How to hire career/technical education teachers, secondary school

A job description you can copy, interview questions tied to the real work, and what to pay. Free.

$66,270U.S. median yearly pay
$60,590–$80,060Middle half, yearly
111,420People in this job in the U.S.

Job description template

Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.

[Job title] at [Company name]
[City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range]

About the role
[Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.]

What you will do
• Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students.
• Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects, and communicate those objectives to students.
• Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment and materials to prevent injury and damage.
• Instruct students in the knowledge and skills required in a specific occupation or occupational field, using a systematic plan of lectures, discussions, audio-visual presentations, and laboratory, shop, and field studies.
• Instruct students individually and in groups, using various teaching methods, such as lectures, discussions, and demonstrations.
• Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
• Prepare materials and classroom for class activities.
• Use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations.

What you bring
• [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any]
• [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: Bachelor's degree]
• Strong active listening, learning strategies, reading comprehension, speaking, critical thinking and monitoring skills
• Working knowledge of education and training, English Language, computers and electronics and customer and personal service
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $66,270 a year.
[Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.]

How to apply
[Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]

Check your finished job post

Interview questions for career/technical education teachers, secondary school

Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.

  1. Tell me about a time you had to establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
  2. Tell me about a time you had to establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects, and communicate those objectives to students. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
  3. Tell me about a time you had to instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment and materials to prevent injury and damage. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
  4. Tell me about a time you had to instruct students in the knowledge and skills required in a specific occupation or occupational field, using a systematic plan of lectures, discussions, audio-visual presentations, and laboratory, shop, and field studies. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
  5. Tell me about a time you had to understand a request or problem that was explained poorly. How did you make sure you got it right?
  6. How do you teach yourself a new process, and how would you teach it to someone else?
  7. Tell me about written instructions, a policy or a manual you had to follow closely. How did you make sure you followed it correctly?
  8. Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?

Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.

What career/technical education teachers, secondary school do

  • Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students.
  • Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects, and communicate those objectives to students.
  • Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment and materials to prevent injury and damage.
  • Instruct students in the knowledge and skills required in a specific occupation or occupational field, using a systematic plan of lectures, discussions, audio-visual presentations, and laboratory, shop, and field studies.
  • Instruct students individually and in groups, using various teaching methods, such as lectures, discussions, and demonstrations.
  • Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
  • Prepare materials and classroom for class activities.
  • Use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations.

Skills that matter most

Active ListeningLearning StrategiesReading ComprehensionSpeakingCritical ThinkingMonitoringEducation and TrainingEnglish LanguageComputers and ElectronicsCustomer and Personal Service

Education, experience and outlook for career/technical education teachers, secondary school

  • Typical education to start: Bachelor's degree (BLS)
  • Related work experience most have: 2 to 4 years (O*NET)
  • Experience usually needed to start: Less than 5 years (BLS)
  • Job outlook: -0.4% over ten years, little or no change · about 6,400 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay career/technical education teachers, secondary school

Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:

StateMedian yearly pay
Washington$101,180
Connecticut$100,810
Massachusetts$98,020
New Jersey$83,770
California$80,620
West Virginia$57,760
Iowa$57,660
Indiana$56,390

See career/technical education teachers, secondary school pay in every state

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Job duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.