Career profile for Technical Education Teacher

What does a Technical Education Teacher do?

Technical Education Teachers teach occupational, vocational, career, or technical subjects to students at the middle, intermediate, or junior high school level.

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

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

Instruct students individually and in groups, using various teaching methods, such as lectures, discussions, and demonstrations.
Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs, abilities, and interests.
Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students.
Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects, and communicate these objectives to students.
Prepare students for later educational experiences by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by administrative policy.
Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment or materials to prevent injuries and damage.
Assign and grade class work and homework.
Enforce all administration policies and rules governing students.
Prepare, administer, and grade tests and assignments to evaluate students' progress.
Prepare objectives and outlines for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or requirements of states and schools.
Confer with parents or guardians, other teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students' behavioral and academic problems.
Use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations.
Plan and conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.
Guide and counsel students with adjustments or academic problems, or special academic interests.
Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
Select, store, order, issue, inventory, and maintain classroom equipment, materials, and supplies.
Meet with parents and guardians to discuss their children's progress and to determine their priorities for their children.
Provide disabled students with assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities such as restrooms.
Prepare for assigned classes and show written evidence of preparation upon request of immediate supervisors.
Prepare and implement remedial programs for students requiring extra help.
Meet with other professionals to discuss individual students' needs and progress.
Prepare reports on students and activities as required by administration.
Confer with other staff members to plan and schedule lessons that promote learning, following approved curricula.
Collaborate with other teachers and administrators in the development, evaluation, and revision of secondary school programs.
Plan and supervise class projects, field trips, visits by guest speakers, contests, or other experiential activities, and guide students in learning from those activities.
Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, and teacher training workshops to maintain and improve professional competence.
Attend staff meetings and serve on committees, as required.
Sponsor extracurricular activities, such as clubs, student organizations, and academic contests.
Perform administrative duties, such as assisting in school libraries, hall and cafeteria monitoring, and bus loading and unloading.

The above responsibilities are specific to Technical Education Teachers. More generally, Technical Education Teachers 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.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates		Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Thinking Creatively		Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.

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.

Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates

Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

Thinking Creatively

Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.

What is a Technical Education Teacher salary?

The median salary for a Technical Education Teacher is $62,270, and the average salary is $66,950. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Technical Education Teacher salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Technical Education Teachers earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Technical Education Teachers earn less than $41,600 per year, 25% earn less than $52,200, 75% earn less than $79,670, and 90% earn less than $100,780.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Technical Education Teachers is expected to change by 7.8%, and there should be roughly 900 open positions for Technical Education Teachers every year.

Median annual salary: $62,270
Typical salary range: $41,600 - $100,780
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): 7.8%

What personality traits are common among Technical Education Teachers?

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 Teacher are usually higher in their Social, Artistic, and Investigative interests.

Technical Education Teachers 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 Teachers typically have strong Artistic interests. Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

Lastly, Technical Education Teachers typically have moderate Investigative interests. Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Technical Education Teachers typically have moderate Conventional interests. Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

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 Teacher tend to value Relationships, Achievement, and Independence.

Most importantly, Technical Education Teachers very 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.

Second, Technical Education Teachers 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.

Lastly, Technical Education Teachers 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 Teachers must consistently demonstrate qualities such as integrity, concern for others, and self-control.

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

Demands	Importance	Details
Integrity		Job requires being honest and ethical.
Concern for Others		Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Self-Control		Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Cooperation		Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

Integrity

Job requires being honest and ethical.

Concern for Others

Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.

Self-Control

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

Dependability

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

Cooperation

Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

What education and training do Technical Education Teachers need?

Many Technical Education Teachers will have a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Technical Education Teachers usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Educational degrees among Technical Education Teachers

3.1% completed some college coursework
2.3% earned a Associate's degree
43.6% earned a Bachelor's degree
46.8% earned a Master's degree
4.2% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Technical Education Teachers

Technical Education Teachers may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as education and training, psychology, or computers and electronics knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Technical Education Teachers 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.
Psychology		Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Computers and Electronics		Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
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.
Administration and Management		Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

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.

Psychology

Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

Computers and Electronics

Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

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.

Administration and Management

Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Important Abilities needed by Technical Education Teachers

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

Abilities	Importance	Details
Oral Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Oral Comprehension		The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Written Comprehension		The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Speech Clarity		The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Written Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Oral Expression

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

Oral Comprehension

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

Written Comprehension

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

Speech Clarity

The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

Written Expression

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

Critical Skills needed by Technical Education Teachers

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 Teachers frequently use skills like speaking, reading comprehension, and active listening to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Technical Education Teachers, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Speaking		Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Reading Comprehension		Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
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.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

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.

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 Teacher

Technical Education Teacher

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