Define the pathway, set pay from BLS data, and test both technical skill and classroom teaching. BLS counts this role within Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School. Those teachers held 111,420 jobs and earned a median of $66,270 a year in BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. The person you hire must be an industry expert who can also teach teenagers in a lab or shop.
| Fact | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| National employment | 111,420 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Annual median wage | $66,270 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Annual mean wage | $72,680 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| 10th / 90th percentile (annual) | $50,040 / $101,340 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
How to hire a career and technical education teacher: the short answer
Write the job around the program of study, not a generic teaching slot. Set a pay range from the BLS figures for this occupation in your state. Screen for pathway skill and for the ability to teach it. Check references on lab or shop safety and on reliability with colleagues before you make a written offer.
This hire is different from a core academic teacher. The CTE teacher has to be a working expert in an industry pathway and a classroom teacher of teenagers at the same time: running a lab or shop safely, tying lessons to current practice, and often advising a student organization and arranging work-based learning with industry partners.
What a career and technical education teacher does
According to O*NET OnLine (accessed September 24, 2026), secondary CTE teachers teach occupational, vocational, career, or technical subjects. Typical titles include agricultural education teacher, automotive technology instructor, cosmetology teacher, family and consumer sciences teacher, technology education teacher, and welding instructor. Most work in middle and high schools, district career centers, and regional technical centers.
Core work, drawn from the O*NET task list for SOC 25-2032, is to instruct students in the knowledge and skills of a specific occupation through lectures, discussions, demonstrations, and laboratory, shop, and field studies. Teachers prepare the classroom or lab, establish and enforce behavior and safety rules, and instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment and materials to prevent injury and damage. They observe and evaluate performance, prepare and grade tests and projects, and keep accurate student records.
The same task list includes planning work-experience programs in businesses, industrial shops, and school laboratories; placing students in jobs or referring them to placement services; sponsoring clubs and student organizations; selecting, ordering, storing, and inventorying equipment and supplies; and conferring with parents, counselors, and administrators. Teachers also keep current in both pedagogy and the subject-matter specialty and collaborate on program revision.
Name the pathway, lab or shop, and extra duties in the posting so applicants can see the real job. Use the career and technical education teacher job description template to lock those details before you recruit.
Skills, knowledge and tools to look for
O*NET essential and transferable skills that show up in this work are instructing, speaking, active listening, monitoring performance, learning strategies, and time management. Knowledge areas include education and training, English language, computers and electronics, and public safety and security. Abilities that matter in a noisy lab are oral expression, oral comprehension, speech clarity, problem sensitivity, and near vision.
O*NET technology includes learning management systems, Microsoft Office tools, Google Docs, classroom applications, and pathway software such as Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D. Name only the software and industry equipment used in your program, and test the trade tools directly.
Screen directly for current pathway skill, safe lab or shop supervision, clear instruction, and monitoring of hands-on performance. Train the hire on local systems, records, advisory calendars, and program routines.
O*NET places the occupation in Job Zone Four. Education respondents reported a bachelor's degree as required at 40%, a master's at 23%, and an associate's or other two-year degree at 13%. Write the employer's actual education requirement without turning it into a rule for the occupation.
Setting the pay range
Use the BLS figures for Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School as the market reference. Nationally, annual wages run $50,040 at the 10th percentile, $60,590 at the 25th, $66,270 at the median, $80,060 at the 75th, and $101,340 at the 90th (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Those percentiles describe the spread of pay across the occupation, not a label for years of service.
| Percentile | Annual wage (U.S.) |
|---|---|
| 10th | $50,040 |
| 25th | $60,590 |
| Median | $66,270 |
| 75th | $80,060 |
| 90th | $101,340 |
Place the offer against your state's median and the scope of duties (multiple preps, evening student-organization events, work-based learning coordination). A location quotient above 1 means the occupation is more concentrated in that area's employment than nationally. Texas, for example, shows employment of 32,250 and a location quotient of 3.2; Washington shows an annual median of $101,180 and a location quotient of 1.36.
