Most common destination first. Every card carries the national median annual wage, projected employment change and openings over 2024–2034, and the typical education people already in the job hold.
What Can You Do With an Education Degree?
Below are 15 occupations that education graduates commonly move into, most common first. Elementary School Teacher leads at $63,970 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025); across the whole list the middle occupation pays $64,370 and 4 of 15 typically need a graduate degree. A major is a body of study, not a job assignment, so treat every entry as a common destination rather than a promise.
What the degree actually involves: Learning theory, curriculum design, assessment, and supervised classroom placements.
Education is another licensed exception: the degree ends in certification and most graduates go straight into a classroom. What varies is the age group and the subject, and later whether you move into coordination, administration or the support roles that sit around teaching.
- Common destinations
- 15
- Median pay range
- $38,140–$105,870
- Projected to grow
- 7 of 15
- Need a graduate degree
- 4 of 15
11 with a full profile page
BLS OEWS, May 2025
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP typical entry, 2024–2034
How this list was built
- The destinations are the occupations education graduates commonly move into. They are ordered by how common the destination is, not by what it pays, so the ordinary outcomes sit at the top where they belong rather than being buried under the flattering ones.
- Every destination is matched to a real occupation in the 923-occupation NueCareer career bank. A destination that does not resolve to a bank occupation is dropped rather than shown without data.
- All pay, growth, openings and education figures come from that bank: BLS OEWS May 2025 for wages, BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 for projected change, annual openings and the typical education needed for entry, and O*NET 30.3 Database for what the work involves. Nothing is estimated and no figure here is generated by an AI model.
- Destinations whose BLS typical entry education is a master’s or a doctoral or professional degree are marked Graduate study on the list. That flag is read from the federal data, not asserted by us.
- What this list is not: a ranking of which destination you should pick, a statement of how many graduates reach each one, or a promise that the degree entitles you to any of them. Read the full methodology.
15 careers an education degree commonly leads to
1. Elementary School Teacher
Educational Instruction and Library
- Median pay
- $63,970
- Growth
- -2.0%
- Openings/yr
- 91,000
- Education
- Bachelor's
Teach academic and social skills to students at the elementary school level.
Elementary School Teacher salary & outlook →2. High School Teacher
Educational Instruction and Library
- Median pay
- $72,040
- Growth
- -1.6%
- Openings/yr
- 66,200
- Education
- Bachelor's
Teach one or more subjects to students at the secondary school level.
High School Teacher salary & outlook →3. Middle School Teacher
Educational Instruction and Library
- Median pay
- $64,370
- Growth
- -2.0%
- Openings/yr
- 40,500
- Education
- Bachelor's
Teach one or more subjects to students at the middle, intermediate, or junior high school level.
Middle School Teacher salary & outlook →4. Special Education Teacher, Secondary School
Educational Instruction and Library
- Median pay
- $74,260
- Growth
- -1.6%
- Openings/yr
- 11,100
- Education
- Bachelor's
Teach academic, social, and life skills to secondary school students with learning, emotional, or physical disabilities.
Special Education Teacher, Secondary School salary & outlook →5. Kindergarten Teacher
Educational Instruction and Library
- Median pay
- $62,680
- Growth
- -1.6%
- Openings/yr
- 12,800
- Education
- Bachelor's
Teach academic and social skills to kindergarten students.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
6. Preschool Teacher, Except Special Education
Educational Instruction and Library
- Median pay
- $38,140
- Growth
- +4.1%
- Openings/yr
- 65,500
- Education
- Associate's
Instruct preschool-aged students, following curricula or lesson plans, in activities designed to promote social, physical, and intellectual growth.
Preschool Teacher, Except Special Education salary & outlook →7. Tutor
Educational Instruction and Library
- Median pay
- $43,350
- Growth
- +0.6%
- Openings/yr
- 37,100
- Education
- Some college
Instruct individual students or small groups of students in academic subjects to support formal class instruction or to prepare students for standardized or admissions tests.
Tutor salary & outlook →8. Career/Technical Education Teacher, Secondary School
Educational Instruction and Library
- Median pay
- $66,270
- Growth
- -1.8%
- Openings/yr
- 6,200
- Education
- Bachelor's
Teach occupational, vocational, career, or technical subjects to students at the secondary school level.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
9. Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructor
Educational Instruction and Library
- Median pay
- $61,540
- Growth
- -13.7%
- Openings/yr
- 3,900
- Education
- Bachelor's
Teach or instruct out-of-school youths and adults in basic education, literacy, or English as a Second Language classes, or in classes for earning a high school equivalency credential.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
10. Self-Enrichment Teacher
Educational Instruction and Library
- Median pay
- $46,800
- Growth
- +3.7%
- Openings/yr
- 51,400
- Education
- High school
Teach or instruct individuals or groups for the primary purpose of self-enrichment or recreation, rather than for an occupational objective, educational attainment, competition, or fitness.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
- Graduate study
11. Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselor and Advisor
Community and Social Service
- Median pay
- $64,330
- Growth
- +3.5%
- Openings/yr
- 31,000
- Education
- Master's
Advise and assist students and provide educational and vocational guidance services.
