Career profile · SOC ESC-03ABB5F5

higher education lecturer

Higher education lecturers instruct students who have obtained an upper secondary education diploma in their own specialised field of study, which is predominantly academic in nature. They may have job titles such as senior lecturer or professor. They work with their teaching and research assistants for the preparation of lectures and exams, for grading papers and exams, for leading laboratory practices, and for leading review and feedback sessions for the students. They also conduct academic research in their respective field, publish their findings and liaise with their academic colleagues.

higher education lecturer higher education lecturers instruct students who have obtained an upper secondary education diploma in their own specialised field of study, which is predominantly academic in nature. They may have job titles such as senior lecturer or professor. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include assessment processes, research design, university procedures, curriculum objectives, guarantee students' safety.

AI exposure
5.0/10
automation risk

Pay in the UK

UK: median £52,835 a year for Higher education teaching professionals (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)

Middle half of full-time jobs: £42,062 to £66,191 a year

UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 2311). ONS rates this estimate precise. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)

Pay in India (occupation group)

Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Professionals” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only higher education lecturer, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.

Urban India
₹42,717 a month
Rural India
₹30,424 a month
All India
₹38,466 a month

Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 2. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report

Top skills

assessment processes research design university procedures curriculum objectives guarantee students' safety interact professionally in research and professional environments prepare lesson content liaise with educational support staff teach in academic or vocational contexts apply teaching strategies

Frequently asked questions

What does higher education lecturer do?

Higher education lecturers instruct students who have obtained an upper secondary education diploma in their own specialised field of study, which is predominantly academic in nature. They may have job titles such as senior lecturer or professor. They work with their teaching and research assistants for the preparation of lectures and exams, for grading papers and exams, for leading laboratory practices, and for leading review and feedback sessions for the students.

What skills does higher education lecturer need?

The most in-demand skills for this role include assessment processes, research design, university procedures, curriculum objectives, guarantee students' safety, interact professionally in research and professional environments. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.

Will AI replace higher education lecturer?

Our AI-durability model gives higher education lecturer a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.

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