Teachers and Instructors, All Other Salary

The median teachers and instructors, all other salary in the United States is $66,140 per year. Salaries range from $37,010 at the entry level to $118,020+ for the top 10% of earners. There are 113,790 teachers and instructors, all other jobs nationwide. Employment is projected to decline 0.1% through 2034.

Last updated: June 2026 Β· Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Median Salary
$66,140
per year
Employment
113,790
jobs in the U.S.

Salary Distribution

10th percentile
$37,010
25th percentile
$48,490
Median
$66,140
75th percentile
$95,890
90th percentile
$118,020

Job Growth (2024-2034)

-0.1%
Decline

Annual Openings

18,000
jobs/year (growth + replacements)

Education Required

Bachelor's degree

Teachers and Instructors, All Other Career Guide

Interview questions, resume templates, and a career ladder written specifically for teachers and instructors, all others.

This is the BLS catch-all category for teachers and instructors who don't map to K-12, postsecondary, or vocational SOC codes. It covers postsecondary instructors in specialty programs, corporate trainers not otherwise classified, adult basic education (ABE) and adult secondary education (ASE) teachers, high school equivalency (HSE / GED) instructors, English Language Acquisition (ELA / ESL) adult instructors, and continuing-education instructors in for-profit training academies. BLS pegs the occupation at 113,790 employed with median $66,140, p10 $37,340, p90 $107,290. Entry adjunct and adult-ed instructors start $38-52k; established mid-career trainers and adult-ed lead teachers land $62-82k; senior corporate trainers and program directors reach $85-108k+. Employers span community-college adult education departments (Miami Dade College, Lone Star College, Ivy Tech, Pima), workforce-development boards (state and local WIOA-funded programs), for-profit training academies (Kaplan, Pearson, Instructure), and corporate L&D functions at Fortune 500 companies (Deloitte, EY, JPMorgan Chase, IBM, Microsoft). CPTM (Certified Professional in Talent Management) and CPLP / APTD (Association for Talent Development) plus adult-ed state certifications unlock the top of the ladder.

Core Skills Hiring Managers Screen For

Adult learning theory (andragogy) β€” Knowles's 6 principles
Adults need to know why, learn experientially, arrive with prior knowledge, are ready to learn what's relevant, are problem-centered, and are internally motivated. Design every session against these principles β€” not around content coverage. The single biggest mistake new trainers make is treating adults like K-12 students.
Instructional design β€” ADDIE + SAM + backward design
ADDIE (Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate) is the industry-standard model. SAM (Successive Approximation Model) for iterative agile-style course build. Backward design starts from measurable learning objectives and works back to activities and assessments. Robert Mager's objective format: audience, behavior, condition, degree.
Facilitation vs lecture β€” active learning techniques
Think-pair-share, jigsaw, case-method discussion, structured role-play, gallery walk, exit ticket. Modern corporate and adult-ed instruction is 60-70% activity, 20-30% lecture. Death-by-PowerPoint courses get bad Kirkpatrick Level 1 (reaction) scores and worse Level 2 (learning) results.
Assessment design β€” Kirkpatrick 4 levels + Phillips ROI
Level 1 reaction (smile sheet), Level 2 learning (pre/post-test or performance demo), Level 3 behavior (30-90 day workplace application check), Level 4 results (business-metric change). Phillips adds Level 5 ROI. Corporate L&D increasingly demands Level 3 evidence, not just Level 1 smile sheets.
Curriculum design for competency-based education (CBE)
WGU-style CBE, community-college HSE / adult-ed CASAS levels, and corporate role-based curricula. Break competencies into observable, measurable outcomes. Design assessments before content. Modular, self-paced options for adults balancing work and study.
LMS + authoring-tool fluency
Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, D2L Brightspace, Cornerstone, Docebo, SAP SuccessFactors LMS, Workday Learning. Authoring tools: Articulate Storyline / Rise, Adobe Captivate, iSpring. SCORM 1.2 vs 2004, xAPI (Tin Can) for learning-experience tracking. Every real instructor role expects at least one LMS + one authoring tool at intermediate proficiency.
Adjunct pipeline management + academic policy fluency
For adjunct / postsecondary paths: FERPA (student privacy), Title IX (reporting obligations), Higher Learning Commission (HLC) or regional-accreditor faculty-qualifications standards, ADA reasonable accommodation, and syllabus compliance requirements. Know your institution's course-outline-of-record and credit-hour definitions.
Workforce alignment β€” WIOA, TABE, CASAS, GED / HiSET testing
For adult-ed paths: WIOA Title II funding and reporting, TABE and CASAS assessments for placement and level advancement, HiSET and GED test-prep curriculum, NRS (National Reporting System) level definitions. Miss the reporting deadlines and the program loses federal funding.

