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What is a building substitute teacher and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted expert
Dr. Diana Jones
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a building substitute teacher. For example, did you know that they make an average of $14.29 an hour? That's $29,733 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 60,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a building substitute teacher?

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.
ScoreBuilding Substitute TeacherUS Average
Salary
2.3

Avg. Salary $29,733

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
7.6

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
9.7
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.48%

Asian 5.96%

Black or African American 9.12%

Hispanic or Latino 12.33%

Unknown 5.60%

White 66.51%

Gender

female 67.05%

male 32.95%

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
8.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance
4.3

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Building substitute teacher career paths

Key steps to become a building substitute teacher

  1. Explore building substitute teacher education requirements

    Most common building substitute teacher degrees

    Bachelor's

    70.0 %

    Master's

    22.9 %

    Associate

    5.3 %
  2. Start to develop specific building substitute teacher skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Classroom Management45.05%
    Classroom Environment6.90%
    Mathematics5.15%
    K-84.15%
    K-123.64%
  3. Research building substitute teacher duties and responsibilities

    • Lead classroom management activities including attendance while coordinating lesson plan delivery for consumer science, physics and mathematics classes.
    • Revise student IEP's to meet their educational needs.
    • Aid in assessments, including Brigance, Gmade, Ggrade, FBA, and IEP development.
    • Assume full responsibility for general, special education, and ESL classrooms, providing support and facilitating any require student accommodations.
  4. Prepare your building substitute teacher resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your building substitute 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 a building substitute 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 building substitute teacher resume templates

    Build a professional building substitute 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 building substitute teacher resume.
    Building Substitute Teacher Resume
    Building Substitute Teacher Resume
    Building Substitute Teacher Resume
    Building Substitute Teacher Resume
    Building Substitute Teacher Resume
    Building Substitute Teacher Resume
    Building Substitute Teacher Resume
    Building Substitute Teacher Resume
    Building Substitute Teacher Resume
  5. Apply for building substitute teacher jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a building substitute teacher 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 building substitute teacher job

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Average building substitute teacher salary

The average building substitute teacher salary in the United States is $29,733 per year or $14 per hour. Building substitute teacher salaries range between $23,000 and $38,000 per year.

Average building substitute teacher salary
$29,733 Yearly
$14.29 hourly

What am I worth?

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How do building substitute teachers rate their job?

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Building substitute teacher 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 Apr 2021
Pros

I enjoy teaching or giving knowledge to the children.

Cons

The educational system is very flawed, poor administration who don’t put children and learning first but their own self-interests. I don’t like how many school systems have handled the pandemic, total disregard for safety.


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2020
Pros

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

Cons

Some students' non-challant attitude towards learning.


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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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