Significant Points

• Traditionally, becoming a vocational education teacher requires a bachelor's degree from a teacher education program and a teacher's license for which requirements vary from State to State.
• Most States now offer alternative routes to licensure for those who have work experience in their field.
• Employment growth is expected to be as fast as the average for all occupations, with favorable job prospects.

Nature of the Work

Vocational education teachers, commonly called career and technical education (CTE) teachers or career-technology teachers, instruct and train students to work in a wide variety of fields. Career and technical education courses train students to enter a particular career and prepare them for the world of work.

Career and technical teachers in middle and secondary schools may be introducing students to a trade or skill for the first time. They often teach courses that are in high demand by area employers, who often provide input into the curriculum and offer internships or apprenticeships to students at the secondary school level. Many vocational teachers play an active role in building and overseeing these partnerships. Additional responsibilities of middle and secondary school teachers may include providing career guidance, helping with job placement, and following up with students after graduation. Secondary CTE teachers are also responsible for coordinating their curriculum offerings with community, technical and 4-year colleges under current Federal law.

CTE teachers may teach in traditional comprehensive schools. Within comprehensive secondary schools, CTE teachers may be part of a career academy where they work closely with academic colleagues to create a career-themed, school-within-a-school. They may teach in a regional CTE centers that serve students from many districts who come for half-days. Other CTE teachers may teach in a CTE secondary school where students are in shops and labs for most of the school day.

At the secondary school level, the focus is on preparing students to enter the workforce or to continue on to additional training at the postsecondary level. In addition, CTE teachers aim to reinforce and strengthen material learned by their students in academic classes. To achieve these ends, teachers use a variety of techniques and methods to ensure that students understand the material, such as classroom lectures, hands-on activities done in a laboratory, experiential or work-based learning, and involvement in co-curricular organizations. In the classroom, CTE teachers lecture students on the theories and techniques used in the field. They may discuss the history of the profession or laws and regulations that govern the industry. In addition, teachers may provide demonstrations of tasks, techniques, or tools used in the field. In the lab, teachers assign the students tasks, oversee their progress, and assist students as they encounter problems or need additional instruction or direction. Experiential or work-based learning allows students the opportunity to apply what they have learned in the classroom in real world settings. Students may use class time to work in the field at a business willing to let them learn on the job, and the business provides feedback about the student's performance to the teacher. In some schools, students may run businesses that are owned by the school, such as the school store, to apply their knowledge and skills in a non-classroom setting. Finally, CTE teachers may serve as the advisor for co-curricular student organizations that provide students with additional opportunities to reinforce what they have learned in the classroom.

How teachers use these different settings and techniques varies with their specialized field. These fields include agricultural science, family and consumer science, health occupations, business and marketing, trade and industry, and technology education.

In agricultural science, students learn a wide variety of subjects related to the science and business of agriculture. Classes may cover topics like agricultural production; agricultural-related business; horticulture; agri-science; small animal care; veterinary science; and plant, animal, and food systems. Teachers in this subject may have students plant and care for crops or tend to animals to apply what they have learned in the classroom.

CTE teachers in family and consumer science teach students about culinary arts; sewing; child development; family and consumer services; and food science, dietetics, and nutrition. Students in these settings may run early childhood education classes with teacher supervision, manufacture and market clothing, or create menus and cook for a school function.

In health-related occupations, students learn the skills necessary to work as technicians or assistants in the medical field. This may include learning the skills necessary to become a nurse or dental assistant. Teachers in this field may have students practice their skills by measuring blood pressure or practicing fundamental tasks like administering blood sugar and blood type tests on other staff in the school. Some programs allow students to receive the certifications necessary to enter the field.

Business and marketing students learn the skills necessary to run a business or make sales. They may learn computer programs or how to market a product. They may also learn the basics of financial management for a business. CTE teachers specializing in business and marketing may spend time with students in computer labs to teach them computer skills, or they may guide students as they develop and establish a business. Many programs operate school-based enterprises where students operate real businesses open to the public.

CTE teachers in trade and industry may cover a wide range of topics, such as auto mechanics, cosmetology, heating and air conditioning, electrical wiring, television production, computer networking and computer repair, or auto body repair. These teachers specialize in one of these areas and teach classes in their area of expertise. Many teachers in this field use lab work extensively to allow students to learn with a hands-on approach.

Teachers in technology aim to teach the same subjects that are taught in general education classes, such as math and science, through technology. This may include supervising students as they build a robot to learn about physics, computer science, and math. This type of program is often seen as a precursor to engineering programs.

Work environment. Helping students develop new skills and gain an appreciation of knowledge and learning can be very rewarding. However, teachers may get frustrated when dealing with unmotivated or disrespectful students. Occasionally, teachers must cope with unruly behavior and violence at school. Teachers may experience stress from dealing with large classes, heavy workloads, or schools that are run down and lack many modern amenities.