How to Become a Teachers and Instructors, All Other

  1. 1
    Earn a bachelor's or master's β€” content area + adult education / instructional design coursework preferred
    Postsecondary and corporate trainer roles typically require a master's in the content area or a related field. Adult basic education instructors often need only a bachelor's plus a state adult-ed teaching credential or a specific certification (varies by state). For workplace training, an M.Ed. in Adult Learning or Instructional Design (WGU, Boise State, Purdue, Penn State World Campus, San Diego State) is the highest-signal credential.
  2. 2
    Start as an adjunct, adult-ed instructor, or corporate trainer L&D specialist
    $38-52k adult-ed + adjunct; $52-68k entry corporate trainer. Postsecondary adjuncts often teach 2-4 courses per semester at $2,500-4,500 per course; adult-ed instructors work hourly at $22-38/hour depending on state; corporate L&D specialists work salaried with benefits.
  3. 3
    Earn a professional credential β€” CPLP / APTD (ATD), CPTM (Training Industry), or state adult-ed teaching license
    $5-10k pay premium at most employers. ATD's CPTD (formerly CPLP) is the gold standard for corporate L&D. APTD is the intermediate credential (3-year experience minimum). CPTM (Certified Professional in Training Management) targets training-manager roles specifically. State adult-ed licenses (California CTE / Adult Ed Credential, Texas ABE certification, etc.) unlock full-time public-adult-ed positions.
  4. 4
    Move into a Sr Trainer, Lead Adult-Ed Instructor, or Instructional Designer role
    $65-85k. Own program-level curriculum, mentor junior trainers or instructors, lead a cohort or a business-unit training track. This is the fork in the ladder β€” corporate L&D vs. postsecondary adjunct-lead vs. public-adult-ed director.
  5. 5
    Advance to Training Manager, Program Director, or Sr Instructional Designer
    $85-115k+. Own a training program (technical certification path, leadership development, WIOA-funded adult-ed cohort) with budget authority and 2-8 direct reports. From here the ladder splits into corporate L&D leadership (Head of L&D, VP Talent Development at $135-225k+) or higher-ed academic administration (Dean of Continuing Education, Director of Workforce Development at $105-165k+).

Career Progression

Adjunct / Adult-Ed Instructor / L&D Specialist
0-4 yrs$38,000-$62,000
  • β€’Teach 2-6 course sections per semester or year (adjunct / adult-ed) or deliver 30-80 training sessions annually (corporate)
  • β€’Grade assessments, hold office hours, submit final grades within institutional deadlines
  • β€’Follow institutional or corporate curriculum; contribute minor modifications for your section
  • β€’Complete required compliance training (FERPA, Title IX, harassment prevention)
Next: Sr Instructor / Sr Trainer / Instructional Designer at 3-5 years with a credential in progress.
Sr Trainer / Sr Adult-Ed Instructor / Instructional Designer
3-8 yrs$65,000-$85,000
  • β€’Own program-level curriculum design for a track or specialty
  • β€’Mentor 2-5 junior instructors or trainers; deliver observation feedback
  • β€’Lead cross-functional projects (LMS migration, curriculum redesign, accreditation review)
  • β€’Report Kirkpatrick Level 1-3 outcomes for your program
Next: Training Manager, Program Director, or Sr Instructional Designer at 6-10 years.
Training Manager / Adult-Ed Program Director / Sr Instructional Designer
6-12 yrs$85,000-$107,290 (BLS p90)
  • β€’Own a full training program or academic unit with $200k-1.5M annual budget
  • β€’Manage 3-8 direct reports (instructors, designers, coordinators)
  • β€’Report to VP Talent, Dean of Continuing Education, or Executive Director
  • β€’Own accreditation, funding-source (WIOA, Perkins, corporate charge-back), and business-metric outcomes
Next: Director / Head of L&D or Dean of Workforce Development at 10-15 years.
Head of L&D / VP Talent Development / Dean of Continuing Education
12+ yrs$135,000-$225,000+ base + 15-25% STI + equity or LTIP (corporate)
  • β€’Own enterprise or institution-wide learning strategy
  • β€’Lead 12-60+ person L&D organization or academic unit
  • β€’Report to CHRO, CEO (corporate), or Provost / VP Academic Affairs (postsecondary)
  • β€’Drive business impact β€” turnover reduction, skills-mobility metrics, credential-completion rates
Next: CHRO, CLO (Chief Learning Officer), or Vice Provost.

