# Education Teachers, Postsecondary

US SOC code 25-1081. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/25-1081

Also called: Education professor, Professor of education, Education postsec teacher, Teacher educator, Education faculty.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **60,830** US postsecondary education teachers, with median pay of **$75,350** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2003, the highest was **63,330**, in May 2011, close to the May 2025 count. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d22/tables/dt22_301.20.asp) of **560** from 1870, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for postsecondary education teachers: Online and hybrid program delivery, video-based observation platforms, 2010 to 2022.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 2.5% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=25-1081&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **44%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend. In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.

## Education Teachers, Postsecondary employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1839
- Latest US employment: 60,830 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [3]
- Latest US median pay: $75,350 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Outlook: +2.5% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [18]

### All 33 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1870 | 560 (estimate) | n/a | Est., NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2022 [1] |
| 1900 | 2,400 (estimate) | n/a | Est., NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2022 [1] |
| 1940 | 14,700 (estimate) | n/a | Est., NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2022 [1] |
| 1950 | 24,700 (estimate) | n/a | Est., NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2022 [1] |
| 1971 | n/a | $12,710 (estimate) | Est., NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2021 [4] |
| 1975 | 63,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., IES [2] |
| 1981 | n/a | $23,302 (estimate) | Est., NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2021 [4] |
| 1991 | n/a | $42,165 (estimate) | Est., NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2021 [4] |
| 2000 | 79,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2022 [1] |
| 2001 | n/a | $59,742 (estimate) | Est., NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2021 [4] |
| 2003 | 44,880 | $47,660 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [3] |
| 2004 | 47,710 | $49,530 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [3] |
| 2005 | 51,320 | $50,380 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [3] |
| 2006 | 53,470 | $52,800 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [3] |
| 2007 | 54,420 | $54,220 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [3] |
| 2008 | 55,880 | $56,400 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [3] |
| 2009 | 56,880 | $58,300 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [3] |
| 2010 | 61,450 | $59,140 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [3] |
| 2011 | 63,330 | $59,380 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [3] |
| 2012 | 62,920 | $59,350 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [3] |
| 2013 | 63,190 | $60,170 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [3] |
| 2014 | 59,980 | $59,720 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [3] |
| 2015 | 60,260 | $61,560 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [3] |
| 2016 | 58,850 | $62,520 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [3] |
| 2017 | 60,500 | $64,020 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [3] |
| 2018 | 60,930 | $64,780 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [3] |
| 2019 | 61,300 | $65,510 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [3] |
| 2020 | 57,560 | $65,440 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [3] |
| 2021 | 58,780 | $63,910 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [3] |
| 2022 | 58,280 | $66,930 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [3] |
| 2023 | 60,860 | $73,240 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [3] |
| 2024 | 59,090 | $72,090 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [3] |
| 2025 | 60,830 | $75,350 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [3] |

## Sources (93)

### Employment series

1. [NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2022, Table 301.20 -- Historical summary of faculty in degree-granting postsecondary institutions, 1869-70 through 2020-21](https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d22/tables/dt22_301.20.asp), National Center for Education Statistics
2. [IES -- "Celebrating 150 Years of Education Data" -- faculty count 236,000 in 1960 to 628,000 in 1975 (nearly tripled in 15 years)](https://ies.ed.gov/learn/blog/celebrating-150-years-education-data), Institute of Education Sciences
3. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

4. [NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2021, Table 316.10 -- Average salary of full-time instructional faculty on 9-month contracts, 1970-71 through 2020-21 (all institutions, all ranks: $12,710 in 1970-71)](https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d21/tables/dt21_316.10.asp), National Center for Education Statistics
5. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
6. [BLS OEWS May 2024, national cross-industry estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Tool eras

