Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education

Median salary

$62,680

Average salary

$69,370

Employment

108,870

Projected growth

1.6% decline

Annual openings

12,800

Typical entry education

Bachelor's degree

What Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education Do

Teach academic and social skills to kindergarten students.

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: None
Self-employed: 0.1%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

How Much Preparation Does This Take?

Job Zone 4 of 5

Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

Experience: A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations.
Education: Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Job training: Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Source: O*NET Job Zones.

Key Knowledge Areas

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

Education and Trainingimportance 4.7/5
English Languageimportance 4.6/5
Psychologyimportance 4.0/5
Mathematicsimportance 3.9/5
Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 3.5/5
Sociology and Anthropologyimportance 3.3/5
Public Safety and Securityimportance 3.3/5
Administrativeimportance 3.3/5

Work Environment

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

E-Mail4.8/5
Contact With Others4.6/5
Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.6/5
Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team4.6/5
Physical Proximity4.4/5
Deal With External Customers or the Public in General4.3/5

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.

Special Education Teachers, Preschool99% skill match
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors98% skill match
Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education98% skill match
School Psychologists98% skill match
Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors98% skill match
Musicians and Singers98% skill match
Special Education Teachers, Middle School98% skill match
Substitute Teachers, Short-Term98% skill match

Transferable Skills

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

Social Perceptivenessimportance 4.1/5
Instructingimportance 4.1/5
Coordinationimportance 3.9/5
Time Managementimportance 3.8/5
Service Orientationimportance 3.6/5
Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.5/5
Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.4/5
Persuasionimportance 3.3/5

Software & Technologies

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

Hot Technologies

Other Software Used

Work Style

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

Optimism
Cooperation
Dependability
Empathy
Social Orientation
Sincerity
Integrity

Career Interests

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

SocialHigh
ArtisticMedium
ConventionalMedium
InvestigativeMedium
RealisticLow
EnterprisingLow

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 kindergarten teachers, except special education make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).

1Ponce, PR11.85× national avg
2Mayaguez, PR8.25× national avg
3Arecibo, PR6.58× national avg
4Aguadilla, PR5.80× national avg
5San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas, PR5.40× national avg

Possible Career Moves

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

Elementary School Teachers, Except Special EducationLateral Move
Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical EducationLateral Move
Special Education Teachers, Secondary SchoolLateral Move
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical EducationLateral Move

See the full career path from Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education →

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.