Career profile for Technical Education Professor

What does a Technical Education Professor do?

Technical Education Professors teach vocational courses intended to provide occupational training below the baccalaureate level in subjects such as construction, mechanics/repair, manufacturing, transportation, or cosmetology, primarily to students who have graduated from or left high school.

In addition, Technical Education Professors teaching takes place in public or private schools whose primary business is academic or vocational education.

What kind of tasks does a Technical Education Professor perform regularly?

Technical Education Professors are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Observe and evaluate students' work to determine progress and make suggestions for improvement.
Present lectures and conduct discussions to increase students' knowledge and competence using visual aids, such as graphs, charts, videotapes, and slides.
Supervise and monitor students' use of tools and equipment.
Provide individualized instruction and tutorial or remedial instruction.
Administer oral, written, or performance tests to measure progress and to evaluate training effectiveness.
Prepare reports and maintain records, such as student grades, attendance rolls, and training activity details.
Develop curricula and plan course content and methods of instruction.
Determine training needs of students or workers.
Supervise independent or group projects, field placements, laboratory work, or other training.
Select and assemble books, materials, supplies, and equipment for training, courses, or projects.
Integrate academic and vocational curricula so that students can obtain a variety of skills.
Conduct on-the-job training classes or training sessions to teach and demonstrate principles, techniques, procedures, or methods of designated subjects.
Acquire, maintain, and repair laboratory equipment and tools.
Prepare outlines of instructional programs and training schedules and establish course goals.
Participate in conferences, seminars, and training sessions to keep abreast of developments in the field, and integrate relevant information into training programs.
Advise students on course selection, career decisions, and other academic and vocational concerns.
Develop teaching aids, such as instructional software, multimedia visual aids, or study materials.
Serve on faculty and school committees concerned with budgeting, curriculum revision, and course and diploma requirements.
Arrange for lectures by experts in designated fields.

The above responsibilities are specific to Technical Education Professors. More generally, Technical Education Professors are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Training and Teaching Others		Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
Getting Information		Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge		Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
Coaching and Developing Others		Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work		Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

Training and Teaching Others

Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.

Getting Information

Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge

Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

Coaching and Developing Others

Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.

Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work

Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

What is a Technical Education Professor salary?

The median salary for a Technical Education Professor is $55,620, and the average salary is $61,710. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Technical Education Professor salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Technical Education Professors earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Technical Education Professors earn less than $33,420 per year, 25% earn less than $42,680, 75% earn less than $73,500, and 90% earn less than $101,310.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Technical Education Professors is expected to change by 3.4%, and there should be roughly 11,000 open positions for Technical Education Professors every year.

Median annual salary: $55,620
Typical salary range: $33,420 - $101,310
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): 3.4%

What personality traits are common among Technical Education Professors?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Technical Education Professor are usually higher in their Social and Realistic interests.

Technical Education Professors typically have very strong Social interests. Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Also, Technical Education Professors typically have strong Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Technical Education Professor tend to value Achievement, Relationships, and Independence.

Most importantly, Technical Education Professors strongly value Achievement. Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

Second, Technical Education Professors strongly value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Lastly, Technical Education Professors strongly value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Technical Education Professors must consistently demonstrate qualities such as integrity, attention to detail, and dependability.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Technical Education Professors, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Integrity		Job requires being honest and ethical.
Attention to Detail		Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Self-Control		Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Leadership		Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.

Integrity

Job requires being honest and ethical.

Attention to Detail

Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Self-Control

Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

Leadership

Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.

What education and training do Technical Education Professors need?

Technical Education Professors often have training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Technical Education Professors usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with this occupation.

Educational degrees among Technical Education Professors

0.6% did not complete high school or secondary school
1.4% completed high school or secondary school
2.0% completed some college coursework
1.8% earned a Associate's degree
14.6% earned a Bachelor's degree
32.1% earned a Master's degree
47.4% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Technical Education Professors

Technical Education Professors may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as education and training, mechanical, or customer and personal service knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Technical Education Professors might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
Education and Training		Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Mechanical		Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Customer and Personal Service		Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Mathematics		Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Administrative		Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

Education and Training

Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Mechanical

Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

Customer and Personal Service

Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Mathematics

Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Administrative

Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

Important Abilities needed by Technical Education Professors

Technical Education Professors must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Technical Education Professors need abilities such as oral comprehension, oral expression, and written comprehension in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Technical Education Professors, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Oral Comprehension		The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Written Comprehension		The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Problem Sensitivity		The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Written Comprehension

The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Written Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Problem Sensitivity

The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

Critical Skills needed by Technical Education Professors

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Technical Education Professors frequently use skills like active listening, learning strategies, and instructing to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Technical Education Professors, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Active Listening		Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Learning Strategies		Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Instructing		Teaching others how to do something.
Reading Comprehension		Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Speaking		Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Learning Strategies

Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

Instructing

Teaching others how to do something.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

Career profile Technical Education Professor

Technical Education Professor

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