How To Become A Clinical Professor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a clinical professor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Justin Whitehill Ph.D.

A clinical professor is the title given to a professional appointed by a university or academic body to provide postsecondary instruction to students. Taking this role demands considerable experiece in the area of their expertise, may it be medical, dental, business, law, or nursing.

One of the most rewarding things about being a clinical professor is a chance to impart practical matters, as they walk on their own career path and guide students as they strive to pave their own. Clinical professors typically work at large research universities in either full- or part-time setup. Some even take it as a volunteer position in relation to their regular work.

The qualifications that a clinical professor needs to attain with respect to educational attainment differ depending on the area of specialization. For instance, if they want to be a clinical professor in a medical school, they must be a medical doctor.

What general advice would you give to a Clinical Professor?

Justin Whitehill Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, North Carolina State University

Perseverance pays off. Its worth it to pursue the career you want and not settle and be unhappy.

ScoreClinical ProfessorUS Average

Salary

9.1

Avg. Salary $158,577

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.8

Growth Rate 12%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.28%

Asian 11.69%

Black or African American 7.31%

Hispanic or Latino 10.39%

Unknown 4.96%

White 65.37%

Gender

female 53.08%

male 46.92%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress Level

6.8

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

6.9

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

4.0

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

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Key steps to become a clinical professor

Explore clinical professor education requirements

Most common clinical professor degrees

Bachelor's

34.3 %

Doctorate

27.7 %

Master's

21.4 %

Start to develop specific clinical professor skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	23.12%
Internal Medicine	6.93%
Clinical Practice	5.97%
Direct Patient Care	5.65%
Pediatrics	4.76%

Complete relevant clinical professor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New clinical professors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a clinical professor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real clinical professor resumes.

Gain additional clinical professor certifications

Clinical professor certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific clinical professor certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for clinical professors include Pediatrics and Surgery.

More About Certifications

Research clinical professor duties and responsibilities

Design, manage and execute research plan to investigate role of StarD4 and StarD5 proteins in lipid metabolism as the P.I.
Conduct weekly didactic series on substance abuse theory, research, assessment, and treatment with 3rd year psychiatry residents.
Experiment with different surface chemistry to improve quality of yields -participate in poster session and presentation to faculty and graduate students.
Participate in recruitment and selection of prospective faculty (physician and psychologist) and psychiatry residents.

Prepare your clinical professor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your clinical professor resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a clinical professor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Clinical Professor Resume templates

Build a professional Clinical Professor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Clinical Professor resume.

Apply for clinical professor jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a clinical professor job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams