# Communications Teachers, Postsecondary

US SOC code 25-1122. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/25-1122

Also called: Communications professor, Comm studies professor, Media studies professor, Journalism professor, PR professor.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **29,420** US postsecondary communications teachers, with median pay of **$78,580** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2003, the highest was **30,030**, in May 2012, close to the May 2025 count. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2274/National-Communication-Association.html) of **60** from 1915, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for postsecondary communications teachers: Social media and mobile platforms, 2007 to 2020.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 2.1% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=25-1122&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **57.5%** 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.

## Communications Teachers, Postsecondary employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1879
- Latest US employment: 29,420 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [3]
- Latest US median pay: $78,580 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [6]
- Outlook: +2.1% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [17]

### All 29 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1915 | 60 (estimate) | n/a | Est., National Communication Association [1] |
| 1924 | 910 (estimate) | n/a | Est., National Communication Association [1] |
| 1934 | 2,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., National Communication Association [1] |
| 1970 | n/a | $11,500 (estimate) | Est., AAUP Faculty Compensation Survey… [4] |
| 1990 | n/a | $38,000 (estimate) | Est., AHA Perspectives [5] |
| 2000 | 30,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., NCES Digest of Education Statistics [2] |
| 2003 | 20,420 | $49,030 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [3] |
| 2004 | 20,760 | $49,800 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [3] |
| 2005 | 22,320 | $50,890 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [3] |
| 2006 | 23,560 | $53,110 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [3] |
| 2007 | 23,690 | $54,720 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [3] |
| 2008 | 24,360 | $57,760 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [3] |
| 2009 | 25,090 | $58,890 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [3] |
| 2010 | 28,590 | $60,300 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [3] |
| 2011 | 29,610 | $61,330 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [3] |
| 2012 | 30,030 | $62,180 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [3] |
| 2013 | 29,920 | $63,570 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [3] |
| 2014 | 29,470 | $62,550 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [3] |
| 2015 | 29,050 | $63,410 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [3] |
| 2016 | 28,180 | $65,640 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [3] |
| 2017 | 28,770 | $66,510 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [3] |
| 2018 | 29,100 | $68,910 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [3] |
| 2019 | 29,120 | $70,630 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [3] |
| 2020 | 28,430 | $71,030 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [3] |
| 2021 | 27,330 | $77,560 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [3] |
| 2022 | 27,350 | $76,250 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [3] |
| 2023 | 28,520 | $79,910 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [3] |
| 2024 | 29,260 | $77,800 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [3] |
| 2025 | 29,420 | $78,580 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [3] |

## Sources (79)

### Employment series

1. [National Communication Association — StateUniversity.com history of NCA (founding 1914, first convention 1915 with 60 members)](https://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2274/National-Communication-Association.html), StateUniversity.com / NCA historical records
2. [NCES Digest of Education Statistics — Degrees in communication, journalism, and related programs conferred 1970-71 through 2011-12 (growth from ~10,000 to 55,000+ bachelor's degrees signals proportional faculty expansion)](https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d13/tables/dt13_325.30.asp), National Center for Education Statistics
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. [AAUP Faculty Compensation Survey historical records — average salaries by academic rank, selected years 1970-71 (all disciplines proxy)](https://research.aaup.org/history), American Association of University Professors
5. [AHA Perspectives — 1990 Faculty Salary Update (AAUP data by discipline: communication/humanities-level salaries circa 1989-90)](https://www.historians.org/perspectives-article/1990-faculty-salary-update/), American Historical Association / AAUP
6. 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)
7. [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

8. [The Elocution Movement — University at Buffalo History of CDS: elocution era origins, Samuel Silas Curry's School of Elocution and Expression (Boston, 1879), James Rush's "Philosophy of the Human Voice" as foundational pedagogy text, elocution as direct predecessor to academic speech communication](https://ubwp.buffalo.edu/history-of-cds/19th-century/elocution/), University at Buffalo / History of Communication Disorders and Sciences
9. [Curry College — Our History and Spirit: School of Elocution and Expression founded 1879 by Anna Baright, taken over by Samuel Silas Curry 1885; Alexander Graham Bell first chancellor 1907-1922](https://www.curry.edu/about-us/academic-excellence/history-and-spirit), Curry College
10. [University of Wisconsin Department of Communication Arts history: Department of Public Speaking became Department of Speech in 1920; WHA Radio one of the first university-owned broadcast stations](https://commarts.wisc.edu/about/history/), University of Wisconsin-Madison
11. [History of communication studies — Wikipedia: radio broadcasting and mass communication research integration into academic communication programs from 1920s onward](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_communication_studies), Wikipedia
12. [Missouri School of Journalism — The J-School Legacy: "Missouri Method" of teaching journalism through hands-on professional production, student newspaper, and broadcast lab; faculty included both research academics and working professionals](https://journalism.missouri.edu/the-j-school/the-j-school-legacy/), University of Missouri School of Journalism
13. [NCES Digest of Education Statistics Table 325.30 — Degrees in communication, journalism, and related programs conferred 1970-71 through 2011-12: total bachelor's degrees grew from 10,000 in 1971 to 65,000+ by 2010](https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d13/tables/dt13_325.30.asp), National Center for Education Statistics
14. [Knight Foundation — "The State of American Journalism Education" (above and beyond): internet-era challenges to journalism school enrollment and curriculum described by Dianne Lynch](https://legacy.knightfoundation.org/features/je-the-state-of-american-journalism-education/), Knight Foundation
15. [AEJMC AI Task Force Report (2025): social media and mobile era as the context within which generative AI disruption is occurring; comm faculty curriculum revision burden highest of any discipline at 73% having already revised learning outcomes](https://www.aejmc.org/home/2025/01/aejmc-ai-task-force-report/), Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication
16. [Yoodli AI speech coaching — 500,000+ users; documented deployment in university communication courses at Oregon State, Arizona State, and University of Michigan for between-session speech practice (2024-2025)](https://yoodli.ai/), Yoodli

