Best programs to become a career/technical education teacher
BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for career/technical education teachers, secondary school. It also expects less than 5 years of related work experience. The fields of study that lead most directly to this job are Agricultural Teacher Education; Trade and Industrial Teacher Education; and Technology Teacher Education/Industrial Arts Teacher Education (IPEDS completions).
8 college programs at 183 schools train career/technical education teachers, secondary school, graduating 3,014 people a year (IPEDS completions). The job pays a median of $66,270 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About career/technical education teachers, secondary school
Teach occupational, vocational, career, or technical subjects to students at the secondary school level.
Best programs to study to become a career/technical education teacher
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 13.1301 | 1,051 | 34.9% | 68 | $43,033 | $26,044 |
| 2 | CIP 13.1320 | 695 | 23.1% | 31 | $43,033 | $26,044 |
| 3 | CIP 13.1309 | 389 | 12.9% | 33 | $43,033 | $26,044 |
| 4 | CIP 13.1319 | 356 | 11.8% | 27 | $43,033 | $26,044 |
| 5 | CIP 13.1308 | 261 | 8.7% | 38 | $43,033 | $26,044 |
| 6 | CIP 13.1303 | 165 | 5.5% | 38 | $43,033 | $26,044 |
| 7 | CIP 13.1327 | 89 | 3.0% | 10 | $43,033 | $26,044 |
| 8 | CIP 13.1310 | 8 | 0.3% | 2 | $43,033 | $26,044 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
What career/technical education teachers, secondary school earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | $61,130 | 330 | 0.23× | 7 | 479 |
| California | $80,620 | 3,260 | 0.25× | 10 | 271 |
| New York | $79,820 | 7,610 | 1.10× | 10 | 197 |
| Alabamamoderate | $59,470 | — | — | 3 | 148 |
| Wisconsin | $74,310 | 1,420 | 0.67× | 8 | 142 |
| Georgia | $78,760 | 1,680 | 0.48× | 5 | 121 |
| Floridamoderate | $62,140 | 6,820 | 0.96× | 4 | 107 |
| North Carolina | $58,600 | 2,650 | 0.75× | 5 | 94 |
| Ohio | $79,230 | 5,130 | 1.29× | 7 | 91 |
| Illinois | $77,950 | 2,780 | 0.64× | 5 | 90 |
| Missouri | $59,300 | 2,000 | 0.95× | 6 | 88 |
| Kansasmoderate | $58,300 | 1,050 | 1.02× | 4 | 81 |
| Michigan | $77,400 | 1,800 | 0.57× | 5 | 80 |
| Texasmoderate | $64,610 | 32,250 | 3.20× | 4 | 80 |
| Oklahomamoderate | $58,800 | 1,170 | 0.96× | 4 | 72 |
| Minnesota | $71,650 | 880 | 0.42× | 6 | 68 |
| Nebraska | $63,180 | 1,310 | 1.78× | 7 | 66 |
| Utah | $72,380 | 730 | 0.59× | 5 | 63 |
| Pennsylvania | $75,760 | 4,840 | 1.11× | 8 | 56 |
| Massachusettsmoderate | $98,020 | 3,130 | 1.20× | 3 | 52 |
| South Dakotalimited | $56,070 | 360 | 1.10× | 2 | 48 |
| Indianamoderate | $56,390 | 1,310 | 0.57× | 3 | 46 |
| North Dakotalimited | $61,500 | 640 | 2.08× | 2 | 44 |
| Iowa | $57,660 | 640 | 0.57× | 5 | 43 |
| Idahomoderate | $60,510 | 1,140 | 1.85× | 4 | 43 |
| New Mexicolimited | $66,750 | 100 | 0.17× | 2 | 38 |
| Arkansas | $61,780 | 1,000 | 1.08× | 5 | 35 |
| Mississippimoderate | $57,910 | 1,770 | 2.12× | 4 | 31 |
| Virginia | $75,580 | 3,500 | 1.19× | 5 | 30 |
| Arizonalimited | $62,980 | 660 | 0.29× | 2 | 29 |
| Montanalimited | $55,190 | 260 | 0.72× | 2 | 29 |
| Marylandmoderate | $78,320 | 690 | 0.35× | 3 | 20 |
| West Virginialimited | $57,760 | 1,000 | 1.99× | 2 | 17 |
| Coloradolimited | $72,750 | 1,250 | 0.61× | 2 | 15 |
| Wyominglimited | $62,570 | 210 | 1.02× | 2 | 15 |
| Oregonlimited | $78,380 | 750 | 0.53× | 1 | 14 |
| South Carolinalimited | $72,120 | 1,150 | 0.70× | 1 | 11 |
| Washingtonmoderate | $101,180 | 3,460 | 1.36× | 4 | 11 |
| Connecticutlimited | $100,810 | 1,910 | 1.57× | 1 | 10 |
| Rhode Islandlimited | $81,820 | 90 | 0.25× | 1 | 7 |
| Tennesseemoderate | $61,700 | 2,940 | 1.25× | 3 | 5 |
| Delawarelimited | $79,230 | 560 | 1.61× | 1 | 3 |
| Louisianalimited | $61,300 | 1,530 | 1.10× | 1 | 3 |
| New Jerseylimited | $83,770 | 2,320 | 0.76× | 1 | 3 |
| Mainelimited | $78,050 | 170 | 0.37× | 1 | 2 |
| Nevadalimited | $64,510 | 150 | 0.13× | 1 | 1 |
| Vermontlimited | $79,220 | 220 | 1.01× | 1 | 1 |
Skills and knowledge
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Instruct students individually and in groups, using various teaching methods, such as lectures, discussions, and demonstrations.
- Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students.
- Prepare materials and classroom for class activities.
- Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
- Instruct students in the knowledge and skills required in a specific occupation or occupational field, using a systematic plan of lectures, discussions, audio-visual presentations, and laboratory, shop, and field studies.
- Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment and materials to prevent injury and damage.
- Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects, and communicate those objectives to students.
- Use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations.
Skills
- Speaking4.1
- Active Listening4.1
- Reading Comprehension4.1
- Learning Strategies4.1
- Writing4.0
- Critical Thinking4.0
- Monitoring4.0
- Active Learning3.9
Knowledge areas
- Education and Training4.5
- English Language4.0
- Computers and Electronics3.8
- Customer and Personal Service3.5
- Public Safety and Security3.3
- Administration and Management3.3
Abilities
- Oral Expression4.3
- Speech Clarity4.1
- Written Comprehension4.1
- Oral Comprehension4.1
- Inductive Reasoning4.0
- Problem Sensitivity4.0
Core activities
- Training and Teaching Others4.7
- Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work4.5
- Thinking Creatively4.5
- Coaching and Developing Others4.5
- Getting Information4.4
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.4
How to get in
How to become a career/technical education teacher
- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- Work experience needed
- Less than 5 years
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 8 majors mapped to Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School8 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 13.1301Agricultural Teacher Education
- 13.1303Business and Innovation/Entrepreneurship Teacher Education
- 13.1308Family and Consumer Sciences/Home Economics Teacher Education
- 13.1309Technology Teacher Education/Industrial Arts Teacher Education
- 13.1310Sales and Marketing Operations/Marketing and Distribution Teacher Education
- 13.1319Technical Teacher Education
- 13.1320Trade and Industrial Teacher Education
- 13.1327Health Occupations Teacher Education
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a career/technical education teacher?+
BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for career/technical education teachers, secondary school. It also expects less than 5 years of related work experience. The fields of study that lead most directly to this job are Agricultural Teacher Education; Trade and Industrial Teacher Education; and Technology Teacher Education/Industrial Arts Teacher Education (IPEDS completions).
Which college majors lead to becoming a career/technical education teacher?+
The fields of study that lead most directly to this job are Agricultural Teacher Education; Trade and Industrial Teacher Education; and Technology Teacher Education/Industrial Arts Teacher Education (IPEDS completions). In all, the NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 8 programs to this job, which together graduate about 3,014 people a year.
How much do career/technical education teachers, secondary school earn?+
The median is $66,270 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $50,040 at the 10th percentile to $101,340 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for career/technical education teachers, secondary school growing?+
BLS projects a -1.8% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 6,200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
183 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 8 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do career/technical education teachers, secondary school work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Teacher, Instructor, Technology Education Teacher, Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher (FACS Teacher) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 25-2032.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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