Education, Training, and Library · Holland code SIA

English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary

Teach courses in English language and literature, including linguistics and comparative literature. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

Also called: English Instructor, English Professor, Instructor, Professor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Creative Writing Professor, Humanities Professor.

O*NET 25-1123.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $78,760; Middle half earn $60,900 to $103,130. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Doctoral Degree; 58% 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.

Teach writing or communication classes.
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.
Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as poetry, novel structure, and translation and adaptation.
Assist students who need extra help with their coursework outside of class.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.8 / 5
Writing4.3 / 5
Speaking4.1 / 5
Active Listening4.0 / 5
Learning Strategies4.0 / 5
Active Learning3.9 / 5

Knowledge areas

English Language4.7 / 5
Education and Training4.5 / 5
Communications and Media4.1 / 5
History and Archeology3.8 / 5
Philosophy and Theology3.7 / 5
Sociology and Anthropology3.7 / 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.

Realistic21
Investigative63
Artistic53
Social100
Enterprising24
Conventional42

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)

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
university literature lecturer · DE Hochschullehrkraft für Literaturwissenschaft · FR enseignant-chercheur en littérature/enseignante-chercheuse en littérature
language school teacher · DE Lehrkraft für Sprachschulen · FR formateur linguistique/formatrice linguistique
literary scholar · DE Literaturwissenschaftler/Literaturwissenschaftlerin · FR chercheur en littérature/chercheuse en littérature

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Secondary education teaching professionals (2313)504,100 employed
Teachers of English as a foreign language (2317)27,800 employed
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 +1.42. 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 (25-1123).

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