SOC 25-2032.00

    Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School

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

    Median pay
    $66,270
    Growth
    -0.4%
    Little or no change
    Openings a year
    6,400
    Typical education
    Bachelor's degree

    Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition

    Source: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

    See the pathway

    Annual pay range

    Lowest 10% earn less than
    $50,040
    Median
    $66,270
    Highest 10% earn more than
    $101,340
    National wages for all workers in this occupation. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

    111,420 people work in this occupation.

    In short

    Secondary school career and technical education teachers instruct high school students in vocational and occupational subjects. The profession employs 111,420 people and offers a median annual pay of $66,270.

    Written with AI from the BLS, O*NET and CareerOneStop data on this page. Every figure is checked against that data before it is published.

    What career/technical education teachers, secondary school do

    Job Zone 4: Considerable preparation

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

    Most need a bachelor's degree and several years of related experience.

    What the work is like

    These educators teach vocational, occupational, and technical subjects to high school students. On a daily basis, their work involves training and teaching others, coaching and developing students, and planning, organizing, and prioritizing classroom activities. They must think creatively to design lessons, gather information, and solve problems as they arise. Strong communication is essential, both for instructing students and for communicating with supervisors, peers, or subordinates.

    To succeed, teachers utilize key skills such as instructing, active listening, speaking, and reading comprehension. They must apply learning strategies, monitor student progress, and use critical thinking to adjust their methods. Important knowledge areas include education and training, English language, computers and electronics, and customer and personal service.

    This occupation strongly aligns with the social interest area, as it centers on helping and teaching people. Teachers rely on work styles like dependability, cooperation, empathy, and self-control to manage classroom dynamics and maintain positive interpersonal relationships.

    How to get there

    Entering this field typically requires a bachelor's degree. Because teachers must instruct students in specific occupational skills, most candidates also need several years of related work experience. College majors that lead to this career include teacher education and professional development, as well as programs in specific subject areas like agriculture, business, or automotive technology.

    Depending on the subject taught, educators can pursue professional certifications. Examples include the Master Journalism Educator credential from the Journalism Education Association, or specific Praxis Subject Assessments from the Educational Testing Service, such as Agriculture (5701) or Business Education: Content Knowledge (5101). Additionally, some states list a license for this work, which candidates must obtain to teach in public secondary schools.

    Pay and outlook explained

    The median annual pay for these teachers is $66,270. The lowest 10% of earners in this field make less than $50,040, while the highest 10% earn more than $101,340.

    Between 2025 and 2035, employment is projected to experience little or no change, with a slight decrease of -0.4%. Despite this flat growth, school districts are expected to fill 6,400 job openings each year to replace departing workers.

    Interest profile

    Realistic (R)
    31 / 100
    Investigative (I)
    40 / 100
    Artistic (A)
    41 / 100
    Social (S) · strongest
    100 / 100
    Enterprising (E)
    25 / 100
    Conventional (C)
    49 / 100
    How strongly each interest area describes the work, from O*NET (scores rescaled to 0–100). The interest code lists the strongest areas in order.

    Interest code SCA. Compare it with yours

    What you'd do

    Training and Teaching Others
    94
    Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
    88
    Thinking Creatively
    88
    Coaching and Developing Others
    87
    Getting Information
    86
    Making Decisions and Solving Problems
    86
    Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
    85
    Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
    85
    Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
    84
    Developing Objectives and Strategies
    82
    Work activities rated by importance for this occupation, O*NET (0–100).

    Skills and strengths

    Skills

    • Instructing
    • Active Listening
    • Learning Strategies
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Speaking
    • Critical Thinking
    • Monitoring
    • Social Perceptiveness
    • Writing
    • Active Learning

    Knowledge

    • Education and Training
    • English Language
    • Computers and Electronics
    • Customer and Personal Service
    • Public Safety and Security
    • Administration and Management
    • Mathematics
    • Psychology
    • Communications and Media
    • Design

    Abilities

    • Oral Expression
    • Oral Comprehension
    • Speech Clarity
    • Written Comprehension
    • Inductive Reasoning
    • Problem Sensitivity
    • Speech Recognition
    • Written Expression
    • Deductive Reasoning
    • Near Vision

    Work styles

    • Dependability
    • Cooperation
    • Social Orientation
    • Optimism
    • Integrity
    • Empathy
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Self-Control
    • Achievement Orientation
    • Sincerity

    Also called

    Agricultural Education Instructor · Agricultural Education Teacher · Agriculture Education Instructor · Agriculture Teacher · Agriscience Instructor · Allied Health Teacher · Auto Body Repair Teacher (Automotive Body Repair Teacher) · Auto Mechanics Instructor (Automotive Mechanics Instructor) · Auto Mechanics Teacher (Automotive Mechanics Teacher) · Auto Teacher (Automotive Teacher)

    Career pathway

    From your interests to career/technical education teachers, secondary school

    Interests that fit the work, the career, majors that lead there and colleges whose graduates in those majors earn the most. Hover or focus a step to follow one path.

