What is an educator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted Experts
Dr. Diana Jones,
Tara Kirton
introduction image

An educator teaches and guides students in their academic and personal development. They create lesson plans and deliver instruction to students of all ages. Educators also assess student progress and provide feedback, in addition, they may be involved in student counseling, mentoring, and extracurricular activities. Educators can work in public or private educational settings. Their ultimate goal is to help students learn and grow into responsible, knowledgeable, and successful individuals.

What general advice would you give to an Educator?

D

Dr. Diana JonesDr. Diana Jones LinkedIn Profile

Chair, Department of Kinesiology, Anderson University

General advice: I would encourage graduates to find a mentor who can guide them in their careers, stay on top of the latest technology, not be too hard on themselves, be flexible, be team players, be present, and care about their students.
ScoreEducatorUS Average
Salary
3.4

Avg. Salary $43,760

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level
7.6

Growth Rate 4%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity
5.7
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.52%

Asian 3.68%

Black or African American 9.96%

Hispanic or Latino 12.78%

Unknown 3.92%

White 69.14%

Gender

female 71.14%

male 28.86%

Age - 42
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42
Stress Level
7.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level
8.5

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance
4.3

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being an Educator?

Pros

  • Making a difference in students' lives

  • Continuous learning and growth

  • Summers and holidays off

  • Job security and stability

  • Opportunities for advancement

Cons

  • Lack of resources and support

  • Dealing with difficult students or parents

  • Constant changes in policies and regulations

  • Pressure to meet academic standards and testing requirements

  • Long hours including weekends for grading and preparation

  • Emotional toll of working with troubled or struggling students

Educator career paths

Key steps to become an educator

  1. Explore educator education requirements

    Most common educator degrees

    Bachelor's

    64.8 %

    Master's

    17.3 %

    Associate

    10.3 %
  2. Start to develop specific educator skills

    Skills
    ascdesc
    Percentages
    ascdesc
    Customer Service20.40%
    Product Knowledge9.81%
    Patients8.13%
    Classroom Management7.56%
    Curriculum Development5.26%
  3. Research educator duties and responsibilities

    • Manage classroom behavior, oversee instruction for under-performing, over-achieving and ESL students, and lead private tutoring lessons.
    • Manage revolving caseload of students with IEP team including initials, transfer placements, manifestation determinations.
    • Develop curriculum and teach PC, GED and ABE adult education classes.
    • Involve in new employee orientation to the facility as well as teaching BLS and ACLS
  4. Prepare your educator resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your educator resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an educator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose From 10+ Customizable Educator Resume templates

    Build a professional Educator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Educator resume.
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  5. Apply for educator jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for an educator job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How Did You Land Your First Educator Job

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Are you an Educator?

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Average educator salary

The average Educator salary in the United States is $43,760 per year or $21 per hour. Educator salaries range between $29,000 and $65,000 per year.

Average Educator Salary
$43,760 Yearly
$21.04 hourly

What Am I Worth?

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How do educators rate their job?

-/5

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Educator reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2022
Pros

Kids, teaching lessons, co-teachers, hours, weekends off, salary, holidays off, summers off, paid sick and personal days

Cons

Administration, observations, being told what to teach and HOW to teach it, expecting us to participate in things we might not want to or have the time for, staff meetings with no substance


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2020
Cons

Some students' non-challant attitude towards learning.

Pros

Ability to share knowledge and guide students in learning new things.


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A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2020
Pros

The pedagogical autonomy. Teaching is an art and every year is (and should be) different. I recreate goals, programs and targets according to the needs of the students each year. Maine is an incredible place to teach as it doesn't require 3 page (or more lesson plans for each day. The admins are supportive and teachers are encouraged to improve and change their craft as needed.

Cons

The stress and absence of financial support are hard. I spend far too much of my own money buying notebooks because the families think I should. The lack of community support wears you down. The inflexible expectations of upper admin. The endless testing and the unrealistic demands and canned programs that do NOTHING to help students from financial and socio-economically challenged areas succeed.


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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