7. [Framingham State University -- FSU History Part 1 (Lexington Normal School, Cyrus Peirce, 1839 founding)](https://www.framingham.edu/academics/henry-whittemore-library/special-collections-archives/university-history/history-part1), Framingham State University
8. [Wikipedia -- Normal school (history, structure, practice teaching in model schools)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_school), Wikipedia
9. [Teacher Education -- HISTORICAL OVERVIEW (StateUniversity.com): AACTE 1948 accreditation; NCATE 1954 creation; curriculum standardization in teacher preparation](https://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2479/Teacher-Education.html), StateUniversity.com Education Encyclopedia
10. [NCES -- Celebrating 150 Years of Education Data: Biennial Survey of Education as institutional data infrastructure for teacher preparation programs](https://ies.ed.gov/learn/blog/celebrating-150-years-education-data), Institute of Education Sciences
11. [TeachLivE (UCF / CREST) -- history page referencing microteaching and simulation lineage from the 1960s Stanford model to current mixed-reality practice](https://sites.google.com/view/teachlive/history), University of Central Florida / CREST
12. [Wikipedia -- History of higher education in the United States: technology adoption in postsecondary teaching during the 1980s-2000s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_higher_education_in_the_United_States), Wikipedia
13. [GoReact (Echo360) -- AI-powered video observation for teacher education: time-stamped supervisor feedback, clinical placement documentation, CAEP evidence collection (2025)](https://get.goreact.com/resources/embracing-ai-for-teacher-prep/), GoReact / Echo360
14. [CAEP -- Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation: accreditation standards incorporating online supervision evidence requirements](https://caepnet.org/), Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation
15. [MagicSchool AI -- Fast Company Most Innovative Companies 2026 (#9 in Education): 80+ educator tools for lesson planning, differentiation, assessment, and communication](https://www.magicschool.ai/), MagicSchool AI / Fast Company
16. [Federal Reserve FEDS Notes -- Educational Exposure to Generative Artificial Intelligence (Timmerman, Feb 2025): Education field language-model z-score 0.68 (above average); 8.92% of weighted graduate population](https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/educational-exposure-to-generative-artificial-intelligence-20250226.html), Federal Reserve Board
17. [Immaculata University -- Bringing MagicSchool AI to Teacher Preparation Programs: faculty teaching prompt engineering and ethical AI use to pre-service teachers (2025)](https://www.immaculata.edu/news/immaculata-university-brings-magic-school-ai-to-teacher-preparation-programs/), Immaculata University

### Forecasts and exposure studies

18. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 25-1081 Education teachers, postsecondary (2025: 77.2 thousand; 2035: 79.2 thousand; +2.5%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=25-1081&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
19. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 25-1081.00, human-rated β 0.44)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

20. [Framingham State University -- FSU History Part 1: Lexington Normal School, 1839 founding, Cyrus Peirce as first faculty member](https://www.framingham.edu/academics/henry-whittemore-library/special-collections-archives/university-history/history-part1), Framingham State University
21. [Normal schools in the United States -- Wikipedia: 37 normal schools in the US by 1867; geographic spread of the movement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_schools_in_the_United_States), Wikipedia
22. [National WWII Museum -- "The GI Bill and Planning for the Postwar": 238,000 teachers financed; 49% of 1947 college students were veterans; campus expansion required](https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/gi-bill-and-planning-postwar), National WWII Museum
23. [Teacher Education -- HISTORICAL OVERVIEW (StateUniversity.com): NCATE 1954 creation; national accreditation framework for teacher preparation programs](https://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2479/Teacher-Education.html), StateUniversity.com Education Encyclopedia
24. [AAUP -- "Data Snapshot: Tenure and Contingency in US Higher Education" (2018): 47% contingent in fall 1987; 73% off-tenure-track by 2016](https://www.aaup.org/sites/default/files/10112018%20Data%20Snapshot%20Tenure.pdf), American Association of University Professors
25. [Center for American Progress -- "What to Make of Declining Enrollment in Teacher Preparation Programs" (2022): approximately 30% national decline in teacher prep enrollment 2010-2020](https://www.americanprogress.org/article/make-declining-enrollment-teacher-preparation-programs/), Center for American Progress
26. [CAEP -- Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation: accreditation standards including clinical experience requirements (caepnet.org, 2025)](https://caepnet.org/), Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation
27. [eSchool News -- "Using AI to reimagine teacher preparation for scale, equity, and reflective practice": 5,000+ teacher candidates in AI modules since early 2025; 86% skill growth reported (Jul 2025)](https://www.eschoolnews.com/educational-leadership/2025/07/16/using-ai-to-reimagine-teacher-preparation-for-scale-equity-and-reflective-practice/), eSchool News

### Predecessors & successors

28. [Wikipedia -- Normal schools in the United States: history of normal school faculty from preceptors to university professors of education](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_schools_in_the_United_States), Wikipedia
29. [Teacher Education -- HISTORICAL OVERVIEW (StateUniversity.com): former classroom teachers have always been a primary source of teacher education faculty](https://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2479/Teacher-Education.html), StateUniversity.com Education Encyclopedia

