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Job outlook for guest teachers in the United States
Guest teacher job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected guest teacher job growth rate is 4% from 2018-2028.
About 60,200 new jobs for guest teachers are projected over the next decade.
Guest teacher salaries have increased 6% for guest teachers in the last 5 years.
There are over 51,286 guest teachers currently employed in the United States.
There are 84,930 active guest teacher job openings in the US.
The average guest teacher salary is $32,547.
Are guest teacher jobs in demand?
Guest teacher job and salary trends over time
Guest teacher jobs over time
Guest teacher job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51,286 | 0.02% |
| 2020 | 421,106 | 0.13% |
| 2019 | 439,054 | 0.13% |
| 2018 | 252,834 | 0.08% |
| 2017 | 253,591 | 0.08% |
Average guest teacher salary over time
Guest teacher salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $32,547 | $15.65 | +2.5% |
| 2025 | $31,752 | $15.27 | +0.3% |
| 2024 | $31,665 | $15.22 | +1.8% |
| 2023 | $31,100 | $14.95 | +1.7% |
| 2022 | $30,573 | $14.70 | +3.7% |
Guest teacher jobs by state
Most common states for guest teachers
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 1,432 | 26% |
| 2 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 348 | 26% |
| 3 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 181 | 26% |
| 4 | Nevada | 2,998,039 | 706 | 24% |
| 5 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 719 | 20% |
| 6 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 620 | 20% |
| 7 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 1,157 | 19% |
| 8 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 1,118 | 19% |
| 9 | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 1,235 | 18% |
| 10 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 1,028 | 18% |
| 11 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 192 | 18% |
| 12 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 105 | 18% |
| 13 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 2,072 | 16% |
| 14 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 1,437 | 16% |
| 15 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,070 | 16% |
| 16 | Delaware | 961,939 | 153 | 16% |
| 17 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 281 | 15% |
| 18 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 158 | 15% |
| 19 | Vermont | 623,657 | 92 | 15% |
| 20 | New Mexico | 2,088,070 | 292 | 14% |
Guest Teacher job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of guest teacher experts
University of Maine
University of New Orleans
University of California - San Diego
Hartwick College
Georgia College and State University
Auburn University Main Campus
University of South Alabama
Slippery Rock University
Elmhurst University
University of South Florida
Southern Oregon University
Seattle Pacific University
California State University - Fresno
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Oakland University
Point Loma Nazarene University
Indiana University Kokomo
Clemson University
UNC Charlotte
Dr. William Nichols Ph.D.
Professor, Literacy, Language and CultureUniversity of Maine
Education
What will help Guest Teachers increase their earning potential?
Dr. William Nichols Ph.D.: Future graduating education majors can expect to immediately enter the 'survival phase of teaching.' Up to this point, they have had university faculty, university mentors, collaborating teacher mentors, and their peer candidates all supporting their development into excellent professionals in the field of education. However, upon the first minute of the first day of teaching, they will enter the survival phase and, in many cases, they will fight for personal and professional existence.
What will help Guest Teachers increase their earning potential?
David Podgorski Ph.D.: Make sure to keep your options open. Do not turn away an opportunity just because it doesn’t check every box on your list. You will have opportunities to find your dream job by getting experience. Be honest about what you don’t know. You are not expected to know everything. Employers will train you to do your job. Do not stay in a toxic workplace. Your mental health and wellbeing should be your top priorities. I also suggest that more students consider careers as high school teachers. You get paid well, can live anywhere in the US, and get summers and holidays off. Be open to change. Your career path will not be a straight line. While it is great to have a vision for the future, don’t pass up potential opportunities because you put your skills in a box. Be visible in the community!
What Guest Teacher skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Chris Halter: My best advice for any new professional is to find yourself a mentor. Even better, have several mentors. Depending on the areas that you want to grow or excel, there may be a different mentor who could guide you towards those goals. We should also acknowledge that education is a social field. We are in service of others and should always strive to recognize the communities that we serve. Learn, be curious, and understand the values, goals, and strengths that can be found in our communities.
