Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary vs Instructional Coordinators: Similar Median Pay, Different Work

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary vs Instructional Coordinators: what changes?

Consider Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary if you want to teach courses in drama, music, and the arts including fine and applied art, such as painting and sculpture, or design and crafts. Consider Instructional Coordinators if you would rather develop instructional material, coordinate educational content, and incorporate current technology into instruction in order to provide guidelines to educators and instructors for developing curricula and…. Both list master's degree; compare training and prior experience separately. Prior experience in a related occupation is typically needed for Instructional Coordinators (5 years or more).

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary and Instructional Coordinators. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary

National median pay (2025): $78,620
Route into the job: Master's degree
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate: Explain and demonstrate artistic techniques.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 8,000

Know before you choose

Review the full career brief for day-to-day working conditions.

See the full Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary brief

Instructional Coordinators

National median pay (2025): $77,440
Route into the job: Master's degree; Prior related experience: 5 years or more
Prior related experience: Prior related experience: 5 years or more.
Training and licensing: BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate: Observe work of teaching staff to evaluate performance and to recommend changes that could strengthen teaching skills.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 23,100

Know before you choose

BLS lists 5 years or more of related experience. This is normally reached through feeder roles, not directly from school.

See the full Instructional Coordinators brief

How the national numbers differ

Instructional Coordinators has the edge on annual openings

Instructional Coordinators is at 23,100 annual openings, compared with 8,000 annual openings for Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary.

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary has the edge on projected growth

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary is at 2.2% projected growth, compared with 1.6% projected growth for Instructional Coordinators.

National pay benchmarks are very similar.

Compare actual offers, expected paid hours, schedule, and benefits before treating either career as the higher-paying option.

51.5/ 100

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary

55.1/ 100

Instructional Coordinators

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary vs Instructional Coordinators

Dimension	Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary	Instructional Coordinators
Median pay (2025)	$78,620	$77,440
Pay percentile	70.2 percentile	68.2 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	2.2%	1.6%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	8,000	23,100
2025 employment	116,900	248,700
How you qualify	Master's degree	Master's degree; Prior related experience: 5 years or more
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 5	Job Zone 5
Related work experience	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.	Prior related experience: 5 years or more.
On-the-job training	BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.	BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary brief Read Instructional Coordinators brief

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary vs Instructional Coordinators: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary

Instructional Coordinators

How the national numbers differ

Instructional Coordinators has the edge on annual openings

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary has the edge on projected growth

National pay benchmarks are very similar.

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary vs Instructional Coordinators

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