Career
Substitute teachers, short-term
Step in and teach when the regular teacher is out.
$41,670
Median pay
+2.0%
Job growth, 2025–35
65,000
Openings a year
Bachelor's degree
Typical education
4 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Enforce school and class rules to maintain order in the classroom.
- Answer students' questions.
- Follow lesson plans designed by absent teachers.
- Take class attendance and maintain attendance records.
- Supervise students during activities outside the classroom, such as recess, lunch, and field trips.
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 information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Enforce school and class rules to maintain order in the classroom.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, Social Perceptiveness.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
4 years of education after high school (bachelor's degree), for a median of $41,670 a year and 65,000 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- NO MATCHCIP 99.9999
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors$61,540 · -13.9%
- Special Education Teachers, Secondary School$74,260 · -0.2%
- Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education$62,680 · -0.3%
- Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education$63,970 · -0.4%
- Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education$72,040 · -0.2%
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.