What general advice would you give to a Guest Teacher?
Ross Bussell PhD: Teaching is a very rewarding career, but it is also relentlessly challenging. The first year especially can be frustrating. Over 40% of new teachers leave the field within five years, and it's because of the challenges they face early on. My general advice to new teachers is; truly take in the things you learn in your teacher preparation courses, the undergraduate education you receive. The purpose of your education at this point is to provide you with the tools to help you survive those first few years, after which your professional instincts and mentoring you have on the job will take over. Accept the fact that your first year will push you to the brink, that there will be days you want to quit. But it gets easier. The second year is so much easier, because then you'll know what you didn't the prior year. If you can accept that everything is a learning opportunity, you can avoid becoming a statistic as well.
What general advice would you give to a Guest Teacher?
Bailey McAlister PhD: Maximizing salary potential is a valuable point that I unfortunately don't have much positive experience in as a college teacher. I always ask for salary increase whenever I can. When I start a job, when I've been at a job a year, when I get another job offer, etc. It doesn't hurt to ask. I guess I'd advise new graduates to note quantities of money, sales, funding, etc. on their resumes. Showing in numbers how much you've grown is important.
What will help Guest Teachers increase their earning potential?
Bailey McAlister PhD: I think that any skills rooted in confident experimentation will be increasingly valuable in the near future. For example, you don’t need to be an AI expert, but you should be curious about AI innovations and open to experimenting with AI in your work. Technical knowledge can be learned. But there's real value in being confident to experiment, make mistakes, learn, practice, reflect.
What will help Guest Teachers increase their earning potential?
Dr. Wayne Journell: Teaching is a difficult profession to advance in with respect to salary. Most districts have a set salary schedule that is based on years of service (and most private schools pay less than public schools). That said, some states and districts prioritize teachers more than others, so if one is geographically open, I would encourage them to seek out states and districts that pay teachers well (keeping in mind discrepancies in cost of living).
Andrew Pendola Ph.D.
Associate Professor | Program CoordinatorAuburn University Main Campus
Education
What general advice would you give to a Guest Teacher?
Andrew Pendola Ph.D.: Hi Andrew. Just following up. Would you, or can you recommend a professor from Auburn University Main Campus, to provide answers for our expert panel on starting a career with a degree in Education? We need someone who can give insights into what it's like entering the workforce this year.
What Guest Teacher skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Andrew Pendola Ph.D.: Hi Alex, I’d be happy to chat with you — my area is in labor markets for educators—so recruitment, hiring, retention, etc.
What will help Guest Teachers increase their earning potential?
Andrew Pendola Ph.D.: Thanks! We've found we get better responses over email than the phone because it gives you some time to think about it. We were hoping you could answer the following questions:
What will help Guest Teachers increase their earning potential?
Nicole Amare Ph.D.: Clearly, new graduates should emphasize their diverse talents with concrete examples (how have they applied these skills successfully?) and seek positions where they will be valued for their unique skill sets. When interviewing and negotiating salaries, graduates could present a portfolio documenting their work. For example, a new English teacher with outstanding graphic design skills could show their work to a future employer and negotiate for higher pay or even a better or different position because of their skills in designing websites, flyers, and other promotional materials for the school or organization.
Dr. Matthew Erickson
Chairman and Associate Professor of Special EducationSlippery Rock University
Special Education Department
What skills will help Guest Teachers earn the most?
Dr. Matthew Erickson: Ultimately be a good person and work with faculty, staff, students, and their family to put children first. You cannot teach heart, and that is what it takes to be an excellent teacher.
What's a good job out of college for Guest Teachers?
Linda Dauksas: "Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life". Any job that you LOVE is a good job out of college! No one can teach you to love your job or to love teaching. During the interview process, the candidate should be selective about the job opportunity, just as much as the district is making a decision about or selecting the candidate.
Dr. Elizabeth Doone Ph.D.
UG and MAT in ESE Programs CoordinatorUniversity of South Florida
College of Education
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Guest Teacher job market given the pandemic?
