Social Work Teachers, Postsecondary

Median salary

$77,570

Average salary

$83,940

Employment

12,610

Projected growth

2.3% growth

Annual openings

1,300

Typical entry education

Doctoral or professional degree

What Social Work Teachers, Postsecondary Do

Teach courses in social work. 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: Not available

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.

Education and Trainingimportance 4.7/5
Sociology and Anthropologyimportance 4.5/5
Therapy and Counselingimportance 4.3/5
Psychologyimportance 4.1/5
English Languageimportance 4.1/5
Administration and Managementimportance 3.6/5
Computers and Electronicsimportance 3.6/5
Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 3.4/5

Work Environment

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

E-Mail5.0/5
Freedom to Make Decisions4.7/5
Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.7/5
Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals4.6/5
Telephone Conversations4.4/5
Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team4.3/5

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.

Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary99% skill match
Geography Teachers, Postsecondary99% skill match
Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary99% skill match
Mathematical Science Teachers, Postsecondary99% skill match
Business Teachers, Postsecondary99% skill match
Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary99% skill match
Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary99% skill match
History 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 4.8/5
Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.8/5
Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.8/5
Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.6/5
Coordinationimportance 3.5/5
Service Orientationimportance 3.3/5
Systems Analysisimportance 3.1/5
Systems Evaluationimportance 3.1/5

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.

Social Orientation
Dependability
Empathy
Intellectual Curiosity
Cooperation
Integrity
Achievement Orientation

Career Interests

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

SocialHigh
InvestigativeHigh
ArtisticMedium
ConventionalMedium
EnterprisingLow
RealisticLow

Specific Interests

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

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

1Ann Arbor, MI8.65× national avg
2South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI8.22× national avg
3Jackson, MS4.26× national avg
4Richmond, VA3.23× national avg
5Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA2.86× national avg

Possible Career Moves

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

Sociology Teachers, PostsecondaryLateral Move
Psychology Teachers, PostsecondaryLateral Move
Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers, PostsecondaryLateral Move
Education Teachers, PostsecondaryLateral Move

See the full career path from Social Work 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.