Overview
Responsibilities
T-A-S-K
Education
Income & Employability
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Related Careers

Description

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.

Interests

Work Values

  • Relationships
  • Achievement
  • Independence

Learn More about Work Values

Work Styles

  • Adaptability/Flexibility
  • Integrity
  • Self-Control
  • Achievement/Effort
  • Cooperation

Learn More about Work Styles

Tasks

  • Employ special educational strategies or techniques during instruction to improve the development of sensory- and perceptual-motor skills, language, cognition, or memory.
  • Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification or positive reinforcement.
  • Communicate nonverbally with children to provide them with comfort, encouragement, or positive reinforcement.
  • Teach basic skills, such as color, shape, number and letter recognition, personal hygiene, or social skills, to preschool students with special needs.
  • Develop individual educational plans (IEPs) designed to promote students' educational, physical, or social development.

Work Activities

  • Getting Information
  • Assisting and Caring for Others
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
  • Documenting/Recording Information
  • Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships

Detailed Work Activities

  • Getting Information - Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Assisting and Caring for Others - Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates - Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
  • Documenting/Recording Information - Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
  • Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships - Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
  • Training and Teaching Others - Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
  • Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work - Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
  • Working with Computers - Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
  • Developing Objectives and Strategies - Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.
  • Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards - Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

Technology Skills

  • Spreadsheet software
  • Presentation software
  • Device drivers or system software
  • Electronic mail software
  • Graphics or photo imaging software

Skills

  • Speaking
  • Active Listening
  • Critical Thinking
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Social Perceptiveness

Knowledge

  • English Language
  • Education and Training
  • Psychology
  • Public Safety and Security
  • Therapy and Counseling

Most Common Education Level

The “Most Common Education Level” refers to the level of education held by the majority of workers in a given occupation. For example, if the highest percentage of workers in a role have an Associate’s Degree, that suggests this is the typical educational requirement. Knowing this helps you plan how many years of education you may need to pursue that career.

Certificates

Certificate name

Teaching as a Profession

Certifying Organization

YouScience

Type

Core

Certificate name

DoDEA Certification

Certifying Organization

Department of Defense Education Activity

Type

Advanced

Certificate name

DoDEA Certification

Certifying Organization

Department of Defense Education Activity

Type

Core

Certifying Organization

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards

Type

Specialty

Certifying Organization

The National Consortium for Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities

Type

Advanced

Income Percentile

The income percentiles show how earnings are distributed within a profession. The 10th percentile means that 10% of workers earned less than that amount. The median (50th percentile) indicates that half of workers earned more, and half earned less. The 90th percentile reflects what the top 10% of earners in the field make.

Income PercentileIncome
Low (10%)$NaN
Median (50%)$NaN
High (90%)$NaN

Income by Experience

This table shows how income typically grows with experience—from entry level (0–2 years), to mid-level (3–7 years), to senior level (8+ years).

ExperienceIncome
Entry Level$50,000
Mid Level$100,000
Senior Level$150,000

Employability

There are currently 25,700 jobs in this career path. Over the next 10 years, that number is expected to increase to 26,100 positions, reflecting a projected growth of 2%.

The Projected Job Growth figure refers to the expected increase or decrease in employment within a specific career field over a certain period of time.

Projected Job Growth of 2%

The career information and data on this site incorporates information from O*NET Web Services by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), with ONET® being a registered trademark of USDOL/ETA. Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA; CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (DOLETA) and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED); and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

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