Dr. Elizabeth Doone Ph.D.: During the pandemic the workload for many teachers has compounded as they are expected to teach face-to-face and online simultaneously. Engaging students with special needs in an online environment while beneficial to a few students has proved challenging for others. Imagine engaging a class of three-, four-, and five-year-olds with language impairments and developmental delays in an online format. This becomes a challenge for both working families and teachers.
Amy Belcastro Ph.D.
Professor of EducationSouthern Oregon University
Educational Administration And Supervision
What Guest Teacher skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Amy Belcastro Ph.D.: First, focus on updating your current resume to clearly communicate and provide evidence of your transferable skills and cognitive competencies such as strong communication and technology skills; the ability to work well with others who may be different in backgrounds, beliefs, etc.; leadership skills, and problem solving and complex thinking. After you have done this, assess where you are lacking and create a plan to strengthen your resume by seeking experiences. A very popular method of doing this is by completing a digital badge or micro-credential at an institute of higher education. It is a way of acknowledging competencies and skills in much less time than a college degree would take. Some may only be a few credits. This is becoming very popular for the workforce and therefore more institutions of higher education are offering these, some in partnership with companies.
Christopher Hanson
Assistant Professor of Music, Director of Music Education and Orchestral ActivitiesSeattle Pacific University
Music Department
What general advice would you give to a Guest Teacher?
Christopher Hanson: 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.
Cheryl McDonald
Faculty & Coordinator, Education Specialist and Dual Credential programsCalifornia State University - Fresno
Literacy, Early, Bilingual and Special Education Department
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Guest Teacher job market given the pandemic?
Cheryl McDonald: One of biggest trends in the job market, pandemic or not, is in education. There is real shortage of qualified educators, service providers and educational leaders, despite the incentives, stipends, or bonus monies that districts and universities use to attract candidates to the field. There is a shortage of qualified credentialed teachers in many teaching disciplines across most of the United States. The most severe shortages are in special education, mathematics, science, bilingual/dual immersion, and early childhood education. There is also a need for qualified school administrators, school psychologists, school social workers, school nurses, and school counselors.
All of these areas require specialized knowledge and specialized certification, in addition to a passion and dedication for the discipline. In California, for example, earning a teaching credential requires a Bachelor's degree, fingerprint clearance from local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, completion of the U.S. Constitution, basics skills, subject matter and literacy instruction requirements, typically through costly and rigorous tests, current certification in CPR for infants, children and adults, and completion of a teacher preparation program in the area of the credential. In special education, a candidate would need to complete a teacher preparation program in a specialty area: mild/moderate disabilities, moderate/severe disabilities, physical, visual, or health impairments, deaf and hard of hearing, or speech and language development.
Each day spent with students is unique and exciting. Teachers, service providers and leaders not only need to be qualified, they also need to be compassionate, collaborative, adaptable, flexible, and effective, especially when the unexpected arises. Virtual/online teaching skills are a plus. Teachers and educational leaders also need to be prepared to work with culturally- and linguistically-diverse student and family populations, with students who are gifted and talented, and students experiencing risk factors such as homelessness, poverty, drug or alcohol dependency, frequent absences or bullying.
Aaron Hoy Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of SociologyMinnesota State University, Mankato
Sociology Department
What experience really stands out on Guest Teacher resumes?
Aaron Hoy Ph.D.: Increasingly, I hear employers say that they look to see if recent college graduates, sociology majors included, have relevant "real-world" experience, especially internships. For this reason, many sociology programs (including my own) have recently moved to make internships a required component of the major. Sociology majors who are not required to complete an internship may consider doing one anyway. But given the specific industries that sociology majors typically work in, volunteering should not be discounted altogether.
For instance, the American Sociological Association's data has consistently shown that "Social Services/Counselor" is the job category sociology majors are most likely to work in immediately following graduation. And the specific places they work often include various non-profit organizations like shelters for victims of domestic violence or homeless youth, all of which rely on volunteers. Sociology majors who do volunteer work in college not only benefit their communities; they also show at least some potential employers that they understand why they do the work they do and what it looks like on the ground.
