What is a Substitute Paraprofessional?

If you have a passion for teaching but can't commit to a full-time position, the role of a substitute paraprofessional may be just the job for you. A paraprofessional is an education worker that supports licensed teachers by performing various tasks in classroom management and student administration. These tasks typically include checking attendance, helping teachers with lesson plans, preparing teaching materials, co-teaching under supervision, and conducting classes when the teacher is unavailable.

Aside from these primary roles, a substitute paraprofessional may also assist students with special needs, report to the teacher about students' progress, and update individual educational programs as needed.

You only need a high school diploma or GED to become a substitute paraprofessional, but an associate's degree in a relevant course is a great advantage. More important than these requirements are good skills in teaching, classroom management, organization, and collaboration.

The average salary of a substitute paraprofessional is $25,000 a year. However, since substitute paraprofessionals work on an on-call or temporary basis, their income can vary depending on the demand for their services.

What Does a Substitute Paraprofessional Do

There are certain skills that many substitute paraprofessionals have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed communication skills, interpersonal skills and patience.

Learn more about what a Substitute Paraprofessional does

How To Become a Substitute Paraprofessional

If you're interested in becoming a substitute paraprofessional, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 48.5% of substitute paraprofessionals have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 6.3% of substitute paraprofessionals have master's degrees. Even though most substitute paraprofessionals have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

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Substitute Paraprofessional Career Paths

As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a substitute paraprofessional can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as substitute teacher, progress to a title such as teacher and then eventually end up with the title assistant principal.

Substitute Paraprofessional

Average Salary for a Substitute Paraprofessional

Substitute Paraprofessionals in America make an average salary of $28,914 per year or $14 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $35,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $23,000 per year.
Average Substitute Paraprofessional Salary
$28,914 Yearly
$13.90 hourly
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Roles and Types of Substitute Paraprofessional

There are several types of substitute paraprofessional, including:

Substitute Teacher

Role:

Substitute teachers are there when regular teachers need backup. If the regular teacher can't make it into school on a given day, a substitute teacher is called.

Sometimes you won't know you're going into teach a class until that day, that's why you kind of have to be "on-call" as a substitute teacher. You never know when you're going to be needed. Some substitute teachers get to fill in if a regular teacher has to take an extended absence, which means you'll be there until they get back. Long-term substitute gigs can mean anything from two weeks to five months or more.

It's important as a substitute teacher to establish some ground rules when you first step into the classroom. Since you're not the regular teacher, some students may decide they don't have to follow any rules, which definitely makes "subbing" even harder. But don't worry - you've got this.

  • Average Salary: $32,904
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Teacher Aide

Role:

A Teacher Aide assists a classroom teacher in dealing with a large number of children. He/She or she helps engage children's attention through one-on-one activities or group exercises. These are part of the integral lesson plan created by the teacher. They might be involved in helping the teacher design the lessons and activities or provide support for dealing with children with special needs.

Teacher aides help manage outdoor games and physical activities or assist with extra activities such as physiotherapy. Sometimes they are responsible for extra classes, like teaching a foreign language. They administer medication to students who need it and help with requests regarding personal hygiene.

Part of the responsibilities of a teacher's aide is to monitor and discuss the child's progress with the parents and other teachers.

  • Average Salary: $29,480
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Para Educator

Role:

Paraeducators work under school employees to provide additional direction and instruction to special needs students and their families. They assist in specialist classrooms like the library, the computer lab, or a physical education class. The Educator attends to the needs of the students, including physical, personal, academic, and emotional needs. Also, they organize and monitor the classroom during classes to prevent distractions. Paraeducators assist with assembling relevant teaching materials such as bulletin boards, textbooks, visual aids, and activity sheets.

Candidates must have a bachelor's degree in early childhood development or any education-related field. They must also have experience working with children and special needs students. Not just this, but they must be familiar with teaching methods and educational software. Also, they must possess previous teac hing experience. Successful paraeducators have communication, collaboration, bilingual and interpersonal skills. This personnel earns an average salary of $31,016 yearly. It ranges from $23,000 to $43,000.

