Vocational Index

Career

Computer science teachers, postsecondary

Teach computer science to college students.

$96,980
Median pay
+4.9%
Job growth, 2025–35
3,200
Openings a year
Doctoral or professional degree
Typical education
7–8 years
Typical time after high school

Here's what you actually need to know.

The work

What people in this job do

  • Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
  • Compile, administer, and grade examinations or assign this work to others.
  • Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as programming, data structures, and software design.
  • Evaluate and grade students' class work, laboratory work, assignments, and papers.
  • Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.

The outlook

How the forecast changed this year

2024–34 edition+5.3%2025–35 edition+4.9%
Projected 10-year growth in last year's and this year's BLS projections. 3,500 → 3,200 openings a year.

The deeper question

What kind of person does this path ask you to become?

What this work centers on

People & care
5.9
Ideas & analysis
5.7
Information & systems
4.0
Creation & expression
3.3
Objects & tools
3.1
Persuasion & leadership
2.3

O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.

The work

Do you want most of your days spent on people & care, then ideas & analysis?

Responsibility

Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?

“Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.”

Development

What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?

Instructing, Writing, Reading Comprehension, Speaking.

Trade-offs

What does it ask of you in exchange?

7–8 years of education after high school (doctoral or professional degree), for a median of $96,980 a year and 3,200 openings nationally each year.

Paths in

Degrees that lead here

Paths across

Careers that use similar skills

Ask anything about this career.

“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.

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Sources

  1. BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
  2. BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
  3. O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
  4. CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.