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Education Teachers, Postsecondary (25-1081.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/25-1081.00), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-24
- [BLS OES May 2024 — Education Teachers, Postsecondary (25-1081): median annual wage $72,090; ~74,900 employed](https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/oes251081.htm), accessed 2026-05-24
- [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Postsecondary Teachers (2024–2034, +7% projected growth overall)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/postsecondary-teachers.htm), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Federal Reserve FEDS Notes — Educational Exposure to Generative Artificial Intelligence (Timmerman, Feb 2025): Education field LM z-score = 0.68 (above-average); 8.92% of graduate population](https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/educational-exposure-to-generative-artificial-intelligence-20250226.html), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Immaculata University — Bringing Magic School AI to Teacher Preparation Programs: faculty integrating AI in differentiated instruction and lesson planning courses (2025)](https://www.immaculata.edu/news/immaculata-university-brings-magic-school-ai-to-teacher-preparation-programs/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [MagicSchool AI — Fast Company Most Innovative Companies 2026 (#9 Education): 80+ educator tools for lesson planning, differentiation, communication, and assessment](https://www.magicschool.ai/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [GoReact (Echo360) — AI-powered teacher education video observation: AI Assistant tracks pacing, speech patterns, filler phrases; time-stamped supervisor feedback; embracing AI for teacher prep session recap (2025)](https://get.goreact.com/resources/embracing-ai-for-teacher-prep/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [MDPI Education Sciences — Technology Review of MagicSchool AI: Education Inclusivity and Teacher Workload Reduction (15:8:963, 2025)](https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15/8/963), accessed 2026-05-24
- [MDPI Education Sciences — Promoting Reflection Skills of Pre-Service Teachers: The Power of AI-Generated Feedback (15:10:1315, 2025)](https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15/10/1315), accessed 2026-05-24
- [PMC12642211 — AI integration in education course on pre-service teachers: Elicit, Consensus, Gemini, NotebookLM used in teacher ed; reduced AI anxiety, improved innovativeness (2025)](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12642211/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [MDPI Education Sciences — Artificial Intelligence Literacy and Competency in Pre-Service Teacher Education (2673-8392/6/4/76, 2025)](https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8392/6/4/76), accessed 2026-05-24
- [eSchool News — Using AI to reimagine teacher preparation for scale, equity, and reflective practice: 5,000+ teacher candidates in AI modules since early 2025; 86% reported skill growth (Jul 2025)](https://www.eschoolnews.com/educational-leadership/2025/07/16/using-ai-to-reimagine-teacher-preparation-for-scale-equity-and-reflective-practice/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [AERA 2026 Annual Meeting (Los Angeles) — AI in education research theme: generative AI tensions and possibilities; pre-service teachers developing teaching materials with AI](https://www.education.pitt.edu/faculty/research-impact/aera-2026-conference/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [TeachLivE — Mixed-reality classroom simulator with AI-driven student avatars for safe pre-service teacher pedagogical rehearsal (University of Central Florida / CREST)](https://sites.google.com/view/teachlive/history), accessed 2026-05-24
- [FGCU Digital Learning — Enhancing Teaching with AI: How Faculty Can Leverage NotebookLM for course design, student support, and AI literacy modeling (Feb 2025)](https://www.fgcu.edu/digitallearning/digital-learning-blog/02-24-2025-notebooklm), accessed 2026-05-24
- [CAEP — Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation: AI-awareness guidance for teacher preparation programs; evidence of AI integration expected in program quality review (2025)](https://caepnet.org/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Eduaide AI — AI lesson and material generation grounded in 1,000+ peer-reviewed articles; pedagogical frameworks (UDL, 5E Inquiry, Backward Design) built in (2025)](https://www.eduaide.ai/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Brisk Teaching — free Chrome extension: 20+ features for differentiated lesson creation, feedback, quiz generation; used in teacher education methods courses (2026)](https://www.briskteaching.com/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Gradescope — AI-assisted grading: 140,000+ instructors, 3,000+ institutions; answer grouping for efficient rubric application on written assignments across any discipline (2025)](https://www.gradescope.com/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Turnitin — AI detection tool: signal for closer review, not standalone verdict; designed for low false positives at 300-word minimum (2025)](https://www.turnitin.com/), accessed 2026-05-24

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.