Teach college courses, advise students, assess learning, and often conduct research or professional work in a subject area.
Community colleges, four-year colleges, universities, and online programs.
Schedules mix classes, preparation, office hours, grading, and research; part-time work is common.
May 2025 BLS wage & employment data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.
Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.
“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.
BLS estimates 0.3% of workers in this occupation are self-employed.
Statewide medians are a better starting point than the national number. Your city and experience still matter.
Doctoral / professional degree
Training path: Master's or doctorate, depending on subject and institution.
No license required to start in most places.
Licensing rules and available programs change by state. These federal tools take you to the current official listings.
We use one useful umbrella here instead of padding the explorer with a separate federal code for every subject taught.
Run the Reality Check — build the life you want and see the salary it takes, then compare it to this one.
Browse verified internships, fellowships, and programs — many paid — that lead into fields like this.
Free resume templates, interview practice, and getting-hired guides in the Careers kit.
Standard Occupational Classification 25-1000. Pay and employment from the BLS May 2025 OEWS survey; outlook and openings from the 2024–34 employment projections; job context from the Occupational Outlook Handbook. See something off? Tell us.