How to hire a psychology teacher

How to hire a psychology teacher, step by step

Here's a step-by-step psychology teacher hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a psychology teacher job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new psychology teacher
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the psychology teacher you need to hire. Certain psychology teacher roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect psychology teacher also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list presents psychology teacher salaries for various positions.

   Type of Psychology Teacher	Description	Hourly rate
   Psychology Teacher	Postsecondary teachers instruct students in a wide variety of academic and career and technical subjects beyond the high school level. They also conduct research and publish scholarly papers and books.	$18-36
   Certified Teacher	A certified teacher is responsible for designing lesson plans and activities for the students by following the curriculum and the students' learning needs. Certified teachers manage the coordination of the students within the classroom setting, observe their behaviors, and identify their areas of improvement by determining every student's strengths and weaknesses... Show more	$17-32
   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... Show more	$22-35

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Psychology Curriculum
   • Exam
   • Social Studies
   • Sociology
   • Classroom Management
   • Developmental Psychology
   • Student Performance
   • PowerPoint
   • Professional Development
   • Geography
   • State Standards
   • Course Materials
   • IEP
   • Parent-Teacher Conferences

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead weekly tutorial sessions, help with exam preparation and review sessions
   • Prepare students for the national AP exam.
   • Perform other duties such as club advisor and JV girls' soccer coach.
   • Design syllabus for intensive, hands-on and lecture-base learning.
   • Design and implement creative activities that promote phonemic awareness and whole language development.
   • Evaluate and grade, and record class work, assignments, attendance, and require APA research papers.

   More psychology teacher duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your psychology teacher job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A psychology teacher salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, psychology teachers' average salary in arkansas is 43% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level psychology teachers earn 50% less than senior-level psychology teachers.
   • Certifications. A psychology teacher with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a psychology teacher's salary.

   Average psychology teacher salary

   $54,388yearly

   $26.15 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level psychology teacher salary

   $38,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 29, 2025

   Average psychology teacher salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$75,516	$36
   2	New York	$65,152	$31
   3	Minnesota	$61,791	$30
   4	Hawaii	$61,381	$30
   5	Illinois	$60,700	$29
   6	Kansas	$59,757	$29
   7	Massachusetts	$59,009	$28
   8	Ohio	$56,752	$27
   9	Michigan	$56,385	$27
   10	Connecticut	$55,801	$27
   11	Washington	$55,777	$27
   12	Indiana	$55,272	$27
   13	Maryland	$55,186	$27
   14	Colorado	$54,071	$26
   15	Idaho	$53,988	$26
   16	Arizona	$52,599	$25
   17	Florida	$51,595	$25
   18	Pennsylvania	$50,421	$24
   19	Virginia	$49,544	$24
   20	Alabama	$48,679	$23

   Average psychology teacher salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	University of California-Berkeley	$79,656	$38.30	6
   2	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	$76,618	$36.84	6
   3	University of Michigan	$65,318	$31.40	3
   4	Boston College	$64,624	$31.07
   5	University of Hawaii Foundation	$64,469	$30.99
   6	California State University, Fresno	$62,617	$30.10
   7	Western Washington University	$62,517	$30.06
   8	UMiami Health System	$61,121	$29.39	6
   9	Cleveland State University	$60,570	$29.12
   10	The University System of Maryland Foundation	$59,888	$28.79
   11	Widener University	$59,861	$28.78	1
   12	James Madison University	$59,854	$28.78	2
   13	Nova Southeastern University	$58,731	$28.24	16
   14	Kansas State University	$58,215	$27.99
   15	The Ohio State University	$57,612	$27.70	1
   16	KIPP Northern California Public Schools	$57,281	$27.54	13
   17	The University of Alabama	$57,048	$27.43	10
   18	Ball State University	$56,588	$27.21
   19	Georgia State University	$56,329	$27.08	4
   20	Alliant International University	$55,953	$26.90	4

4. Writing a psychology teacher job description

   A psychology teacher job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a psychology teacher job description:

   Psychology teacher job description example

   Introduction to Intrinsic Schools
   
   Intrinsic Schools is a public charter network whose mission is to create a revolutionary new school model that prepares all students for postsecondary success and world-changing endeavors. We offer a chance to make a unique impact in urban education by creating an academic model that leverages great teaching and the precision of technology to personalize education for each student. At our Belmont campus, we serve students in grades 7-12. At our downtown campus, we serve students in grades 9-12. Our student demographics are 90% people of color, 86% free and reduced lunch and 19% students with disabilities.
   
   Why Intrinsic
   
   We offer a chance to make a unique impact in urban education by creating an academic model that leverages great teaching and the precision of technology to personalize education for each student. Our goal is to prepare all students for post-secondary success as demonstrated by high quality student work, growth on assessments and "non cognitive" factors such as empathy, student independence, perseverance, and intellectual curiosity.
   
   Culture at Intrinsic
   
   We believe that a strong student culture focused on learning and mutual respect between students and adults is foundational to a strong school. Teachers at Intrinsic consistently implement a school-wide behavior system designed to create such a culture.
   
   Our Academic Model
   
   Our academic model is unique and creates a very different and exciting place to work. We provide diverse types of learning experiences such as Socratic seminars, small group instruction, hands-on labs and collaborative student projects.
   
   Job Responsibilities
   
   + Implement lesson plans for 4 sections of Art and 1 section of AP Psychology
   
   + Campus is open to dance, art, any type of arts instruction.
   
   + Demonstrate 100% commitment to preparing every student for post-secondary success
   
   + Uphold Intrinsic student culture
   
   + Lead an advisory that meets daily
   
   + Review student level data to inform instruction and student groupings to ensure alignment to goals
   
   + Seek to improve practice through data analysis, observation, feedback and video
   
   + Support student learning outside the classroom through once a week office hours
   
   + Contribute to the overall Intrinsic Team by supporting colleagues, participating in school-wide events and seeking ways to improve the school
   
   Qualifications
   
   + Certified to teach in Illinois or currently enrolled in an alternative certification program (preferred)
   
   + Track record driving student outcomes or a history of achievement with students of a similar
   
   + Comfortable working with technology in the classroom
   
   Equal Opportunity Employer
   
   Intrinsic Schools is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Intrinsic Schools ensures equal employment opportunities regardless of race, creed, gender, color, national origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or disability. Intrinsic Schools has a policy of active recruitment of qualified minority teachers and non-certified employees. Any individual needing assistance in making an application for any opening should contact the Department of Human Resources.
   
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5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right psychology teacher for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your psychology teacher job on Zippia to find and recruit psychology teacher candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as k12jobspot, learn4good, serious teachers, teachingjobs.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit psychology teachers, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new psychology teacher

   Once you've selected the best psychology teacher candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new psychology teacher. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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