English / Language Arts Teacher
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
An English or Language Arts Teacher teaches English in elementary to secondary schools. Focuses on English, writing, composition, literature, and critical analysis. In elementary school, language arts classes focus on basic reading, writing and linguistic / communication skills. In middle school, the English curriculum evolves and expands to include more complicated reading comprehension, such as fiction, poetry and essays. In teaching high school, the focus relies on developing analytical skills.
Job Outlook
There were 2064 English / Language Arts Teacher job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 33224 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the English / Language Arts Teacher industry, which includes the English / Language Arts Teacher career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2016:
Salary
Many new English / Language Arts Teacher jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $65,104.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $63,701.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for English / Language Arts Teacher postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $60,053.
Education and Experience
Posted English / Language Arts Teacher jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 48.28% |
| Master's Degree | 19.87% |
| Doctoral Degree | 2.26% |
| Other | 9.09% |
Posted English / Language Arts Teacher jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 66.01% |
| 3 to 5 years | 28.72% |
| 6 to 8 years | 1.75% |
| 9+ years | 3.52% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills English / Language Arts Teacher positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- English Language (69.43%)
- Teaching (61.64%)
- Communication (41.38%)
- Writing (25.12%)
- Planning (18.86%)
- Interpersonal Communications (13.81%)
- Leadership (10.19%)
- Research (9.38%)
- Management (9.33%)
- Ethical Standards And Conduct (9.16%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Language Arts (16%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Classroom Management (20.42%)
- Individualized Education Programs (IEP) (12.69%)
- Special Education (11.62%)
- Instructional Strategies (13.65%)
- Educational Assessment (12.07%)
- Differentiated Instruction (14.91%)
- Curriculum Development (20.43%)
- Lesson Planning (39.91%)
- Learning Styles (17.12%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Language Acquisition (3.63%)
- Teaching English As A Second Language (8.39%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- Language Acquisition (13.64%)
- Language Arts (60.18%)
- Teaching English As A Second Language (31.55%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with English / Language Arts Teacher skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- English Teacher
- High School English Teacher
- English Language Arts Teacher
- Ela Teacher
- Language Arts Teacher
- English Instructor
- High School Ela Teacher
- High School English Language Arts Teacher
- English Language Learner Teacher
- Secondary English Teacher
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Elementary School Teacher
- Middle / High School Teacher (Other)
- Vocational Education Instructor
- History / Social Studies Teacher
- Reading Teacher
- Bilingual / ESL / Language Teacher
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most English / Language Arts Teacher jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Clark County School District (471)
- IDEA Public Schools (269)
- Boston Public Schools (250)
- Charter Schools USA (246)
- Montgomery County Public Schools (190)
- National Heritage Academies (173)
- Ulster Boces (154)
- Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (152)
- Amergis (146)
- Wake County Public Schools (132)
North Carolina
- Wake County Public Schools (133)
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (92)
- Union County Public Schools (64)
- Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools (55)
- Cumberland County Schools (50)
- Durham Public Schools (40)
- Harnett County Schools (37)
- Thales Academy (32)
- Gaston County Schools (30)
- Charter Schools USA (29)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
- English – Secondary Education Master's Degrees
- Language Arts – Middle Grades Master's Degrees
- NC Teach@NC State Teacher Licensure
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.