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselor and Advisor salary & outlook → - Graduate study
12. Instructional Coordinator
Educational Instruction and Library
- Median pay
- $77,440
- Growth
- +1.3%
- Openings/yr
- 21,900
- Education
- Master's
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 conducting c…
Instructional Coordinator salary & outlook → 13. Training and Development Specialist
Business and Financial Operations
- Median pay
- $69,280
- Growth
- +10.8%
- Openings/yr
- 43,900
- Education
- Bachelor's
Design or conduct work-related training and development programs to improve individual skills or organizational performance.
Training and Development Specialist salary & outlook →- Graduate study
14. Librarian
Educational Instruction and Library
- Median pay
- $68,270
- Growth
- +1.7%
- Openings/yr
- 13,500
- Education
- Master's
Administer and maintain libraries or collections of information, for public or private access through reference or borrowing.
Librarian salary & outlook → - Graduate study
15. Education Administrator, Kindergarten through Secondary
Management
- Median pay
- $105,870
- Growth
- -1.5%
- Openings/yr
- 20,800
- Education
- Master's
Plan, direct, or coordinate the academic, administrative, or auxiliary activities of kindergarten, elementary, or secondary schools.
Education Administrator, Kindergarten through Secondary salary & outlook →
Does an education degree decide your career?
For most people, no. Federal survey data has consistently found that only a minority of US graduates work in a job closely related to their degree field, and that share falls further with each year after graduation. The exceptions are the fields where a licence sits at the end of the degree, and they are exceptions precisely because the route is fixed.
The practical reading of the list above is this: 11 of the 15 destinations are typically entered with a bachelor's degree or less, and 4 typically need a master's or a doctoral or professional degree (BLS Employment Projections, 2024–2034). If the destination you want is in the second group, the extra years are part of the decision from day one, not a detail to sort out later.
Not sure this is the right major in the first place? Take the free college major quiz — fifteen questions that score what you like doing against what each major actually asks of you, and show the same real occupations underneath every match.
Education degrees: FAQ
Do you need a master's degree after an education degree?
For 11 of the 15 destinations on this page, no: BLS Employment Projections (2024–2034) list a bachelor's degree or less as the typical entry requirement. The other 4 typically need a master's or a doctoral or professional degree, and each is marked on the list below. "Typical" describes what people already in the job hold, not an admissions rule.
What is the highest-paying career an education degree leads to?
Of the 15 destinations on this page, Education Administrator, Kindergarten through Secondary has the highest national median wage at $105,870 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), against $50,980 for all US occupations. Typical entry education for it is master's, so it usually means further study after the degree. A median is the midpoint of everyone in the job today, so a first salary normally sits well below it.
Which of these careers hires the most people each year?
Elementary School Teacher, with about 91,000 projected openings a year (BLS Employment Projections, 2024–2034). Across all 15 destinations on this page the combined figure is roughly 516,800 openings a year. Openings include replacing people who leave, not just new jobs, which is why a slow-growing occupation can still hire heavily.
Is an education degree worth it?
That depends on the price you pay for it, which this page cannot know. What it can tell you is where the destinations sit: the middle occupation on this list pays $64,370 a year against $50,980 for all US occupations, the range runs $38,140–$105,870, and 7 of the 15 are projected to grow over 2024–2034 (BLS OEWS May 2025, BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034).
How was this list of careers put together?
The destinations were curated as the occupations education graduates commonly move into, ordered by how common rather than by pay, then matched against the 923-occupation NueCareer career bank. Every figure shown comes from that bank: wages from BLS OEWS May 2025, projected change and annual openings and typical entry education from BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, and occupation descriptions from O*NET 30.3 Database. Nothing is estimated, and no figure on this page is generated by an AI model.
What can you do with other degrees?
- Computer Science
- Nursing
- Mechanical Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Business Administration
- Finance and Accounting
- Marketing
- Psychology
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Communications and Journalism
- Graphic Design
- Political Science and Pre-Law
- Environmental Science
- Kinesiology and Exercise Science
- Social Work
- Mathematics and Statistics
- Hospitality and Event Management
- Criminal Justice
- Sociology
- Public Health
- Philosophy
- Health Science
- History
- Anthropology
- English
- Nutrition and Dietetics
- Art History
- Information Technology
- Human Resources
- Economics