Hey, Students: Want a Good Job? Become a Teacher

Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter

Hey, young people: Want a good job? You might consider becoming a teacher. 

You won’t get rich, but teachers earn more money than you might think. Plus, you’ll have a much easier time landing (and keeping) a job than many of your peers. 

This might sound like counterintuitive career advice given the current state of the teaching profession. But here are two reasons more young people should consider a career in education: 

Teachers have an easy time finding good jobs 

This year, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York published an interactive tool looking at the labor market outcomes of recent college graduates. Among the 74 majors included on the list, elementary education had the sixth-lowest unemployment rate, at 1.5%. To put that in perspective, industrial engineering came in first, at 0.2%, and art history came in last, at 8%. 

Education majors also did well on the rate of underemployment. Essentially, were college graduates working in jobs that required a degree? On this measure, special education teachers came in second overall, just behind nursing. Elementary education, early childhood education and general education majors all landed in the top 10. 

The data from the Federal Reserve represent just a snapshot in time, but the economic advantages of becoming a teacher have persisted for decades. The National Center for Education has run regular surveys of recent college graduates, and it has found that education majors regularly report higher early-career employment rates than graduates in other fields. They are also more likely to work in a job closely related to what they studied in college. As a result, new college graduates with an education major are less likely to be looking to change jobs than peers in other fields. 

Now, it’s true that teaching doesn’t pay as well as some professions. This has been the case for years, though, and the NCES data shows that the early-career gap hasn’t changed much over time. Again, it’s all relative, because beginning teachers consistently make more money than early-career psychology or humanities majors, for example. 

Teachers are satisfied with their jobs 

A recent paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research looked at whether better information could nudge more young people to consider teaching. The researchers asked freshmen at the University of Michigan to guess how much teachers and non-teachers earned and how satisfied they were with their jobs. 

About two-thirds of the students underestimated how much the average teacher earns. But almost all the students — 99% — guessed that teacher satisfaction was lower than it had been historically. 

Using a large sample of data from the National Survey of College Graduates, the authors looked at data from 2010-19 and found that 91% of teachers reported being satisfied with their jobs (compared with 88% of non-teachers). Moreover, 97% of teachers were satisfied with their job’s contribution to society, compared with 88% of non-teachers. 

After being presented with more accurate information about teacher pay and satisfaction, the college students become more interested in pursuing a career in education. Males were particularly responsive to the new, accurate data about the profession. (In a test of other types of messages, female and Black students were more influenced by statements supporting the importance of diversity and the way teachers can serve as role models for youngsters.)

The last couple of years have been a particularly good time for job hunters in the education sector. With widespread shortage areas, particularly in urban and rural schools and in subjects like math and special education, new teachers have had their pick of where to work.

With federal COVID relief funds expiring this fall, the balance is likely to shift back somewhat toward employers. But for candidates worried about their job prospects, a specialization in math, science or special education would strongly enhance their resumes. 

And anyone considering a teaching career should take solace in the fact that, historically speaking, students who earn education degrees have an easier time landing a full-time job than those who pursue other, riskier careers.

Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter