Career Explorer Education
Changing shape
Special education teachers, all other
All special education teachers not listed separately.
In the middle of the pack: more resilient than 45% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is moderate (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it high), and US jobs are projected to change by +1.9% by 2035, slower than average. The work leans on emotional intelligence and creative vision.
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)
- $76,580
- Job growth to 2035
- +1.9%
- Openings a year
- 2,300
- People doing it (2025)
- 34,800
- Usual route in
- Bachelor's degree
Where people already use AI for this work
- Prepare informational or instructional materials
- Advise others on educational or vocational matters
- Provide support or encouragement to others
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Assess student capabilities, needs, or performance
- Train others on health or medical topics
- Develop safety standards, policies, or procedures
What the work looks like
- Provide adapted physical education services to students with intellectual disabilities, autism, traumatic brain injury, orthopedic impairments, or other disabling condition.
- Provide students positive feedback to encourage them and help them develop an appreciation for physical education.
- Provide individual or small groups of students with adapted physical education instruction that meets desired physical needs or goals.
- Instruct students, using adapted physical education techniques, to improve physical fitness, gross motor skills, perceptual motor skills, or sports and game achievement.
- Write reports to summarize student performance, social growth, or physical development.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Meeting, convention, and event plannersGrows with AI, Index 70, +5.8%
- Therapists, all otherGrows with AI, Index 86, +12.6%
- Occupational therapistsGrows with AI, Index 84, +14.8%
- Recreational therapistsHuman edge, growing, Index 90, +4.8%
Also known as: Adapted Physical Educator, APE Consultant (Adapted Physical Education Consultant), APE Teacher (Adapted Physical Education Teacher), PE Teacher (Physical Education Teacher), Adapted Aquatics Instructor, Adapted Physical Activity Specialist, APE Instructional Specialist (Adapted Physical Education Instructional Specialist), Certified Adapted Physical Educator.
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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.