Communications Teachers, Postsecondary

Median salary

$78,580

Average salary

$90,010

Employment

29,420

Projected growth

2.1% growth

Annual openings

2,700

Typical entry education

Doctoral or professional degree

What Communications Teachers, Postsecondary Do

Teach courses in communications, such as organizational communications, public relations, radio/television broadcasting, and journalism. 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.

English Languageimportance 4.9/5
Education and Trainingimportance 4.7/5
Communications and Mediaimportance 4.3/5
Psychologyimportance 3.9/5
Computers and Electronicsimportance 3.8/5
Sociology and Anthropologyimportance 3.8/5
Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 3.6/5
Philosophy and Theologyimportance 3.5/5

Work Environment

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

E-Mail4.9/5
Freedom to Make Decisions4.8/5
Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.6/5
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled4.6/5
Contact With Others4.5/5
Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals4.5/5

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.

Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary99% skill match
Geography Teachers, Postsecondary99% skill match
Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary99% skill match
History Teachers, Postsecondary99% skill match
Library Science Teachers, Postsecondary99% skill match
Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers, Postsecondary99% skill match
Education Teachers, Postsecondary99% skill match
Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary99% skill match

Transferable Skills

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

Instructingimportance 4.1/5
Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.6/5
Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.5/5
Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.3/5
Time Managementimportance 3.1/5
Coordinationimportance 3.0/5
Persuasionimportance 3.0/5
Negotiationimportance 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
Social Orientation
Dependability
Cooperation
Empathy
Achievement Orientation
Integrity

Career Interests

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

SocialHigh
InvestigativeMedium
ArtisticMedium
ConventionalMedium
EnterprisingMedium
RealisticLow

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

1Ithaca, NY12.00× national avg
2Lawrence, KS11.78× national avg
3Harrisonburg, VA8.67× national avg
4Columbia, MO5.90× national avg
5Bloomington, IL4.37× national avg

Possible Career Moves

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

Political Science Teachers, PostsecondaryLateral Move
Sociology Teachers, PostsecondaryLateral Move
Library Science Teachers, PostsecondaryLateral Move
English Language and Literature Teachers, PostsecondaryLateral Move

See the full career path from Communications 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.