Career Explorer Education
Changing shape
English language and literature teachers, postsecondary
Teach courses in English language and literature, including linguistics and comparative literature. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Among the careers AI is changing fastest: more resilient than 9% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is very high (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it very high), and US jobs are projected to change by 0.0% by 2035, slower than average. The work leans on creative vision and emotional intelligence.
AI can do many of the tasks, and hiring is expected to grow slower than average or to shrink. The job is likely to change, so build the human parts of it.
- Median pay (2025)
- $78,760
- Job growth to 2035
- 0.0%
- Openings a year
- 4,500
- People doing it (2025)
- 69,300
- Usual route in
- Doctorate or professional degree
Where people already use AI for this work
- Teach academic or vocational subjects
- Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise
- Advise others on educational or vocational matters
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Assess student capabilities, needs, or performance
- Maintain operational records
- Develop educational programs, plans, or procedures
What the work looks like
- Teach writing or communication classes.
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
- Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
- Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- Fewer of these jobs, as states prioritize workforce development programs and fields of study perceived as more valuable to the labor market.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Social work teachers, postsecondaryChanging shape, Index 28, +2.6%
- Instructional coordinatorsChanging shape, Index 21, +1.6%
- Area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondaryChanging shape, Index 26, +2.7%
- Architecture teachers, postsecondaryChanging shape, Index 34, +2.6%
Also known as: English Instructor, English Professor, Instructor, Professor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Creative Writing Professor, Humanities Professor.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.