  • Average Salary: $31,394
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree
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States With The Most Substitute Paraprofessional Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active substitute paraprofessional jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where substitute paraprofessionals earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Substitute Paraprofessional Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California2,289$30,446
2Texas1,568$27,498
3Illinois1,495$27,101
4Florida1,336$21,514
5New York1,141$30,286
6Arizona1,078$27,308
7New Jersey1,055$29,103
8Pennsylvania917$26,089
9Michigan846$24,854
10Minnesota790$27,215
11Maryland746$26,461
12Colorado740$25,330
13North Carolina705$23,267
14Virginia681$23,483
15Georgia669$23,636
16Connecticut661$27,420
17Ohio625$29,135
18Massachusetts601$29,749
19Washington528$32,454
20Indiana520$30,210
21Missouri434$25,348
22Tennessee423$22,685
23Nevada404$28,126
24South Carolina364$22,454
25Wisconsin359$27,005
26Kansas309$25,286
27Oklahoma300$23,628
28Oregon299$29,948
29Iowa283$24,210
30New Hampshire280$25,231
31Louisiana250$22,553
32Alabama248$22,585
33New Mexico235$28,651
34Kentucky225$23,527
35Nebraska210$27,464
36Idaho203$28,665
37Arkansas196$24,268
38Utah179$26,300
39Mississippi167$24,403
40Delaware165$24,029
41Montana158$26,333
42Maine120$25,673
43Vermont119$28,003
44Rhode Island101$27,163
45Wyoming97$24,448
46Alaska96$29,050
47West Virginia76$23,398
48South Dakota74$25,015
49North Dakota66$27,964
50Hawaii59$30,490

Substitute Paraprofessional Education

Substitute Paraprofessional Majors

Psychology
13.2 %
Business
12.6 %
Liberal Arts
8.0 %

Substitute Paraprofessional Degrees

Bachelors

48.5 %

Associate

27.6 %

High School Diploma

11.8 %

Top Colleges for Substitute Paraprofessionals

1. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-State Tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

2. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,808

Enrollment

13,990

3. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

4. SUNY Stony Brook

Stony Brook, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,625

Enrollment

17,407

5. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

6. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

7. Howard University

Washington, DC • Private

In-State Tuition

$26,756

Enrollment

6,166

8. SUNY at Albany

Albany, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$10,011

Enrollment

13,434

9. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

10. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-State Tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

Top Skills For a Substitute Paraprofessional

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 14.7% of substitute paraprofessionals listed instructional support on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and interpersonal skills are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Substitute Paraprofessional Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Substitute Paraprofessional templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Substitute Paraprofessional resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Substitute Paraprofessional diversity

Substitute Paraprofessional Gender Distribution

Female
Female
85%
Male
Male
15%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among substitute paraprofessionals, 84.6% of them are women, while 15.4% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among substitute paraprofessionals is White, which makes up 60.9% of all substitute paraprofessionals.

  • The most common foreign language among substitute paraprofessionals is Spanish at 68.1%.

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Best States For a Substitute Paraprofessional

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a substitute paraprofessional. The best states for people in this position are Washington, Hawaii, California, and New York. Substitute paraprofessionals make the most in Washington with an average salary of $32,454. Whereas in Hawaii and California, they would average $30,490 and $30,446, respectively. While substitute paraprofessionals would only make an average of $30,286 in New York, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. Nevada

Total Substitute Paraprofessional Jobs: 404
Highest 10% Earn:
$35,000
Location Quotient:
2.16

$28,126

Avg. Salary

View 404 Substitute Paraprofessional Jobs In NV

2. New Mexico

Total Substitute Paraprofessional Jobs: 235
Highest 10% Earn:
$36,000
Location Quotient:
1.34

$28,651

Avg. Salary

View 235 Substitute Paraprofessional Jobs In NM

3. Idaho

Total Substitute Paraprofessional Jobs: 203
Highest 10% Earn:
$36,000
Location Quotient:
1.38

$28,665

Avg. Salary

View 203 Substitute Paraprofessional Jobs In ID
Full List Of Best States For Substitute Paraprofessionals

How Do Substitute Paraprofessionals Rate Their Jobs?

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Top Substitute Paraprofessional Employers

Most Common Employers For Substitute Paraprofessional

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Anoka-Hennepin School District$30,289$14.565
2Bethel School District$29,986$14.425
3Kalamazoo Public Schools$29,542$14.209
4TrumbullPS HR$29,461$14.1610
5Rochester City School District$29,411$14.1414
6Green Bay Schools$29,294$14.088
7Centennial School District$29,029$13.968
8Delta-T Group$28,871$13.8814
9City of New York$28,742$13.82106
10Teachers On Call$28,372$13.6432
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Updated April 6, 2023