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

What is a literature teacher and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Diana Jones

The average literature teacher salary is $56,543. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an english major. It usually takes 1-2 years of experience to become a literature teacher. Literature teachers with a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 5% and produce 48,700 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a literature teacher?

Dr. Diana Jones

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.

ScoreLiterature TeacherUS Average

Salary

4.4

Avg. Salary $56,543

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.4

Growth rate 5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.45%

Asian 3.59%

Black or African American 8.06%

Hispanic or Latino 11.73%

Unknown 3.97%

White 72.20%

Gender

female 68.96%

male 31.04%

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

8.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a literature teacher

Explore literature teacher education requirements

Most common literature teacher degrees

Bachelor's

66.4 %

Master's

24.7 %

Associate

3.5 %

Start to develop specific literature teacher skills

Skills	Percentages
Classroom Management	13.15%
English Language	12.05%
Language Arts	10.36%
Instructional Materials	9.61%
Curriculum Development	7.95%

Complete relevant literature teacher training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New literature 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 a literature teacher based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real literature teacher resumes.

Research literature teacher duties and responsibilities

Lead debates with advance students on topics including globalization, economics, and political history.
Administer testing for students with an IEP and prepare paperwork necessary for annual review.
Challenge students to master basic math concepts through implementation of manipulative graphing, and charting exercises that develop problem-solving skills.
Create sociology curriculum including lesson plans, time-line/curriculum map, and activities.

Prepare your literature teacher resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your literature 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 literature 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 literature teacher resume templates

Build a professional literature 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 literature teacher resume.

Apply for literature teacher jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a literature teacher job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do literature teachers rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Literature teacher reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2023

Pros

I like sharing my mother tongue, help others to learn and use the language to communicate their ideas and thoughts. to know we contribute in people learning is rewarding

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

A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2020

Cons

Some students' non-challant attitude towards learning.

Pros

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

What is a literature teacher and how to become one

What general advice would you give to a literature teacher?

Literature teacher career paths

Key steps to become a literature teacher

Explore literature teacher education requirements

Most common literature teacher degrees

Start to develop specific literature teacher skills

Complete relevant literature teacher training and internships

Research literature teacher duties and responsibilities

Prepare your literature teacher resume

Choose from 10+ customizable literature teacher resume templates

Apply for literature teacher jobs

How did you land your first literature teacher job

Average literature teacher salary

How do literature teachers rate their job?

Literature teacher reviews