Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary vs Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education: Similar Median Pay, Different Work

Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary vs Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education: what changes?

Consider Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary if you want to teach vocational courses intended to provide occupational training below the baccalaureate level in subjects such as construction, mechanics/repair, manufacturing, transportation, or cosmetology, primarily to…. Consider Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education if you would rather teach academic and social skills to kindergarten students. Both list bachelor's degree; compare training and prior experience separately. Prior experience in a related occupation is typically needed for Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary (less than 5 years).

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary and Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education. 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

Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary

National median pay (2025): $63,820
Route into the job: Bachelor's degree; Prior related experience: less than 5 years
Prior related experience: Prior related experience: less than 5 years.
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 and evaluate students' work to determine progress, provide feedback, and make suggestions for improvement.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 8,000

Know before you choose

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

See the full Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary brief

Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education

National median pay (2025): $62,680
Route into the job: Bachelor'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: Establish and enforce rules for behavior and policies and procedures to maintain order among students.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 11,900

Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 0.3% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education brief

How the national numbers differ

Typical preparation differs.

Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary: Bachelor's degree; Prior related experience: less than 5 years Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education: Bachelor's degree Preparation categories do not establish admission difficulty, calendar time, tuition, time without earnings, or licensing difficulty.

Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education has the edge on annual openings

Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education is at 11,900 annual openings, compared with 8,000 annual openings for Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary.

National pay benchmarks are very similar.

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

48.8/ 100

Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary

46.7/ 100

Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education

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

Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary vs Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education

Dimension	Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary	Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education
Median pay (2025)	$63,820	$62,680
Pay percentile	55 percentile	52.7 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	-0.3%	-0.3%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	8,000	11,900
2025 employment	123,100	111,200
How you qualify	Bachelor's degree; Prior related experience: less than 5 years	Bachelor's degree
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 3	Job Zone 4
Related work experience	Prior related experience: less than 5 years.	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
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 Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary brief Read Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education brief

Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary vs Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary

Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education

How the national numbers differ

Typical preparation differs.

Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education has the edge on annual openings

National pay benchmarks are very similar.

Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary vs Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education

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