How To Become An Adult Literacy Teacher: What It Is and Career Path

What is an adult literacy teacher and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Audrey Church Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an adult literacy teacher. For example, did you know that they make an average of $21.1 an hour? That's $43,884 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -6% and produce -2,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to an adult literacy teacher?

Dr. Audrey Church Ph.D.

Chair, Department of Education and Counseling; Professor of School Librarianship, Longwood University

In the field of education, skills that will become even more important and prevalent are really at, what I would consider, opposite ends of a spectrum: at one end, interpersonal skills--strength and knowledge in the areas of social and emotional learning and trauma-informed teaching; at the other end, technology skills-refining and enhancing information literacy and digital literacy skills.

ScoreAdult Literacy TeacherUS Average

Salary

3.4

Avg. Salary $43,884

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.8

Growth rate -6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.53%

Asian 7.08%

Black or African American 12.17%

Hispanic or Latino 15.03%

Unknown 5.69%

White 59.50%

Gender

female 65.05%

male 34.95%

Age - 43

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 - 43

Stress level

6.8

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.0

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.9

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an adult literacy teacher

Explore adult literacy teacher education requirements

Most common adult literacy teacher degrees

Bachelor's

57.3 %

Master's

25.8 %

Associate

10.1 %

Start to develop specific adult literacy teacher skills

Skills	Percentages
Math	37.16%
Language	32.60%
Mathematics	30.24%

Complete relevant adult literacy teacher training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New adult literacy teachers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an adult literacy teacher based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real adult literacy teacher resumes.

Research adult literacy teacher duties and responsibilities

Lead debates with advance students on topics including globalization, economics, and political history.
Teach English as a second language
Create curriculum and teach adult literacy including reading, writing, and math skills.
Provide instruction in academic areas (reading, writing, English, math) for all assign students.

Prepare your adult literacy teacher resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your adult literacy teacher 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 adult literacy teacher resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable adult literacy teacher resume templates

Build a professional adult literacy teacher 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 adult literacy teacher resume.