| Rank (by annual median) | State | Employment | Annual median | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | 3,460 | $101,180 | 1.36 |
| 2 | Connecticut | 1,910 | $100,810 | 1.57 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | 3,130 | $98,020 | 1.2 |
| 7 | New York | 7,610 | $79,820 | 1.1 |
| 9 | Ohio | 5,130 | $79,230 | 1.29 |
| 19 | Pennsylvania | 4,840 | $75,760 | 1.11 |
| 27 | Texas | 32,250 | $64,610 | 3.2 |
| 32 | Florida | 6,820 | $62,140 | 0.96 |
| 35 | North Dakota | 640 | $61,500 | 2.08 |
| 44 | Mississippi | 1,770 | $57,910 | 2.12 |
Match extra duties to extra pay in the offer letter. For a fuller state view, use the companion on how much to pay a career and technical education teacher.
Writing the posting and finding candidates
Put the pathway in the title (for example, welding, health science, automotive, construction, business, or IT) and write duties that match the actual program of study, bell schedule, and lab or shop. State the setting (comprehensive high school, career center, regional technical center), the student ages, and extra duties such as advising a student organization, sitting with an advisory committee, or coordinating work-based learning.
Look beyond people who already hold a teaching assignment. Experienced industry practitioners often bring the shop skill you cannot train quickly. Post where career and technical educators look, including ACTE Job Bank. If the opening is a health science pathway, the same dual screen of technical skill and classroom control applies when you hire a health science teacher.
Screening and interviewing
Use a work sample that mirrors the job: a short teaching demonstration of a hands-on skill from the pathway, delivered to the panel as if they were students, including the safety briefing. Score technical accuracy, the safety talk, how the candidate checks for understanding, and how they would handle a student who skips a step. Keep the same prompt and the same scorecard for every finalist.
| Interview theme | What to listen for |
|---|---|
| Industry experience translated into teaching | Concrete tasks from the trade turned into lessons and performance tasks |
| Lab or shop safety and classroom management | Rules, equipment checks, and what they do when a student is unsafe |
| Lesson planning and assessment of hands-on skills | Objectives, demonstrations, and how projects are graded |
| Employer partnerships and work-based learning | Advisory committees, guest speakers, placements, and follow-up with partners |
Ask every candidate the same job-related questions. A set of career and technical education teacher interview questions keeps the panel on those themes. Under the laws enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (accessed September 24, 2026), it is illegal to discriminate because of race, color, religion, sex (including transgender status, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, or genetic information. Do not ask about those subjects, or about family status. If you use a test, it must be job-related.
References, verification and the offer
Call references about classroom or training performance, the safety record in a lab or shop, and reliability with colleagues. Ask how the person handled equipment, student supervision, and communication with counselors or administrators.
Verify any degree, license, or credential the candidate lists with the body that issued it, and follow your district's or college's own clearance process before the start date. Put duties, schedule, pathway, extra assignments, and pay in writing. Plan the first weeks around a shop inventory, posted safety rules, a walk-through of the program of study, and an introduction to the advisory committee chair. This guide is general information as of September 24, 2026, not legal advice.
FAQ
What does a CTE teacher do?
A CTE teacher plans and delivers instruction in a career pathway, demonstrates and supervises hands-on work in labs and shops, assesses students through projects and tests, and works with employers and advisory committees. O*NET also lists maintaining records, enforcing safety, sponsoring student organizations, and planning work-experience programs.
How much should I pay a CTE teacher?
BLS reports a national median of $66,270 a year for Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School, with $50,040 at the 10th percentile and $101,340 at the 90th (OEWS, May 2025). Set the offer from your state's published median and the actual lab and extra-duty load.
Can an industry practitioner be a CTE teacher candidate?
Consider experienced industry practitioners and test whether they can teach the pathway skill safely. O*NET notes that most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not; 13% of education respondents said an associate's or other two-year degree is required.
How do I test a CTE teacher candidate before hiring?
Require a short teaching demonstration of a hands-on skill from the pathway, delivered to the panel as if they were students, including the safety briefing. Score technical accuracy, safety, and how clearly the candidate instructs and checks for understanding.
What should I ask a CTE teacher in an interview?
Ask the same job-related questions of every candidate about industry experience, lab or shop safety, lesson planning and assessment of hands-on skills, and work-based learning with employers. Do not ask about age, family or pregnancy, religion, national origin, disability, genetic information, or other protected characteristics.
