Career
Social work teachers, postsecondary
Teach future social workers.
$77,570
Median pay
+2.6%
Job growth, 2025–35
1,100
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
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
- Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, or handouts.
- Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
- Supervise students' laboratory and field work.
- Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as family behavior, child and adolescent mental health, or social intervention evaluation.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
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?
“Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Instructing, Speaking, Learning Strategies, Writing.
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 $77,570 a year and 1,100 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Social WorkSee the degree →
- GerontologyCIP 30.1101
- Social WorkCIP 44.0701
- Forensic Social WorkCIP 44.0703
- Social Work, OtherCIP 44.0799
- Clinical/Medical Social WorkCIP 51.1503
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary$84,290 · +2.2%
- Education Teachers, Postsecondary$75,350 · +2.5%
- Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary$80,340 · +4.0%
- Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary$75,870 · +2.4%
- Library Science Teachers, Postsecondary$80,340 · +2.7%
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
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.