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Educational Services

Nature of the Industry  |  Working Conditions  |  Employment  |  Occupations in the Industry
Training and Advancement  |  Job Outlook  |  Earnings

Significant Points

• With about 1 in 4 Americans enrolled in educational institutions, educational services is the largest industry, accounting for nearly 12 million jobs.
• Most teaching positions—which constitute almost half of all educational services jobs—require at least a bachelor’s degree, and some require a master’s or doctoral degree.
• Retirements in a number of education professions will create many job openings.

Nature of the Industry

Education is an important part of life. The type and level of education that an individual attains often influences occupational choice and earnings potential. Lifelong learning is important to acquire new knowledge and upgrade skills, particularly in this age of rapid technological and economic changes. The educational services industry includes a variety of institutions that offer academic instruction, vocational and technical instruction, and other education and training to millions of students each year. 

Because school attendance is compulsory until age 16 to 18 in all 50 States and the District of Columbia, elementary, middle, and secondary schools are the most numerous of all educational establishments. Elementary, middle, and secondary schools provide academic instruction to students in kindergarten through grade 12, in public schools, parochial schools, boarding and other private schools, and military academies. Some secondary schools provide a mixture of academic and vocational instruction. 

Postsecondary institutions provide academic or technical courses or both in colleges, universities, professional schools, community or junior colleges, and technical institutes. Universities offer bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees, while colleges generally offer only the bachelor’s degree. Professional schools offer graduate degrees in fields such as law, medicine, business administration, and engineering. The undergraduate bachelor’s degree typically requires 4 years of study, while graduate degrees require additional years of study. Community colleges and technical institutes offer associate degrees, certificates, or diplomas, typically involving 2 years of study or less. 

Establishments that make up the remainder of the educational services industry include libraries; vocational schools, including computer training, business and secretarial, commercial art, practical nursing, and correspondence schools; and institutions providing a variety of specialized training and services, such as curriculum development, student exchange programs, and art, music, automobile driving, and cooking schools. 

In recent decades, the Nation has focused attention on the educational system because of the growing importance of producing a trained and educated workforce. Many institutions, including government, private industry, and research organizations, are involved in improving the quality of education. States have introduced performance standards in an effort to raise academic achievement among students and set standards for graduation. Additionally, a growing number of States are requiring prospective teachers to pass basic skills tests before they are allowed to teach. In an effort to promote innovation in public education, many local and State governments have authorized the creation of public charter schools, in the belief that presenting students and their parents a greater range of instructional options provides greater incentives for students—and schools—to strive for excellence. Charter schools, which usually are run by teachers and parents, or, increasingly, by private firms, operate independently of the school system, setting their own standards and practicing a variety of innovative teaching methods. Businesses strive to improve education by donating instructional equipment, lending personnel for teaching and mentoring, hosting worksite visits, and providing job shadowing and internship opportunities. Businesses also collaborate with educators to develop curriculums that will provide students with the skills they need to cope with new technology in the workplace. 

Quality improvements also are being made to vocational, or career and technical, education at secondary and postsecondary schools. Academics are playing a more important role in vocational curriculums, and programs are more relevant to the local job market. Often, students must meet rigorous standards set in consultation with private industry before receiving a certificate or degree. Vocational programs are emphasizing general workplace skills such as problem solving, teamwork, and customer service. Many high schools offer tech-prep programs, which are developed jointly by high schools and community colleges to provide a continuous course of study leading to an associate’s degree or other postsecondary credential. 

Computer technology continues to affect the education industry. Computers simplify administrative tasks and make it easier to track student performance. Teachers use the Internet in classrooms and to communicate with colleagues around the country; students use the Internet for research projects. Distance learning continues to expand as more postsecondary institutions use Internet-based technology to post lessons and coursework electronically, allowing students in distant locations access to virtual classrooms. 

Despite these quality improvements, dropout rates have not declined over the decade and many high school students still lack many of the math and communication skills needed in today’s workplace, according to employers. School budgets often are not sufficient to meet the many goals that schools are trying to meet, particularly in the inner cities, where aging facilities and chronic teacher shortages make teaching difficult. 

Working Conditions

School conditions can vary from town to town. Some schools in poorer neighborhoods may be rundown, have few supplies and equipment, and lack air-conditioning. Other schools may be new and well equipped and maintained. Conditions at postsecondary institutions are generally very good. Despite conditions, seeing students develop and enjoy learning can be rewarding for teachers and other education workers. However, dealing with unmotivated students, or those with social or behavioral problems, can be stressful, and requires patience and understanding. 

Most educational institutions operate 10 months a year, but summer sessions for remedial or adult students are not uncommon. Education administrators, office and administrative support workers, and janitors and cleaners often work the entire year. Night and weekend work is common for adult literacy and remedial and self-enrichment education teachers, postsecondary teachers, and library workers in postsecondary institutions. Part-time work is common for schoolbus drivers, adult literacy and remedial and self-enrichment education teachers, postsecondary teachers, teacher assistants, and some library workers. Schoolbus drivers often work a split shift, driving one or two routes in the morning and afternoon; drivers who are assigned field trips, athletic and other extracurricular activities, or midday kindergarten routes work additional hours during or after school. Many teachers spend significant time outside of school preparing for class, doing administrative tasks, conducting research, writing articles and books, and pursuing advanced degrees. 