    1. Interests

    2. This career

      • Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School$66,270 median pay

    3. Majors

    4. Colleges

    College Scorecard program outcomes

    Colleges with strong outcomes

    Programs that lead to this career, ranked by what their graduates earn four years after finishing. Earnings are for graduates who received federal aid.

    1. 1California State University-Sacramento logo
      California State University-Sacramento

      Sacramento, CA · Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $69,280
      4 yrs after
      $82,062
      Median debt
      $23,000
    2. 2
      CUNY Brooklyn College

      Brooklyn, NY · Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $54,793
      4 yrs after
      $80,207
      Median debt
      $12,875
    3. 3St. John's University-New York logo
      St. John's University-New York

      Queens, NY · Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      Not reported
      4 yrs after
      $78,215
      Median debt
      $25,500
    4. 4CUNY Queens College logo
      CUNY Queens College

      Queens, NY · Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $58,736
      4 yrs after
      $76,925
      Median debt
      $12,500
    5. 5
      College of Staten Island CUNY

      Staten Island, NY · Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $65,767
      4 yrs after
      $75,272
      Median debt
      Not reported
    6. 6
      University of Louisville

      Louisville, KY · Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $57,958
      4 yrs after
      $74,873
      Median debt
      $19,250
    7. 7Hofstra University logo
      Hofstra University

      Hempstead, NY · Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $61,408
      4 yrs after
      $74,525
      Median debt
      $23,250
    8. 8
      CUNY Hunter College

      New York, NY · Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $67,434
      4 yrs after
      $72,919
      Median debt
      Not reported

    Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data, 2025. Programs with few graduates are not listed.

    NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk

    Majors that lead here

    Related programs by four-digit CIP code. They are common routes in, not the only ones.

    CareerOneStop

    Certifications, licenses and pay by state

    What career/technical education teachers, secondary school may need beyond a degree, where a license is required, and what the work pays in each state.

    Certifications

    Core certifications employers recognise for this work.

    Search all certifications on CareerOneStop

    Training

    Programs of study that prepare people for this work.

    • Agricultural Teacher Education
    • Business and Innovation/Entrepreneurship Teacher Education
    • Family and Consumer Sciences/Home Economics Teacher Education
    • Health Occupations Teacher Education
    • Sales and Marketing Operations/Marketing and Distribution Teacher Education
    • Technical Teacher Education
    • Technology Teacher Education/Industrial Arts Teacher Education
    • Trade and Industrial Teacher Education

    Find training near you on CareerOneStop

    Licenses by state

    51 states list a license for this work. Open your state for the license and the agency that issues it.

    Check license requirements on CareerOneStop

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 9, 2026.

    Your plan

    Build my pathway plan

    Courses, majors, colleges, scholarships and a timeline for this career, built from your profile.

    Related careers

    Careers with similar work, interests or skills.

    All careers

    Questions about career/technical education teachers, secondary school

    Written with AI from the BLS, O*NET and CareerOneStop data on this page. Every figure is checked against that data before it is published.

    What are some alternative job titles for this career?

    People in this profession are known by many names depending on their specialty. Common titles include agriculture teacher, agriscience instructor, allied health teacher, and auto mechanics teacher.

    What are the primary interest areas and work styles for this job?

    The strongest interest area for this career is social, which focuses on assisting and teaching others. Key work styles include dependability, cooperation, optimism, empathy, and stress tolerance.

    What related careers exist in the education field?

    Related career paths include postsecondary career and technical education teachers, middle school career and technical education teachers, instructional coordinators, and secondary school special education teachers.

    Sources and attribution

    Every figure on this page comes from these public datasets. Missing values are shown as not reported, never estimated.

    O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 9, 2026.

    Page data updated November 5, 2026.