Education, Training, and Library · Holland code SCA

Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School

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

Also called: Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher (FACS Teacher), Instructor, Teacher, Technology Education Teacher, Agricultural Education Teacher, Auto Technology Instructor (Automotive Technology Instructor), Career and Technical Education Teacher (CTE Teacher), Cosmetology Teacher.

O*NET 25-2032.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $66,270; Middle half earn $60,590 to $80,060. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Bachelor's Degree; 40% 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.

What the work involves

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

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.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.1 / 5
Active Listening4.1 / 5
Speaking4.1 / 5
Learning Strategies4.1 / 5
Writing4.0 / 5
Critical Thinking4.0 / 5

Knowledge areas

Education and Training4.5 / 5
English Language4.0 / 5
Computers and Electronics3.8 / 5
Customer and Personal Service3.5 / 5
Public Safety and Security3.3 / 5
Administration and Management3.3 / 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.

Realistic31
Investigative40
Artistic41
Social100
Enterprising25
Conventional49

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)

vocational teacher · DE Lehrkraft im Bereich Berufsbildung · FR professeur d’enseignement professionnel/professeure d’enseignement professionnel
agriculture, forestry and fishery vocational teacher · DE Lehrkraft im Bereich Landwirtschaft, Forstwirtschaft und Fischerei · FR professeur d’enseignement agricole/professeure d’enseignement agricole
food service vocational teacher · DE Lehrkraft im Bereich Gastronomie · FR professeur de restauration/professeure de restauration
hospitality vocational teacher · DE Lehrkraft im Bereich Hotel- und Gastgewerbe · FR professeur en hôtellerie/professeure en hôtellerie
industrial arts vocational teacher · DE Lehrkraft für industriell gefertigte Kunst · FR professeur d’arts industriels/professeure d’arts industriels
transport technology vocational teacher · DE Ausbilder im Bereich Transporttechnologie/Ausbilderin im Bereich Transporttechnologie · FR formateur technologies des transports/formatrice technologies des transports

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Secondary education teaching professionals (2313)504,100 employed
Further education teaching professionals (2312)59,800 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.

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 middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +0.37. 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 (25-2032).

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