Special Education Teachers, Preschool

Median salary

$64,830

Average salary

$76,380

Employment

29,510

Projected growth

1.4% growth

Annual openings

2,100

Typical entry education

Bachelor's degree

What Special Education Teachers, Preschool Do

Teach academic, social, and life skills to preschool-aged students with learning, emotional, or physical disabilities. Includes teachers who specialize and work with students who are blind or have visual impairments; students who are deaf or have hearing impairments; and students with intellectual disabilities.

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: None
Self-employed: 1.8%

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 4.5/5
Education and Trainingimportance 4.2/5
Psychologyimportance 3.8/5
Public Safety and Securityimportance 3.4/5
Therapy and Counselingimportance 3.3/5
Computers and Electronicsimportance 3.3/5
Administrativeimportance 3.1/5
Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 3.1/5

Work Environment

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

Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams5.0/5
Contact With Others5.0/5
Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team4.7/5
E-Mail4.6/5
Physical Proximity4.5/5
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled4.4/5

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.

Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education99% skill match
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors98% skill match
School Psychologists98% skill match
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education98% skill match
Special Education Teachers, Secondary School98% skill match
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education98% skill match
Musicians and Singers97% skill match
Dermatologists97% 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 3.9/5
Instructingimportance 3.6/5
Service Orientationimportance 3.6/5
Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.4/5
Coordinationimportance 3.3/5
Complex Problem Solvingimportance 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

Other Software Used

Work Style

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

Empathy
Cooperation
Dependability
Optimism
Self-Control
Sincerity
Social Orientation

Career Interests

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

SocialHigh
ArtisticMedium
InvestigativeMedium
ConventionalMedium
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 special education teachers, preschool make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).