Career
English language and literature teachers, postsecondary
Teach literature and writing at a college.
$78,760
Median pay
+0.0%
Job growth, 2025–35
4,500
Openings a year
Doctoral or professional degree
Typical education
7–8 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Teach writing or communication classes.
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
- Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
- Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on people & care, then ideas & analysis?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Teach writing or communication classes.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Reading Comprehension, Instructing, Writing, Speaking.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
7–8 years of education after high school (doctoral or professional degree), for a median of $78,760 a year and 4,500 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- EnglishSee the degree →
- Teaching (by Subject)See the degree →
- Writing and RhetoricSee the degree →
- LinguisticsSee the degree →
- English/Language Arts Teacher EducationCIP 13.1305
- Comparative LiteratureCIP 16.0104
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary$85,020 · +2.7%
- Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary$79,350 · +0.2%
- Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary$80,260 · +2.0%
- Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary$84,290 · +2.2%
- History Teachers, Postsecondary$83,820 · +0.0%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.