---
title: "Psychology Teacher, Postsecondary"
description: "Teach courses in psychology, such as child, clinical, and developmental psychology, and psychological counseling. Includes both teachers primarily…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/psychology-teacher-postsecondary"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Psychology Teacher, Postsecondary

**Category:** Educational Instruction and Library · **SOC code:** 25-1066 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 25-1066.00

Teach courses in psychology, such as child, clinical, and developmental psychology, and psychological counseling. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

Also advertised as: Adjunct Instructor; Assistant Professor; Associate Professor; Clinical Psychology Professor; Faculty Member; Instructor; Lecturer; Professor.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $80,340 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** Not published by BLS
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $49,050 to $153,600, with the middle half between $63,400 and $105,920
- **Total US employment:** 41,530
- **Typical entry education:** Doctorate
- **Preparation required:** Considerable preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +4.0% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 3,700 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 32/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 41,530 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $49,050 |
| 25th | $63,400 |
| 50th (median) | $80,340 |
| 75th | $105,920 |
| 90th | $153,600 |
| Mean (average) | $93,860 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CA | $107,340 | $96,947 | 4,410 |
| DE | $102,340 | $102,537 | Not published by BLS |
| MD | $101,430 | $96,638 | 640 |
| DC | $101,250 | $92,128 | 340 |
| NY | $100,720 | $93,328 | 4,070 |
| MI | $99,900 | $103,828 | 920 |
| ND | $97,110 | $109,163 | 60 |
| NH | $95,030 | $91,230 | 110 |
| RI | $94,360 | $92,257 | 180 |
| UT | $93,090 | $94,160 | 200 |
| LA | $91,340 | $103,552 | 140 |
| CT | $84,500 | $81,556 | 920 |
| NM | $83,600 | $90,661 | 100 |
| ID | $83,010 | $86,927 | 180 |
| MA | $82,930 | $78,416 | 2,640 |

36 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 51 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/psychology-teacher-postsecondary/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/psychology-teacher-postsecondary.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 52,300 in the 2025–2035 base year to 54,400 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 2,100 jobs, or +4.0%. About as fast as average: 4.0% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 3,700 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** Doctoral or professional degree (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Considerable preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** None.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| Doctoral Degree | 54.6% |
| Post-Doctoral Training | 30.7% |
| Master's Degree | 14.8% |

## What the work involves

- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
- Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
- Select and obtain materials and supplies, such as textbooks.
- Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as abnormal psychology, cognitive processes, and work motivation.
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, laboratory work, assignments, and papers.
- Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
- Write letters of recommendation for students.
- Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Learning Strategies — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Instructing — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Complex Problem Solving — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Systems Analysis — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Systems Evaluation — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Service Orientation — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Psychology — importance 5.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 4.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Education and Training — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Sociology and Anthropology — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Therapy and Counseling — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Oral Expression — importance 4.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Comprehension — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Expression — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Comprehension — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speech Clarity — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Deductive Reasoning — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Social (S), Investigative (I), Artistic (A).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| S — Social | 7.00 |
| I — Investigative | 5.59 |
| A — Artistic | 3.86 |
| C — Conventional | 3.30 |
| E — Enterprising | 2.32 |
| R — Realistic | 2.13 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| INFJ | 71.2 |
| INFP | 68.4 |
| ENFP | 67.9 |
| ENFJ | 66.9 |
| ISFP | 58.1 |

Best-fitting types: INFJ, INFP, ENFP, ENFJ.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Sociology Teacher, Postsecondary](https://nuecareer.com/careers/sociology-teacher-postsecondary) — median $84,290
- [Education Teacher, Postsecondary](https://nuecareer.com/careers/education-teacher-postsecondary) — median $75,350
- [Social Work Teacher, Postsecondary](https://nuecareer.com/careers/social-work-teacher-postsecondary) — median $77,570
- [Teaching Assistant, Postsecondary](https://nuecareer.com/careers/teaching-assistant-postsecondary) — median $42,910
- [Anthropology and Archeology Teacher, Postsecondary](https://nuecareer.com/careers/anthropology-and-archeology-teacher-postsecondary) — median $99,650
- [Health Specialties Teacher, Postsecondary](https://nuecareer.com/careers/health-specialties-teacher-postsecondary) — median $107,310
- [Recreation and Fitness Studies Teacher, Postsecondary](https://nuecareer.com/careers/recreation-and-fitness-studies-teacher-postsecondary) — median $77,270
- [Mathematical Science Teacher, Postsecondary](https://nuecareer.com/careers/mathematical-science-teacher-postsecondary) — median $79,940
- [Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher, Postsecondary](https://nuecareer.com/careers/family-and-consumer-sciences-teacher-postsecondary) — median $75,870
- [Philosophy and Religion Teacher, Postsecondary](https://nuecareer.com/careers/philosophy-and-religion-teacher-postsecondary) — median $80,260

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/psychology-teacher-postsecondary