Teachers are sometimes isolated from their colleagues because they work alone in a classroom of students. However, some schools allow teachers to work in teams and with mentors to enhance their professional development. However, CTE teachers often have specific responsibilities that have them in the community during part of the school day working with their business and industry partners.

Including school duties performed outside the classroom, many teachers work more than 40 hours a week. Most middle and secondary school CTE teachers work the traditional ten month school year with a 2-month vacation during the summer. During the vacation break, those on the ten month schedule may teach in summer sessions, take other jobs, travel, or pursue personal interest s. Some enroll in college courses or workshops to continue their education. Teachers in districts with a year-round schedule typically work eight weeks and then have one week of vacation, as well as a five week midwinter break. CTE teachers with active work-based learning programs may be on twelve month contracts to provide time for them to engage in job development for current and future students.

Most States have tenure laws that prevent public school teachers from being fired without just cause and due process. Teachers may obtain tenure after they have satisfactorily completed a probationary period of teaching, normally three years. Tenure does not absolutely guarantee a job, but it does provide some security.

Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement

The traditional route to becoming a career and technical education teacher at the middle or secondary school level requires completing a bachelor's degree from a teacher education program and then obtaining a license. However, most States now offer alternative routes to licensure for those who have work experience in their field.

Education and training. Traditionally, most aspiring CTE teachers obtain a bachelor's degree and often major in the subject they plan to teach while also completing a program of study in teacher preparation. However, with the proper amount of work experience in the chosen teaching field, many states allow CTE teachers to enter the occupation with a bachelor's degree minus the teacher preparation program or with only a high school diploma.

Licensure and certification. All 50 States and the District of Columbia require public school CTE teachers in middle and secondary schools to be licensed. Usually licensure is granted by the State Board of Education or a licensure advisory committee. All States require teachers to have a bachelor's degree and to have completed an approved teacher training program with a prescribed number of subject and education credits, as well as supervised practice teaching. Some States also require technology training and the attainment of a minimum grade point average. A number of States require teachers to obtain a master's degree in education within a specified period after they begin teaching. Almost all States require an applicant for a teacher's license to take a competency test. Most States require teachers to complete a minimum number of hours of continuing education to renew their license. Many States have reciprocity agreements that make it easier for teachers licensed in one State to become licensed in another.

However, there are alternative routes to licensure which allow those who did not go through traditional teacher preparation program to become licensed CTE teachers. Often this requires work experience in additional to a high school diploma or a bachelors degree without teacher preparation. The educational requirement varies depending on the State and the amount of experience the applicant has.

Other qualifications. In addition to being knowledgeable about the subjects they teach, teachers must be good communicators and inspire trust and confidence. They should motivate students and understand the students' educational and emotional needs. Teachers must recognize and respond to individual and cultural differences in students and employ different teaching methods that will result in higher student achievement. They should be organized, dependable, patient, and creative. Teachers also must be able to work cooperatively and communicate effectively with other teachers, support staff, parents, and members of the community.

Advancement. Teachers may become administrators or supervisors, although the number of these positions is limited and competition for them can be intense. In some systems, highly qualified, experienced teachers can become senior or mentor teachers, with higher pay and additional responsibilities. They guide and assist less experienced teachers while keeping most of their own teaching responsibilities. CTE teachers may also move to teaching classes at the postsecondary level.

Job Outlook

Employment of vocational teachers is expected to grow as fast as the average as student enrollments continue to increase.

Employment change. Employment of vocational education teachers is expected to grow by 9 percent from 2008 to 2018, which as fast as the average than all occupations. Employment of middle school vocational education teachers is expected to grow by 3 percent, which is more slowly than the average for all occupations and employment of secondary school vocational education teachers is expected to grow by 10 percent, which about as fast as the average for all occupations. This growth is due in large part to continued growth in school enrollments, which increases demand for these workers. However, growth will be limited by an increased focused on traditional academic subjects.

Through 2018, overall student enrollments in middle, and secondary schools-a key factor in the demand for teachers-are expected to rise more slowly than in the past as children of the baby-boom generation leave the school system. Projected enrollments will vary by region. Rapidly growing States in the South and West will experience the largest enrollment increases. Enrollments in the Midwest are expected to hold relatively steady, while those in the Northeast are expected to decline. Teachers who are geographically mobile and who obtain licensure in more than one subject are likely to have a distinct advantage in finding a job.

Growth in this occupation will be slowed somewhat by an increased focus on traditional academics subjects, like reading and math, and away from career specific training at the middle and secondary school levels. As a result, growth in the employment of vocational education teachers may be limited.

Job prospects. Opportunities in this occupation are expected to be favorable as workers currently employed in this occupation leave the field to retire or for other opportunities.