How To Become A Technical Instructor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a technical instructor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Rodney Foster

A technical instructor is responsible for training and preparing students who want to go into technical trade. The field may be available for the middle, high or technical school. You will teach students depending on the specialized field. However, to do this, you must have a teaching plan and different teaching aids. You must also make sure to test the students' understanding and knowledge of the specific field they are taught. Not just for tests, but you must ensure that they know the safety procedures and tools for specific trades.

The educational requirement for this role is majorly a bachelor's degree in a specific area. Apart from this, comparable years of experience in the specific field can be taken as an added advantage. You must be knowledgeable in the use of the tools that will be used and in the field generally and must be able to pass knowledge effectively to the students both with teaching aids and by communicating with them. By implication, you will need good verbal and written communication skills. With this, you will earn $29.52 an hour or $61,412 annually.

What general advice would you give to a technical instructor?

Rodney Foster

Instructor - Aviation Maintenance Technology Instructor - Airframe & Powerplant Technology, Orange Coast College

Orange Coast College (OCC) teaches Aircraft Maintenance Technology (AMT) and Avionics. Although the Government has dampened air travel by putting up restrictions to prevent a Covid-19 spread, there is still a certified mechanic/skilled labor shortage. I believe all our students will have permanent jobs within a six-month search. OCC AMT is listed as an essential workforce by the state of California and is back in classes full-time, Face-to-face labs, and online lectures. Our next semester registration maximum filled in two days and still has over 35 additional students per class on the waiting list.

ScoreTechnical InstructorUS Average

Salary

5.3

Avg. Salary $68,086

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.9

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.28%

Asian 11.22%

Black or African American 7.28%

Hispanic or Latino 10.36%

Unknown 4.96%

White 65.90%

Gender

female 31.76%

male 68.24%

Age - 46

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 - 46

Stress level

6.9

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.1

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

10.0

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a technical instructor

Explore technical instructor education requirements

Most common technical instructor degrees

Bachelor's

57.5 %

Associate

20.2 %

Master's

14.0 %

Start to develop specific technical instructor skills

Skills	Percentages
Kids	14.50%
Professional Development	10.70%
Curriculum Development	4.39%
Technical Training	3.99%
Course Content	3.40%

Complete relevant technical instructor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New technical instructors 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 technical instructor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real technical instructor resumes.

Gain additional technical instructor certifications

Technical instructor certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific technical instructor certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for technical instructors include Certified Surgical Technologist (CST) and CompTIA A+ Certification.

More About Certifications

Research technical instructor duties and responsibilities

Manage bank deposits, employee and vendor payments, invoices and receipts, and keep quickbooks update.
Manage a host multi-server Linux operating environment in support of those systems.
Create a quality learning environment where kids can thrive and advance their knowledge.
Establish advanced high school computer classes such as desktop publishing, computer applications.

Prepare your technical instructor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your technical instructor 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 technical instructor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable technical instructor resume templates

Build a professional technical instructor 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 technical instructor resume.