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What does a Professional Educator do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
Quoted Expert
Dr. Stephen Graves Ph.D

Professional educators have skills in critical thinking, patience, communication, organization, imaginative thinking, leadership, teamwork, and time management. Those who choose this career field will be required to provide quality educational programs and promote their profession above any personal gain and possess accountability to clients, community, parents, and students.

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Professional educator responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real professional educator resumes:

  • Manage revolving caseload of students with IEP team including initials, transfer placements, manifestation determinations.
  • Design and organize workshops for parents to provide tools in assisting students to increase literacy and mathematics achievement.
  • Provide urban education, multicultural education and leadership training for a diverse population of new teachers.

Professional educator skills and personality traits

We calculated that 8% of Professional Educators are proficient in Classroom Management, Curriculum Development, and Training Programs. They’re also known for soft skills such as Physical stamina, Patience, and Communication skills.

We break down the percentage of Professional Educators that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Classroom Management, 8%

    Model effective classroom management and participant rapport resulting in challenging clients being served.

  • Curriculum Development, 7%

    Collaborated with senior management, practice group leaders, consultants, trainers and staff for needs assessments and curriculum development.

  • Training Programs, 7%

    Developed and managed execution of national educational training programs for Physicians, Nurses and Technical Staff in the cardiovascular arena.

  • English Language, 7%

    Worked with an average of 33 students per class in all content areas, specifically mathematics and English Language Arts.

  • Autism, 6%

    Supported students in a high-needs Autism Spectrum Disorder program

  • Professional Development, 5%

    Designed Workforce Investment Act and GI Bill accreditation procedures for professional development programs serving scores of new non-traditional learners.

Common skills that a professional educator uses to do their job include "classroom management," "curriculum development," and "training programs." You can find details on the most important professional educator responsibilities below.

Physical stamina. One of the key soft skills for a professional educator to have is physical stamina. You can see how this relates to what professional educators do because "working with kindergarten- and elementary-age students can be tiring." Additionally, a professional educator resume shows how professional educators use physical stamina: "facilitated the development of district-wide physical education and health education curriculums. "

Patience. Another essential skill to perform professional educator duties is patience. Professional educators responsibilities require that "kindergarten and elementary school teachers must respond with patience when students struggle with material." Professional educators also use patience in their role according to a real resume snippet: "exhibited patience and skill in teaching several students with english as a second language (esl). "

Communication skills. This is an important skill for professional educators to perform their duties. For an example of how professional educator responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "teachers need to discuss students’ needs with parents and administrators." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a professional educator: "prepared fda and ddmac communications to address and answer regulatory concerns. ".

See the full list of professional educator skills

The three companies that hire the most professional educators are:

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Compare different professional educators

Professional educator vs. Student teacher

A student-teacher is responsible for assisting their supervising instructors in maintaining the class orderliness during lectures and class activities. Student teachers' duties include helping with lesson plans, organizing learning activities, managing student behaviors, observing classroom procedures, preparing visual materials and other educational equipment, providing feedback for students, and keeping students' records for evaluation. A student-teacher must maintain excellent communication and decision-making skills to set goals and make consistent progress to the class while keeping students engaged.

The annual salary of student teachers is $8,967 higher than the average salary of professional educators.Even though professional educators and student teachers are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require classroom management, professional development, and student learning in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between professional educators and student teacher. For instance, professional educator responsibilities require skills such as "curriculum development," "training programs," "english language," and "autism." Whereas a student teacher is skilled in "math," "language arts," "kindergarten," and "bulletin boards." This is part of what separates the two careers.

Student teachers really shine in the education industry with an average salary of $54,049. Comparatively, professional educators tend to make the most money in the education industry with an average salary of $49,477.student teachers tend to reach lower levels of education than professional educators. In fact, student teachers are 8.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.4% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Professional educator vs. Head teacher

A headteacher is responsible for monitoring the students' overall learning process, managing and evaluating the performance of school staff, implementing effective learning strategies for the students, encouraging them to reach their maximum potential, and gain self-confidence. Headteachers often lead meetings, especially discussing school activities and the child's performance to their parents, implementing safety policies, and enforcing disciplinary actions for policy violations. A headteacher must have excellent leadership and communication skills to handle the students' needs and support their high-quality performance.

On average, head teachers earn a $1,647 higher salary than professional educators a year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Professional educators and head teachers both require similar skills like "classroom management," "curriculum development," and "professional development" to carry out their responsibilities.

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that professional educator responsibilities requires skills like "training programs," "english language," "autism," and "kids." But a head teacher might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "child care," "creative curriculum," "language arts," and "pre-k."

On average, head teachers earn a higher salary than professional educators. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, head teachers earn the most pay in the retail industry with an average salary of $52,971. Whereas professional educators have higher pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $49,477.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Head teachers tend to reach lower levels of education than professional educators. In fact, they're 7.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Professional Educators in the next 3-5 years?

Dr. Stephen Graves Ph.DDr. Stephen Graves Ph.D LinkedIn Profile

Director of Undergraduate Studies, Assistant Professor, University of Missouri

Zoom and online teaching and conference technology will be critical and prevalent in the field. Many jobs will remain, or continue to have in-home features, so being prepared and able to shift your technique and skills online will be beneficial.

Professional educator vs. Esl teacher

An ESL teacher specializes in teaching the English language to non-native speakers of all ages, usually in a virtual setting. Their responsibilities revolve around devising lesson plans, organizing learning materials, evaluating progress, and coming up with strategies to make learners feel comfortable. Furthermore, they must maintain a healthy and safe learning environment, whether the lessons are in a one-on-one or group setting. When it comes to virtual learning, an ESL teacher must have the necessary equipment, a stable internet connection, and an obstruction-free teaching location.

An average esl teacher eans a higher salary compared to the average salary of professional educators. The difference in salaries amounts to esl teachers earning a $2,633 higher average salary than professional educators.By looking over several professional educators and esl teachers resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "classroom management," "curriculum development," and "english language." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from professional educator resumes include skills like "training programs," "autism," "professional development," and "healthcare professionals," whereas an esl teacher is more likely to list skills in "whiteboards," "grammar," "language arts," and "language. "

Esl teachers make a very good living in the retail industry with an average annual salary of $52,367. On the other hand, professional educators are paid the highest salary in the education industry, with average annual pay of $49,477.esl teachers typically earn similar educational levels compared to professional educators. Specifically, they're 2.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Professional educator vs. Teacher

Being a teacher is one of the most passionate professions, among others. Teachers educate, motivate, and guide every generation of learners to prepare them for the real world. Every teacher is unique and has their own teaching styles and methods depending on the subject they teach and the age of their students. Oftentimes they also function as a parent, counselor, coach, friend, and even a lawmaker. There is essentially no limit to the roles a teacher portrays.

Teachers typically earn lower pay than professional educators. On average, teachers earn a $2,079 lower salary per year.According to resumes from professional educators and teachers, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "classroom management," "curriculum development," and "professional development. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "training programs," "english language," "autism," and "healthcare professionals" are skills that commonly show up on professional educator resumes. On the other hand, teachers use skills like handle scheduling, cpr, math, and literature on their resumes.The education industry tends to pay the highest salaries for teachers, with average annual pay of $49,700. Comparatively, the highest professional educator annual salary comes from the education industry.In general, teachers hold lower degree levels compared to professional educators. Teachers are 6.4% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 1.9% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of professional educator

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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