How To Become A Guest Teacher: What It Is and Career Path

What is a guest teacher and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Christopher Hanson

At some point in your school life, you've probably had a guest teacher fill in for your regular teacher or teach the class a specific topic. A guest teacher is an educator that focuses on teaching a particular subject matter, usually something that needs in-depth knowledge or specific expertise. They may also fill in for full-time teachers as substitutes.

The responsibilities of a guest teacher are similar to any other teacher; they create lesson plans, deliver lectures, facilitate activities, and assess students on their understanding of the topic. Apart from these duties, guest teachers also coordinate with other teaching staff and provide additional assistance to students when needed.

The job qualifications are also similar to that of regular teachers. To qualify, guest teachers must have a bachelor's degree and a teaching license. Of course, they must also have proven experience in teaching the topics they specialize in and adequate skills in classroom management.

Guest teachers often work on a part-time or seasonal basis. As such, work availability may be irregular. Nevertheless, guest teachers can earn an average of $31,000 per year, depending on the number of hours they put in.

What general advice would you give to a guest teacher?

Christopher Hanson

Assistant Professor of Music, Director of Music Education and Orchestral Activities, Seattle Pacific University

Keep asking questions and look for opportunities to engage in teaching and learning wherever you can. Connect with peers and future colleagues. Do not just wait. Now is the time to create and sustain dialog on educational change. Although there are endless numbers of variables to how, when, what, and with whom we learn, our genuine curiosity and sincere desire to engage others in the educative process is our greatest hope to see education in a better place than it was before the pandemic.

We must heed the call of innovation and encourage a transition from our current state of triage and survival. You, as a recent graduate, are the future of what education will be. Ask yourself, what will the world look like that you will help create? Is this a world that you and others can learn in? What more can you do to secure the possibilities and promise of education for all? These are the questions that will fuel change and secure growth through the inevitable vicissitudes of education.

ScoreGuest TeacherUS Average

Salary

2.5

Avg. Salary $32,547

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.6

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.68%

Asian 6.87%

Black or African American 9.28%

Hispanic or Latino 15.91%

Unknown 6.27%

White 60.99%

Gender

female 66.96%

male 33.04%

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

Key steps to become a guest teacher

Explore guest teacher education requirements

Most common guest teacher degrees

Bachelor's

70.6 %

Master's

17.2 %

Associate

7.8 %

Start to develop specific guest teacher skills

Skills	Percentages
Classroom Management	35.82%
K-12	9.69%
Substitute Teaching	6.88%
Instructional Materials	5.88%
Mathematics	4.90%

Research guest teacher duties and responsibilities

Manage substitute teaching responsibilities in elementary and secondary school including ESL and bilingual programs.
Instruct through lectures, discussions, and demonstrations in various subjects, such as English, mathematics, or social studies.
Facilitate instruction for grades k-8.
Direct a 9th-12th grade technology integration PLC meeting for art.

Prepare your guest teacher resume

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