Interview Questions & Answers

5 free questions below. Career Kit unlocks 17 total plus resume bullets for every level.

Q1. Walk me through how you'd design a new training program from scratch.technical
ADDIE structure with real specifics: (1) Analyze β€” stakeholder interviews with the business owner or program funder, target-learner analysis (level, prior knowledge, availability), performance-gap definition. Never skip this step; 70% of training failures trace back to poor analysis. (2) Design β€” write measurable objectives in Mager format (audience, behavior, condition, degree), select a delivery modality (ILT, virtual, self-paced, blended), draft an assessment blueprint (Level 1-3 measures). (3) Develop β€” build storyboards in PowerPoint or Articulate Storyline, produce facilitator and participant materials, pilot with 6-12 learners. (4) Implement β€” train facilitators, launch cohort or self-paced enrollment, monitor completion. (5) Evaluate β€” Level 1 smile sheet within 48 hours, Level 2 assessment at course end, Level 3 behavior check at 60-90 days post-course. Interviewers screen for named frameworks + specific tools + measurable evaluation, not vague 'I'd figure out what they need.'
Q2. How do you handle an adult learner who challenges your credibility or the content?situational
This happens every cohort. Concrete steps: (1) Never get defensive β€” that's the emotional trap that ends careers. Acknowledge the challenge directly: 'That's a good question, let's dig into it.' (2) Ask them to be specific about the concern β€” often the objection is real and gets you to a better version of the content, sometimes it's about establishing dominance in the group. (3) Concede honest limits β€” 'You're right that the model doesn't perfectly fit an M&A integration; here's how I'd modify it.' (4) Invite the challenger to contribute their expertise back to the room β€” turns a threat into a co-teaching moment. (5) After class, follow up 1:1 to make sure the working relationship stays healthy. Andragogy principle: adults arrive with prior knowledge that must be respected. Interviewers screen for maturity β€” a trainer who can't handle challenge won't survive corporate L&D.
Q3. Describe a training program you built that had measurable business impact.behavioral
STAR with numbers. Situation: my company's account executives had 34% failing-to-meet-quota in the first year of hire, driven by weak discovery-call skill. Task: redesign onboarding to lift new-hire year-1 quota attainment. Action: (1) shadowed 8 top performers, coded 40 discovery calls, and built a 4-part discovery framework (Situation, Complication, Question, Payoff β€” the SPIN sales method); (2) redesigned week 3 of onboarding as a 3-day discovery-skill intensive with 12 role-plays graded against a rubric; (3) added a 60-day post-training coaching call with the manager scoring 3 real discovery calls; (4) tracked Level 3 outcomes β€” % of new hires performing discovery to rubric standard at day 90 β€” and Level 4 outcomes β€” year-1 quota attainment. Result: rubric-compliant discovery at day 90 rose from 41% to 78%; year-1 quota attainment rose from 34% to 61%. Interviewers want dollar or % business-impact numbers, not just 'the training went well.'
Q4. Why teaching / training rather than staying in the content-area role?culture
The honest answer that resonates: you like breaking down complex work into steps someone else can execute, and you get more satisfaction from watching 20 people improve than from doing the work yourself. If you're transitioning from a subject-matter role (former engineer moving into technical training, former salesperson moving into sales enablement, former nurse moving into clinical education), name the specific pull β€” you saw so many new hires struggling with a specific skill that you built informal training that worked, and you want to do it formally. Vague 'I want to help people' fails; specific 'I was the informal trainer on my team and I want to design it systematically' wins.
Q5. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?closer
Ladder awareness. For corporate L&D: 'Sr Trainer or Instructional Designer now, CPTD certified, targeting a Training Manager role within 3 years and a Head of Function L&D within 5-7.' For postsecondary/adult-ed: 'Sr Adult-Ed Instructor now with M.Ed. in Adult Learning, targeting a Program Coordinator role in 2-3 years and a Program Director / Assistant Dean role within 5-7.' Name the credential you're building β€” CPTD, APTD, CPTM, or the state adult-ed license β€” and the specialty you're leaning into (leadership development, technical training, DE&I, or a specific adult-ed subject area). Vague 'grow with the company' answers screen out.

Resume Template β€” Sr Corporate Trainer / Sr Adult-Ed Instructor (3-8 yrs)

Copy these bullets into your resume as a starting point. Career Kit includes bullets for every level of the ladder.

