Education, Training, and Library · Holland code SIA

Communications Teachers, Postsecondary

Teach courses in communications, such as organizational communications, public relations, radio/television broadcasting, and journalism. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

Also called: Communication Instructor, Communication Professor, Journalism Professor, Speech Professor, Communication Arts Professor, Communication Lecturer, Communication Skills Instructor, Communication Studies Professor.

O*NET 25-1122.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $78,580; Middle half earn $61,250 to $102,450. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Master's Degree; 71% 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.

Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.
Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as public speaking, media criticism, and oral traditions.
Keep abreast of developments and technological advances in the communication field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

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

Knowledge areas

Communications and Media5.0 / 5
English Language4.8 / 5
Education and Training4.3 / 5
Customer and Personal Service3.4 / 5
Law and Government3.3 / 5
Computers and Electronics3.3 / 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.

Realistic20
Investigative60
Artistic47
Social99
Enterprising36
Conventional43

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)

communications lecturer · DE Hochschullehrkraft für Kommunikationswissenschaften · FR enseignant-chercheur en communication/enseignante-chercheuse en communication
journalism lecturer · DE Hochschullehrkraft für Journalistik · FR enseignant-chercheur en journalisme/enseignante-chercheuse en journalisme
communication scientist · DE Kommunikationswissenschaftler/Kommunikationswissenschaftlerin · FR chercheur en communication/chercheuse en communication
media scientist · DE Medienwissenschaftler/Medienwissenschaftlerin · FR sociologue des médias

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Higher education teaching professionals (2311)258,500 employed
Social and humanities scientists (2115)35,500 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 +1.35. 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 (25-1122).

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