or university. They are typically faculty members who are working towards tenure, which is a permanent position or it can be on adhoc (temporary) basis. The details regarding Job profile has been mentioned below:

An assistant professor is typically a junior faculty member who has completed their eligibility criteria and is in the early stages of their academic career.
They are usually hired on a probationary basis and are expected to demonstrate their research and teaching abilities to gain tenure.
Assistant professors are typically responsible for teaching courses, conducting research, and serving on various committees within their academic departments.
They are expected to publish research papers in peer-reviewed journals and present their research at academic conferences.
Assistant professors are evaluated on the quality of their research and teaching, their contributions to their field, and their service to the academic community.

Who is the Associate Professor

Associate Professor is a mid-level faculty member who has achieved tenure, which means that they have successfully demonstrated their research and teaching abilities and have been granted a permanent appointment at the university. They are expected to continue their research and teaching and to take on additional responsibilities such as mentoring junior faculty members and serving on academic committees.

Associate professor is a career advancement stage that comes in the path of assistant professors who have been promoted.
To obtain the title of associate professor, a candidate must have solid research catalogue with expertise in the relevant field.
They must have good publications in recognized journals. The duties and job structure of associate professors are largely the same as those of an assistant professor.
They must have a record of successful research, teaching, and service to the academic community.
Associate professors are evaluated on the quality of their research and teaching, their contributions to their field, and their service to the academic community.

Assistant Professor and Associate Professor Eligibility Criteria

Here we are explaining the eligibility criteria for Assistant Professor and Associate Professor in details. The candidate who wants to apply for the job of Assistant Professor and Associate Professor has to qualify an eligibility test conducted by NTA (National Testing Agency) called UGC NET in their respective subject.

Assistant Professor:

The candidate must have a master’s degree in the relevant subject with at least 55% marks.
They must have cleared the National Eligibility Test (NET) or State Level Eligibility Test (SLET) or have obtained a Ph.D. degree as per UGC regulations, 2018.

Associate Professor:

The candidate must have a Ph.D. degree in the relevant subject.
They must have a minimum of 8 years of teaching experience in university/college as Assistant Professor/ Lecturer or equivalent with a minimum of seven research publications in the peer-reviewed or UGC-listed journals.
They must have also made a significant contribution to the research field through publications, patents, or other recognized forms of scholarly activity.

As per the latest guidelines of UGC, candidate needs to have UGC NET and masters as the minimum eligibility requires being an assistant professor in any educational institute or college in India.

How Assistant Professor Is Different From Associate Professor?

The primary difference between an Assistant Professor and Associate Professor is the level of experience and the level of job security. Assistant professors are typically in the earlier stages of their career and are still working to establish themselves in their field, while associate professors have already achieved some level of success and have been granted the security of a permanent appointment. The difference for Assistant Professor and Associate Professor Job has been explained below:

Difference	Assistant Professor	Associate Professor
Eligibility	The candidate must have minimum 55% marks in Master’s degree in the concerned discipline from an Indian university. UGC NET or SLET/SET Qualified Or Phd Or Both	PhD degree. 8-9 Yr Experience
Work Area	Freshers are also eligible sometime to apply for the job with qualified UGC NET. Teaching and research experience is required as needed by the institute	Minimum of 8 years of experience is required in teaching in a university or college. A good API (Academic Performance Indicator) score is required as set in the UGC regulation.
Tenure	Starting on Tenure	Eligible for Tenure and in middle for Tenure
Promotion	After 8-9 yr experience as Assistant Professor, candidate can be promoted as Associate Professor and Professor	Promoted as Professor , Head of Department
Job Level	Entry level	Mid Level
Job Status	non-tenure or temporary	Permanent and Tenure
Salary	As per 7^th pay commission , Academic level 10 Entry Pay – Rs.57,700/- Scale of pay – Rs.15,600-39,100 , Rs. 57,700/- 1,82,400/-	As per 7^th pay commission, Academic level 13A Entry Pay – Rs. 1,31,400/- Scale of pay – Rs.37,400-67,000 ,Rs. 1,31,400 – Rs. 2,17,100/-

FAQs

What is the main difference between an assistant professor and an associate professor?

An assistant professor is a junior faculty member who is in the early stages of their academic career and has not yet achieved tenure. An associate professor is a mid-career faculty member who has achieved tenure and is considered to be more experienced than an assistant professor.

What are the requirements to become an assistant professor or an associate professor?

To become an assistant professor, a candidate typically needs to have a doctoral degree in their field of expertise, research experience, and a record of successful teaching. To become an associate professor, a candidate typically needs to have a Ph.D. degree in their field of expertise, a minimum of 5-7 years of experience as an assistant professor, and a record of successful research, teaching, and service to the academic community.

What is the tenure process for assistant professors and associate professors?

Assistant professors are hired on a probationary basis and must demonstrate their research and teaching abilities to gain tenure. If they successfully demonstrate their abilities, they may be granted tenure and promoted to the position of associate professor. Associate professors have already achieved tenure and have a permanent appointment at the university.