Education, Training, and Library · Holland code SIA

Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary

Teach courses pertaining to the culture and development of an area, an ethnic group, or any other group, such as Latin American studies, women's studies, or urban affairs. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

Also called: Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor, Women's Studies Professor, Adjunct Professor, American Studies Professor, Black Studies Professor, Ethnic Studies Professor.

O*NET 25-1062.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $85,020; Middle half earn $65,660 to $110,710. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Doctoral Degree; 61% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 5 of 5; Extensive preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as race and ethnic relations, gender studies, and cross-cultural perspectives.
Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
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.
Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.3 / 5
Speaking4.1 / 5
Active Listening4.0 / 5
Writing4.0 / 5
Active Learning4.0 / 5
Learning Strategies4.0 / 5

Knowledge areas

Education and Training4.6 / 5
English Language4.6 / 5
Sociology and Anthropology3.7 / 5
History and Archeology3.6 / 5
Foreign Language3.5 / 5
Communications and Media3.4 / 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.

Realistic34
Investigative72
Artistic47
Social99
Enterprising33
Conventional34

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)

anthropology lecturer · DE Hochschullehrkraft für Anthropologie · FR enseignant-chercheur en anthropologie/enseignante-chercheuse en anthropologie
archaeology lecturer · DE Hochschullehrkraft für Archäologie · FR enseignant-chercheur en archéologie/enseignante-chercheuse en archéologie
history lecturer · DE Hochschullehrkraft für Geschichte · FR enseignant-chercheur en histoire/enseignante-chercheuse en histoire
linguistics lecturer · DE Hochschullehrkraft für Sprachwissenschaften · FR enseignant-chercheur en linguistique/enseignante-chercheuse en linguistique
modern languages lecturer · DE Hochschullehrkraft für Moderne Sprachen · FR enseignant-chercheur en langues étrangères/enseignante-chercheuse en langues étrangères
philosophy lecturer · DE Hochschullehrkraft für Philosophie · FR enseignant-chercheur en philosophie/enseignante-chercheuse en philosophie

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Higher education teaching professionals (2311)258,500 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.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
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 +1.31. 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 (25-1062).

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.

Take the career interests test