What Is a Teaching Associate and How to Become One

By ZipRecruiter Marketplace Research Team

A teaching associate helps teach students. This classification is different from a graduate or student teaching assistant because the duties often involve more student instruction. Other common job duties include distributing learning materials, answering questions from students, and grading assignments. A teaching associate must be prepared to provide academic support and help facilitate courses.

The qualifications to get a job as a teaching associate include having a master's degree and being currently enrolled in a doctoral program. This is a relatively unusual position that should not be confused with a teaching assistant role. Unlike teaching assistants, teaching associates almost always work at universities, and this job is particularly common among students who want to become professors in the future. This job is usually a temporary step in a long career from which you learn skills that are helpful for working in a classroom at any grade level. Specific schools may have additional requirements for this job.