Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary

Median salary

$93,250

Average salary

$105,210

Employment

19,980

Projected growth

2.2% growth

Annual openings

1,900

Typical entry education

Doctoral or professional degree

What Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary Do

Teach courses pertaining to the chemical and physical properties and compositional changes of substances. Work may include providing instruction in the methods of qualitative and quantitative chemical analysis. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching, and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: None
Self-employed: 0.2%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

How Much Preparation Does This Take?

Job Zone 5 of 5

Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed

Experience: Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience.
Education: Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Job training: Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

Source: O*NET Job Zones.

Key Knowledge Areas

Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.

Chemistryimportance 4.8/5
English Languageimportance 4.5/5
Mathematicsimportance 4.5/5
Education and Trainingimportance 4.5/5
Biologyimportance 3.6/5
Physicsimportance 3.4/5
Engineering and Technologyimportance 3.4/5
Computers and Electronicsimportance 3.3/5

Work Environment

What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.

E-Mail5.0/5
Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.7/5
Freedom to Make Decisions4.7/5
Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals4.7/5
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled4.6/5
Public Speaking4.5/5

Careers With Similar Skills

Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.

Neurologists98% skill match
Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary98% skill match
Architecture Teachers, Postsecondary97% skill match
Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary97% skill match
Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary97% skill match
Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary96% skill match
Architectural and Civil Drafters96% skill match
Medical Dosimetrists96% skill match

Transferable Skills

Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.

Instructingimportance 3.9/5
Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.9/5
Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.6/5
Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.3/5
Systems Analysisimportance 3.1/5
Coordinationimportance 3.0/5
Persuasionimportance 3.0/5
Service Orientationimportance 3.0/5

Software & Technologies

Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.

Hot Technologies

In-Demand Technologies

Learning management system LMS

Other Software Used

Work Style

Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.

Intellectual Curiosity
Attention to Detail
Dependability
Cautiousness
Integrity
Achievement Orientation
Social Orientation

Career Interests

This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.

InvestigativeHigh
SocialHigh
RealisticMedium
ConventionalMedium
ArtisticLow
EnterprisingLow

Specific Interests

A more detailed breakdown of this occupation’s interest profile, per O*NET.

Military Backgrounds That Lead Here

Military occupations commonly matched to this career, per the DMDC Military Crosswalk.

USMA, Professor of Chemistry (47M)Army

This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

Where This Career Is Most Concentrated

Metro areas where chemistry teachers, postsecondary make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).

1Amherst Town-Northampton, MA11.28× national avg
2Ithaca, NY9.73× national avg
3South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI6.01× national avg
4Harrisonburg, VA5.56× national avg
5Columbia, MO5.49× national avg

Possible Career Moves

A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.

Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, PostsecondaryLateral Move
Environmental Science Teachers, PostsecondaryLateral Move
Physics Teachers, PostsecondaryLateral Move
Biological Science Teachers, PostsecondaryLateral Move

See the full career path from Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary →

Related Education Programs

Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.