You're a clinical assistant professor at a health sciences school — teaching students, supervising clinical training, and often continuing to practice clinically yourself. Half educator, half practicing clinician on the early-career rung of academic medicine or allied health.
Most days tend to involve a blend of teaching, clinical supervision, and clinical practice — leading lectures or small-group sessions, supervising students or residents in clinical settings, and seeing patients yourself. You'll often spend part of the time on scholarly work — curriculum development, research projects, or program evaluation — that feeds promotion and tenure considerations.
The harder part is often balancing the multiple demands of teaching, clinical care, and scholarship — early-career clinical faculty often feel pulled in too many directions at once. You'll typically work with students and residents at varying stages of readiness, while staying credible clinically with the colleagues who depend on you.
People who tend to thrive here are clinically grounded, patient teachers, and comfortable with the academic rhythm of teaching cycles and promotion timelines. The trade-off is the salary differential between academic and full-time clinical practice and the cumulative pressure of building a career on multiple tracks. If you find satisfaction in shaping the next generation of clinicians, the work can carry meaning that pure clinical practice doesn't.
Where this role sits in the broader career landscape — and where it can take you.
Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
You're a clinical assistant professor at a health sciences school — teaching students, supervising clinical training, and often continuing to practice clinically yourself. Half educator, half practicing clinician on the early-career rung of academic medicine or allied health.
Median pay for a Clinical Assistant Professor is about $106K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $52K to $208K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Instructing, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Learning Strategies, and Active Learning.
Most people in this role hold a master's degree.
Employment in this field is projected to grow about 17.3% through 2034, with roughly 229,720 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Health Teacher, First Aid Teacher, and Clinical Instructor.
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