Education, Training, and Library · Holland code SAC
Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors
Teach or instruct out-of-school youths and adults in basic education, literacy, or English as a Second Language classes, or in classes for earning a high school equivalency credential.
Also called: Adult Basic Education Instructor (ABE Instructor), ESL Instructor (English as a Second Language Instructor), GED Instructor (General Educational Development Instructor), Teacher, Adult Basic Education Teacher (ABE Teacher), Adult Education Instructor, Adult Education Teacher, ESL Teacher (English as a Second Language Teacher).
O*NET 25-3011.00
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $61,540
- Middle half earn $49,100 to $77,690. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Most common education
- Bachelor's Degree
- 41% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 4 of 5
- Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
- US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034
- -14% · Decline
- 40,900 jobs in 2024, projected 35,300. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Adult basic and secondary education and ESL teachers".
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- Observe and evaluate students' work to determine progress and make suggestions for improvement.
- Observe students to determine qualifications, limitations, abilities, interests, and other individual characteristics.
- Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects and communicate those objectives to students.
- Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs, abilities, and interests.
- Prepare students for further education by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
- Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
- Instruct students individually and in groups, using various teaching methods, such as lectures, discussions, and demonstrations.
- Plan and conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Reading Comprehension3.8 / 5
- Active Listening3.8 / 5
- Speaking3.8 / 5
- Learning Strategies3.8 / 5
- Writing3.6 / 5
- Monitoring3.6 / 5
Knowledge areas
- English Language4.4 / 5
- Education and Training3.9 / 5
- Customer and Personal Service3.5 / 5
- Administrative3.2 / 5
- Administration and Management2.9 / 5
- Mathematics2.8 / 5
Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.
Who tends to enjoy it
How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.
- Realistic22
- Investigative36
- Artistic49
- Social100
- Enterprising31
- Conventional40
The same work abroad
Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.
European occupation titles (ESCO)
- adult literacy teacher · DE Lehrkraft für Erwachsenenalphabetisierung · FR formateur «lutte contre l’illettrisme/français langue étrangère»/formatrice «lutte contre l’illettrisme/français langue étrangère»
- language school teacher · DE Lehrkraft für Sprachschulen · FR formateur linguistique/formatrice linguistique
- further education teacher · DE Lehrkraft für Fort- und Weiterbildung · FR formateur de la formation continue/formatrice de la formation continue
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Teachers of English as a foreign language (2317)27,800 employed
- Special and additional needs education teaching professionals (2316)125,400 employed
- Teaching professionals n.e.c. (2319)128,900 employed
Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.
Pay across Europe, for the whole group
Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €61,714 |
| Germany | €59,529 |
| Ireland | €56,877 |
| Austria | €55,374 |
| Netherlands | €53,595 |
| Sweden | €43,567 |
| France | €41,515 |
| Spain | €35,735 |
| Italy | €33,649 |
| Portugal | €26,072 |
| Poland | €14,380 |
Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.
Exposure to AI
This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.35. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.
Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.
Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (25-3011).
Related careers
Is it a fit for you?
Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.
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