Teaching Assistants, Special Education

These assistants support lead teachers by helping students with disabilities build academic, social, and life skills. On a typical day, they gather information, monitor classroom surroundings, and assist and care for others. They communicate closely with supervisors and peers to establish strong interpersonal relationships, resolve conflicts, and solve problems. Instructing, coaching, and training others are key parts of the job.

To succeed, assistants need strong skills in active listening, social perceptiveness, speaking, and learning strategies. They must understand principles of education, training, psychology, and the English language. This role is highly social and requires work styles such as cooperation, empathy, self-control, and stress tolerance. Assistants must remain dependable, optimistic, and sincere as they help students navigate their daily school routines.

Entering this career typically requires some college education. Most people prepare through vocational training, an associate degree, or related work experience. Useful college majors for this field include special education and teaching, teaching assistants/aides, general education, human development and family studies, and clinical or counseling psychology.

Depending on where you plan to work, some states list a license for this occupation. Job titles in this field vary and include classroom paraprofessional, paraeducator, educational assistant, and early childhood special education paraprofessional.

The median annual pay for this occupation is $36,780, though the lowest 10% earn less than $27,150 and the highest 10% earn more than $50,040. These wage figures represent the broader group of non-postsecondary teaching assistants. Employment is projected to experience little or no change from 2025 to 2035, with a slight decrease of -0.3%. Despite this flat growth, about 176,200 job openings are expected each year.