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Boston Career Explorer

Educational Instruction and Library

Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary

Demonstrate and teach patient care in classroom and clinical units to nursing students. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

Also called: Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Clinical Nursing Instructor, Faculty Member, Instructor, Lecturer

Compare with my current job (Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary)
Median pay in Greater Boston
$83,550
Jobs in Greater Boston
1,560
Massachusetts 2024–2034
+20.7%
280 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
Doctoral or professional degree
Less than 5 years of related work experience

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$60,150$74,380$83,550$106,420$138,240

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Evaluate and grade students' class work, laboratory and clinic work, assignments, and papers.
  • Supervise students' laboratory and clinical work.
  • Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
  • Assess clinical education needs and patient and client teaching needs using a variety of methods.
  • Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
  • Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as pharmacology, mental health nursing, and community health care practices.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Moderate exposure62 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 59
  • Language-model AIOE 67
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 61

Observed AI use today: Substantial (Anthropic Economic Index)

AI exposure is moderate, and observed AI use is already substantial. Tools can help with grading, exams, and assessing teaching needs. Supervising students in labs and clinics, and leading discussions, rely on the instructor. Demand for nursing degrees is expected to grow.

Likely to change

  • Grading papers and compiling exams
  • Assessing education and teaching needs

Still relies on people

  • Supervising students' lab and clinical work
  • Demonstrating patient care in person

What federal projections say

“Demand change - share increases as demand for nursing degrees is expected to increase.”
BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, factors affecting this job (U.S.)

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

Next steps from here

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Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

36 programs near Boston (plus 47 graduate)

Related occupations

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