Education & Library
Education Teachers, Postsecondary
Also called: Adjunct Instructor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Education Instructor
US median pay
$75,350
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
+2.5%
about average or slower
Openings a year (US)
5,300
77,200 employed
Typical entry education
Doctoral or professional degree
Preparation 5/5 · Extensive preparation
What this job is
Teach courses pertaining to education, such as counseling, curriculum, guidance, instruction, teacher education, and teaching English as a second language. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
What they do day to day
- Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
- Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.
- Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
- Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
- Supervise students' fieldwork, internship, and research work.
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
- Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as children's literature, learning and development, and reading instruction.
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
- Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues.
- Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Instructing4.1/5
- Complex Problem Solving3.8/5
- Time Management3.5/5
- Social Perceptiveness3.2/5
- Systems Evaluation3.1/5
- Systems Analysis3.1/5
- Judgment and Decision Making3.1/5
- Service Orientation3.0/5
Knowledge
- English Language4.6/5
- Education and Training4.6/5
- Psychology4.2/5
- Sociology and Anthropology3.7/5
- Communications and Media3.7/5
- Administration and Management3.7/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 5 of 5 — Extensive preparation. Usually a graduate degree (master's, PhD, MD, JD) and extensive experience.
Typical entry education (BLS): Doctoral or professional degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Highest education of people in this job:
- Doctoral degree90%
Who this job suits
Mostly Social
Helping, teaching and caring for people
Investigative
Ideas, research and solving problems
Conventional
Organising data, details and procedures
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.