Sr Corporate Trainer / Sr Adult-Ed Instructor (3-8 yrs)
  • β–ΈRedesigned sales-onboarding discovery-skill module; year-1 quota attainment for new hires rose from 34% to 61% (n=87 new hires over 24 months); estimated $8.2M in incremental revenue.
  • β–ΈDelivered 62 instructor-led and virtual sessions annually to 1,240+ learners at Fortune 500 accounts; Level 1 satisfaction score 4.7/5; Level 3 behavior-transfer rate 74% at 90 days post-course (rubric-measured).
  • β–ΈAPTD (ATD) certified; enrolled in CPTD program. M.Ed. Adult Learning & Instructional Design (Boise State).
  • β–Έ$78k base + 8% target STI + $6k RSU + full benefits. Reports to Sr Manager Learning & Development.

What Gets You Rejected

  • βœ—PowerPoint-heavy, lecture-heavy delivery β€” modern adult learning is 60-70% activity, and interviewers screen out lecture-only trainers.
  • βœ—Cannot name Kirkpatrick's 4 levels or ADDIE β€” table-stakes for any real training role.
  • βœ—No LMS experience β€” every real role expects Canvas / Blackboard / Cornerstone / Workday Learning / Docebo proficiency.
  • βœ—Assessment design is only Level 1 smile sheet β€” no Level 2 pre/post-test, no Level 3 behavior check, no Level 4 business metric.
  • βœ—No credential path β€” 3+ years in training and no progress on APTD / CPTD / CPTM / M.Ed. Adult Learning signals stagnation.

Salary Negotiation Levers

  • βœ“Credential premium β€” CPTD or CPTM adds $8-15k to base at most corporate L&D employers. APTD adds $5-10k. State adult-ed license adds $3-8k on the salary schedule at community colleges.
  • βœ“Industry premium β€” corporate L&D at Fortune 500 tech, biotech, and financial services pays 20-40% above adult-ed and adjunct roles at community colleges. Consulting (Deloitte Learning, PwC Academy, EY Learning) pays 15-25% above corporate L&D at each rung.
  • βœ“Specialty premium β€” leadership development trainers, executive coaches, and technical trainers (cloud, cybersecurity, AI/ML) command 15-30% premium over generalist trainers.
  • βœ“Metro adjustment β€” corporate L&D roles in NYC, SF, Seattle, Boston pay 20-35% above the BLS national median. Adult-ed roles in California, New York, and Massachusetts pay 15-30% above the BLS national median due to state funding.
  • βœ“Modality premium β€” trainers who can design and deliver in three modalities (ILT, virtual live, self-paced e-learning) command $5-15k above single-modality trainers.
  • βœ“PSLF eligibility β€” public adult-ed and community-college roles are PSLF-eligible; confirm employer 501(c)(3) or public status at hire.
  • βœ“Adjunct-course-load bump β€” many postsecondary institutions cap adjunct load at 2-3 courses per semester as an anti-benefits-eligibility practice. Push for the 3rd or 4th course, or for a full-time non-tenure-track lecturer role with benefits.

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Teachers and Instructors, All Other Salary by State

Best Cities (cost-adjusted) β†’

Salary Map β€” Click a state for details

$42K
$130Kβ–  No data
StateMedianvs. National
Rhode Island$130,480+97.3%
Massachusetts$100,610+52.1%
Kansas$94,520+42.9%
Maryland$94,070+42.2%
District of Columbia$93,040+40.7%
California$87,460+32.2%
Virginia$85,280+28.9%
Maine$84,330+27.5%
New York$78,300+18.4%
Washington$77,720+17.5%
1–10 of 50

Teachers and Instructors, All Other Salary by Metro Area

Metro AreaMedianvs. National
Providence-Warwick, RI-MA$128,150+93.8%
Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY$124,490+88.2%
Salinas, CA$113,360+71.4%
Fresno, CA$105,200+59.1%
Modesto, CA$103,910+57.1%
Boulder, CO$102,160+54.5%
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA$101,050+52.8%
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH$100,610+52.1%
Stockton-Lodi, CA$99,820+50.9%
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD$99,430+50.3%
1–10 of 246
Data Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Data reflects the most recent annual survey.
How does this compare to pro athletes?
A teachers and instructors, all other earning $66,140/year would need 901 years to match Stephen Curry's NBA salary, or 968 yearsto match Patrick Mahomes' NFL contract.
See all sports & celebrity salaries β†’
πŸ“ˆ See how teachers and instructors, all other salaries have changed over the past decade.
View Teachers and Instructors, All Other salary trend (2011–2024) β†’