CCollegeMatcher

Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School

US occupation · SOC 25-2032

Job titles people report: Agricultural Education Teacher, Auto Technology Instructor (Automotive Technology Instructor), Career and Technical Education Teacher (CTE Teacher), Cosmetology Teacher, Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher (FACS Teacher), Instructor, Teacher, Technology Education Teacher, Vocational Teacher, Welding Instructor

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025
$66,270
Half earn more, half earn less
Middle half earn
$60,590 – $80,060
25th to 75th percentile
People employed, May 2025
111,420
Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
Projected change, 2025–35
-0.4%
Shrinking (below 0%)
Openings a year (projected)
6,400
New jobs plus replacing people who leave
Typical education to enter
Bachelor's degree
BLS
  • All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
  • Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
  • Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Teach occupational, vocational, career, or technical subjects to students at the secondary school level.

Main tasks

  • Instruct students individually and in groups, using various teaching methods, such as lectures, discussions, and demonstrations.
  • Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students.
  • Prepare materials and classroom for class activities.
  • Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
  • Instruct students in the knowledge and skills required in a specific occupation or occupational field, using a systematic plan of lectures, discussions, audio-visual presentations, and laboratory, shop, and field studies.
  • Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment and materials to prevent injury and damage.
  • Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects, and communicate those objectives to students.
  • Use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)
Bachelor's degree
Work experience in a related job: less than 5 years
O*NET Job Zone 4
Considerable preparation
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Interests it suits

The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.

  • Social: helping, teaching and caring for people
  • Conventional: organising information, records and procedures
  • Artistic: creating, designing and self-expression

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 8 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Education

  • Agricultural Teacher Education
  • Business and Innovation/Entrepreneurship Teacher Education
  • Family and Consumer Sciences/Home Economics Teacher Education
  • Technology Teacher Education/Industrial Arts Teacher Education
  • Sales and Marketing Operations/Marketing and Distribution Teacher Education
  • Technical Teacher Education
  • Trade and Industrial Teacher Education
  • Health Occupations Teacher Education

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Education at the Major step.

Where many students take education

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

← All careers

Sources

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0

Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk