Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School
Teach occupational, vocational, career, or technical subjects to students at the secondary school level.
Most important skills
- Instructing
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Learning Strategies
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
Key knowledge
- Education and Training
- English Language
- Computers and Electronics
- Customer and Personal Service
- Public Safety and Security
- Administration and Management
- Mathematics
- Psychology
What the work involves
- Prepare materials and classroom for class activities.
- Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by law, district policy, and administrative regulations.
- 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.
- Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
- Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment and materials to prevent injury and damage.
- Plan and conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.
- Prepare, administer, and grade tests and assignments to evaluate students' progress.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Social, Conventional, Artistic.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Bachelor's Degree (40.1% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (22%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (19.7%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 4: Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School 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.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | High | Higher on contact with others than 61% of occupations compared | 82% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Low | Lower on dealing with the public than 64% of occupations compared | 29% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important” |
| Teamwork | Very low | Lower on teamwork than 81% of occupations compared | 37% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Moderate | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 56% of occupations compared | 38% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Moderate | Higher on time pressure than 57% of occupations compared | 64% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | Very high | Higher on conflict situations than 85% of occupations compared | 33% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very high | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 90% of occupations compared | 51% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Consequence of error | Moderate | Lower on consequence of error than 57% of occupations compared | 40% of surveyed respondents chose “Serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: moderate
- Conflict situations: very high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very high
- Consequence of error: moderate
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: 12.74%
- Contact with others about half the time: 3.53%
- Contact with others most of the time: 1.49%
- Constant contact with others: 82.24%
n = 38, Incumbent 08/2025
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 15.08%
- Fairly important: 22.28%
- Important: 18.99%
- Very important: 29.23%
- Extremely important: 14.42%
n = 38, Incumbent 08/2025
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 10.08%
- Important: 26.64%
- Very important: 36.59%
- Extremely important: 26.69%
n = 38, Incumbent 08/2025
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 7.61%
- Limited freedom: 15.92%
- Some freedom: 38.38%
- A lot of freedom: 38.1%
n = 38, Incumbent 08/2025
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 4.31%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 13.77%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 64.16%
- Every day: 17.76%
n = 38, Incumbent 08/2025
Conflict situations
- Never: 7.69%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 8.84%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 32.84%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 25.91%
- Every day: 24.71%
n = 38, Incumbent 08/2025
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 16.48%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 10.21%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 50.53%
- Every day: 22.77%
n = 37, Incumbent 08/2025
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 14.74%
- Fairly serious: 19.05%
- Serious: 40.19%
- Very serious: 17.64%
- Extremely serious: 8.39%
n = 38, Incumbent 08/2025
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O*NET-SOC 25-2032.00 · SOC 25-2032 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8