Dr. Cynthia Carver
Associate Professor & ChairOakland University
Department of Organizational Leadership
What Guest Teacher skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Cynthia Carver: Hone your teaching skills! Schools will continue to need substitute teachers and para-professionals. Child care facilitates and after-school programs will still need teachers. And it's likely that many families will be seeking tutors as their children catch up. To gain experience and build your resume, seek opportunities that mirror the work you do as a classroom teacher.
What experience really stands out on Guest Teacher resumes?
Dr. Jennifer Lineback Ph.D.: Practical experience working with real learners/students! Whether that experience be through formal academic programs (i.e., through volunteering in a classroom or being hired as an academic tutor or aid), or informal programming (i.e., working with children during after school care, Sunday School, or summer camps), the more experience graduates have with children, the better!
What type of skills will young Guest Teachers need?
Dr. Jennifer Lineback Ph.D.: Graduates will need to be comfortable adapting to evolving conditions. More than ever, we have collectively learned that situations can change, quickly. To be successful in education during this time and in the coming years, educators will need to be patient, flexible, and willing to modify their approach to teaching/learning when situations change. Having knowledge and understanding of a wide variety of instructional strategies, both for in-person and remote learning, will be critical, as will the ability to know when and how to implement these different strategies. Furthermore, our students will need strategies to support students' socio-emotional learning and cultural competency, in addition to those focused on developing content knowledge.
Niki Weller Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Sociology, ChairIndiana University Kokomo
Department of Sociology
What type of skills will young Guest Teachers need?
Niki Weller Ph.D.: Students need to demonstrate that they are versatile communicators, with strong written and oral communication skills. Students should take full advantage of any public speaking opportunities, such as conference presentations, to demonstrate evidence of this skill. Employers want to hire people who are personable, involved, and have potential leadership qualities. Students should be engaged in campus extracurricular activities, including student clubs, experiential learning events, or community engagements. Research skills, like data collection and analysis, are extremely important and can be applied in a variety of professions. Students should hone these skills through social science research.
What experience really stands out on Guest Teacher resumes?
Pamela Stecker Ph.D.: Because I am not hiring teachers, I am not sure how resumes always are perceived. However, I know that our particular education majors are highly sought after, particularly in our state/region. School district personnel know that they can count on our graduates' knowledge and field-based experience in evidence-based methods.
District personnel often tell our faculty that our grads were impressive when they interviewed because they could discuss practices in academic progress monitoring, data-based decision making, explicit instructional strategies, behavior and classroom management, and functional behavior assessments. Many of our students list these practices on their resumes as part of the brief descriptions of activities they engaged in during particular field placements or student teaching.
Most of our students have been able to list various extracurricular experiences with individuals with disabilities on their resumes as well. Clemson faculty and student groups provide multiple opportunities for engagement with individuals with disabilities. For example, ClemsonLIFE is a postsecondary program for young adults with disabilities seeking a university experience. Our majors (and others) work as teachers of life-skills classes, as resident assistants in apartments, and as buddies when working out or going to movies.
A faculty member organized TOPSoccer and Challenger Baseball as sports activities for youth in the local counties. Our student chapter of the Council for Exceptional Children hosts Special Olympics games on Clemson's campus for area youth. Additionally, many of our majors volunteer at summer camps or as assistants with behavior therapy.
Brad Smith
Director of Teacher Education Advising and LicensureUNC Charlotte
Department of Teacher Education Advising and Licensure
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Guest Teachers to find work opportunities?
Brad Smith: There has, for some time, been a significant teacher shortage in many areas across the country. In NC, educator recruitment initiatives of all types exist in school districts, state agencies, and colleges and universities. Still, it's not uncommon for schools to begin the academic year with vacancies. I recommend that individuals interested in a teaching career review the licensing requirements in their state and speak with an advisor at a state-approved and accredited teacher education program to understand their options. Many states, NC included, have processes in place that make it possible for individuals who hold a bachelor's degree to begin teaching while they complete licensure coursework, creating a smoother transition for those changing careers. Teaching is an absolutely incredible profession. Your future students need you!