### Forecasts and exposure studies

17. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 25-1122 Communications teachers, postsecondary (2025: 35.8 thousand; 2035: 36.5 thousand; +2.1%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=25-1122&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
18. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 25-1122.00, human-rated β 0.575)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

19. [National Communication Association — History of NCA: seventeen founders walked out of NCTE in 1914 to form NAATPS; NCA membership timeline from 60 (1915) to 7,100+ (present)](https://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2274/National-Communication-Association.html), StateUniversity.com / NCA historical records
20. [History of communication studies — Wikipedia: Wilbur Schramm founding Institute for Communications Research at Illinois 1947; first PhD programs and research center model for communication as a social science](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_communication_studies), Wikipedia
21. [NCES Digest of Education Statistics — Degrees in communication, journalism, and related programs 1970-71 through 2011-12: bachelor's degree counts by decade showing growth from 10,000 (1971) to 27,000 (1981) to 55,000+ (2001)](https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d13/tables/dt13_325.30.asp), National Center for Education Statistics
22. [NCA Fun Facts — National Communication Association: renamed from Speech Communication Association (SCA) to NCA in 1997; reflects broadening of the discipline from speech to communication across all modalities](https://www.natcom.org/publications-library/nca-fun-facts/), National Communication Association
23. [AEJMC AI Task Force Report (2025): 73% curriculum revision rate, synthetic media literacy as core gap, source verification and media ethics as highest-value competencies in the AI era](https://www.aejmc.org/home/2025/01/aejmc-ai-task-force-report/), Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication

### Predecessors & successors

24. [The Elocution Movement — University at Buffalo History of CDS: elocution professors in speech and public-speaking roles before 1914 as direct predecessors to the NCA-era discipline; Curry School of Expression as the institutional bridge](https://ubwp.buffalo.edu/history-of-cds/19th-century/elocution/), University at Buffalo / History of Communication Disorders and Sciences
25. [Missouri School of Journalism — The J-School Legacy: Missouri Method relied from founding on faculty who were working or former journalists as well as researchers; professional-practitioner hiring pattern established 1908](https://journalism.missouri.edu/the-j-school/the-j-school-legacy/), University of Missouri School of Journalism
26. [BLS OOH — Education Administrators, Postsecondary: +7% growth 2024-2034; communications faculty move to administrative roles at higher rates than some disciplines due to enrollment growth and external communications skills](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/postsecondary-education-administrators.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Communications Teachers, Postsecondary (25-1122.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/25-1122.00), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science / arXiv 2303.10130): Communications Teachers, Postsecondary in high-LLM-exposure tier alongside English and History faculty](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-24
- [BLS OES May 2025 — Communications Teachers, Postsecondary (25-1122): median annual wage $80,840; employment ~68,450](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes251122.htm), accessed 2026-05-24
- [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Postsecondary Teachers (2024–2034, +7% projected growth)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/postsecondary-teachers.htm), accessed 2026-05-24
- [AEJMC AI Task Force Report (2025): 73% of journalism/comm faculty revised course learning outcomes to address AI; 61% reported student AI-generated submissions; media ethics and source verification identified as most critical competencies](https://www.aejmc.org/home/2025/01/aejmc-ai-task-force-report/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Journalism & Mass Communication Educator — Integrating AI Literacy Into the Journalism and Communication Curriculum (Vol. 80, 2025): faculty case studies on revising reporting, comm theory, and media ethics courses for generative AI](https://journals.sagepub.com/home/jmc), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Chronicle of Higher Education — AI is Changing What Communications Students Need to Know (March 2026): Medill, Syracuse Newhouse, and Missouri J-School faculty revamping curricula; Missouri requires explicit AI-use documentation in all reporting assignments](https://www.chronicle.com/article/ai-is-changing-what-communications-students-need-to-know), accessed 2026-05-24
- [CisionOne — AI-Powered Platform: AI sentiment scoring across 400,000+ news sources; deployed in PR practicum courses at Syracuse Newhouse and other AEJMC-member programs (2025)](https://www.cision.com/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [PRSA — State of Public Relations: AI Becomes Priority (Sept 2025): 76% of PR practitioners use AI tools daily; student fluency in AI media monitoring tools now an expected graduate competency](https://www.prsa.org/article/state-of-public-relations-ai-media-relations-SEPT25), accessed 2026-05-24
- [NotebookLM — AI document synthesis across interdisciplinary communication theory literature: effective for synthesizing 50 sources with AI summaries; citation accuracy requires manual validation](https://notebooklm.google.com/), accessed 2026-05-24

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