Business Teachers, Postsecondary

Teach courses in business administration and management, such as accounting, finance, human resources, labor and industrial relations, marketing, and operations research. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

Most important skills

  1. Speaking
  2. Instructing
  3. Reading Comprehension
  4. Active Listening
  5. Writing
  6. Learning Strategies
  7. Critical Thinking
  8. Active Learning

Key knowledge

  1. English Language
  2. Education and Training
  3. Administration and Management
  4. Economics and Accounting
  5. Mathematics
  6. Law and Government
  7. Computers and Electronics
  8. Customer and Personal Service

What the work involves

  • Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as financial accounting, principles of marketing, and operations management.
  • Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
  • Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
  • Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
  • Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
  • Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
  • Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, and course materials and methods of instruction.
  • Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students.

Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Social, Investigative, Enterprising.

Qualifications and licensing

Most common education
Doctoral Degree (72.8% of respondents)
Related experience
None (32.5%)
On-the-job training
None or short demonstration (46.7%)
Preparation level
O*NET job zone 5: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
Licensing
Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
  • Licensing for Business Teachers, Postsecondary is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
  • Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
  • Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0

Work environment

How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).

Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.

Rankings compare typical U.S. occupation-level work conditions; individual jobs and employers vary. Data: O*NET 31.0 Work Context and BLS wages (May 2025).
ConditionLevelCompared with other occupationsMost common answer (O*NET survey)
Contact with othersLowLower on contact with others than 69% of occupations compared52% of surveyed respondents chose “Contact with others most of the time”
Dealing with the publicLowLower on dealing with the public than 74% of occupations compared30% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly important”
TeamworkVery lowLower on teamwork than 89% of occupations compared37% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important”
Freedom to make decisionsVery highHigher on freedom to make decisions than 93% of occupations compared85% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom”
Time pressureLowLower on time pressure than 65% of occupations compared49% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week”
Conflict situationsLowLower on conflict situations than 63% of occupations compared50% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month”
Dealing with unpleasant or angry peopleModerateLower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 55% of occupations compared48% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week”
Consequence of errorVery lowLower on consequence of error than 96% of occupations compared44% of surveyed respondents chose “Not serious at all”

Work-pressure profile

  • Time pressure: low
  • Conflict situations: low
  • Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
  • Consequence of error: very low

Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.

Full answer distributions

Contact with others

  • No contact with others: 0%
  • Occasional contact with others: 0.26%
  • Contact with others about half the time: 18.01%
  • Contact with others most of the time: 51.73%
  • Constant contact with others: 29.99%

n = 36, Incumbent 08/2019

Dealing with the public

  • Not important at all: 22.42%
  • Fairly important: 29.76%
  • Important: 9.63%
  • Very important: 23.58%
  • Extremely important: 14.6%

n = 36, Incumbent 08/2019

Teamwork

  • Not important at all: 9.83%
  • Fairly important: 23.15%
  • Important: 1.17%
  • Very important: 36.58%
  • Extremely important: 29.26%

n = 36, Incumbent 08/2019

Freedom to make decisions

  • No freedom: 0%
  • Very little freedom: 0%
  • Limited freedom: 10.89%
  • Some freedom: 4.02%
  • A lot of freedom: 85.09%

n = 36, Incumbent 08/2019

Time pressure

  • Never: 0.26%
  • Once a year or more but not every month: 3.25%
  • Once a month or more but not every week: 48.95%
  • Once a week or more but not every day: 22.88%
  • Every day: 24.66%

n = 36, Incumbent 08/2019

Conflict situations

  • Never: 13.26%
  • Once a year or more but not every month: 49.69%
  • Once a month or more but not every week: 6.73%
  • Once a week or more but not every day: 21.4%
  • Every day: 8.92%

n = 35, Incumbent 08/2019

Dealing with unpleasant or angry people

  • Never: 13.26%
  • Once a year or more but not every month: 27.29%
  • Once a month or more but not every week: 47.93%
  • Once a week or more but not every day: 2.35%
  • Every day: 9.17%

n = 35, Incumbent 08/2019

Consequence of error

  • Not serious at all: 44.39%
  • Fairly serious: 29.15%
  • Serious: 26.04%
  • Very serious: 0.42%
  • Extremely serious: 0%

n = 36, Incumbent 08/2019

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O*NET-SOC 25-1011.00 · SOC 25-1011 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8