Despite occurrences of violence in some schools, educational services is a relatively safe industry. There were 2.9 cases of occupational injury and illness per 100 full-time workers in private educational establishments in 1999, compared with 6.3 in all industries combined. 

Employment

Employees in this industry are older than average; 46 percent are over the age of 45, compared with 35 percent of employees in all industries combined (table 1).
 

Table 1. Percent distribution of employment in educational services by age group, 2000
Age group	Educational services	All industries
Total	100.0	100.0
16-24	10.6	15.3
25-34	18.7	22.6
35-44	24.5	27.1
45-54	30.2	22.0
55-64	13.2	10.1
65 and older	2.8	3.0

Occupations in the Industry

Teachers account for almost half of all workers in the educational services industry. Their duties depend on the age group and subject they teach and on the type of institution in which they work. Teachers should have a sincere interest in helping students and the ability to inspire respect, trust, and confidence. Strong speaking and writing skills, inquiring and analytical minds, and a desire to pursue and disseminate knowledge are vital for teachers.

Preschool, kindergarten and elementary school teachers play a critical role in the early development of children. They usually instruct one class in a variety of subjects, introducing the children to mathematics, language, science, and social studies. They use games, artwork, music, computers, and other tools to teach basic skills.
 

Table 2. Employment of wage and salary workers in educational services by occupation, 2000 and projected change, 2000-10 (Employment in thousands)
Occupation	Employment, 2000		Percent change, 2000-10
	Number	Percent
All occupations	11,797	100.0	13.6
Management, business, and financial occupations	722	6.1	11.4
Education administrators	369	3.1	13.0
Professional and related occupations	7,802	66.1	18.7
Computer specialists	131	1.1	44.1
Educational, vocational, and school counselors	160	1.4	24.3
Postsecondary teachers	1,256	10.6	24.3
Preschool teachers, except special education	53	0.5	10.1
Kindergarten teachers, except special education	161	1.4	13.0
Elementary school teachers, except special education	1,502	12.7	13.0
Middle school teachers, except special and vocational education	568	4.8	9.6
Secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education	1,000	8.5	18.6
Vocational education teachers, secondary school	106	0.9	13.0
Special education teachers, preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school	228	1.9	36.3
Special education teachers, middle school	94	0.8	24.3
Special education teachers, secondary school	121	1.0	24.3
Adult literacy, remedial education, and GED teachers and instructors	40	0.3	17.6
Self-enrichment education teachers	60	0.5	16.6
All other teachers, primary, secondary, and adult	399	3.4	19.7
Librarians	92	0.8	1.7
Library technicians	59	0.5	24.3
Teacher assistants	1,023	8.7	22.0
Instructional coordinators	56	0.5	24.3
Registered nurses	81	0.7	13.0
Speech-language pathologists	46	0.4	35.6
Service occupations	1,396	11.8	5.3
Cooks, institution and cafeteria	213	1.8	-7.5
Food preparation workers	106	0.9	9.1
Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners	469	4.0	1.7
Child care workers	111	0.9	35.6
Office and administrative support occupations	1,216	10.3	-3.7
Library assistants, clerical	43	0.4	13.0
Office clerks, general	257	2.2	-9.6
Executive secretaries and administrative assistants	164	1.4	3.7
Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive	339	2.9	0.7
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	154	1.3	5.0
Transportation and material moving occupations	379	3.2	2.4
Busdrivers, school	328	2.8	1.7
NOTE: May not add to totals due to omission of occupations with small employment.

 
Middle and secondary school teachers help students delve more deeply into subjects introduced in elementary school. Middle and secondary school teachers specialize in a specific academic subject, such as English, mathematics, or history, or a vocational area, such as automobile mechanics, business education, or computer repair. Some supervise extracurricular activities after school and help students deal with academic problems and choose courses, colleges, and careers.

Special education teachers work with students—from toddlers to those in their early 20s—who have a variety of learning and physical disabilities. Most special education teachers are found at the elementary school level. Using the general education curriculum, special education teachers modify instruction to meet a student’s special needs. They also help special education students develop emotionally, be comfortable in social situations, and be aware of socially acceptable behavior.

Postsecondary teachers , or faculty as they are usually called, generally are organized into departments or divisions, based on subject or field. They teach and advise college students and perform a significant part of our Nation’s research. They also consult with government, business, nonprofit, and community organizations. They prepare lectures, exercises, and laboratory experiments; grade exams and papers; and advise and work with students individually. Postsecondary teachers keep abreast of developments in their field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues and businesses, and participating in professional conferences. They also do their own research to expand knowledge in their field, often publishing their findings in scholarly journals, books, and electronic media.

Adult literacy and remedial and self-enrichment education teachers provide courses in "English as a Second Language" (ESL), preparation sessions for the General Educational Development (GED) exam, and basic instruction courses to out-of-school youths and adults, and may also teach classes that students take for personal enrichment, such as cooking or dancing.

Education administrators provide vision, direction, leadership, and day-to-day management of educational activities in schools, colleges and universities, businesses, correctional institutions, museums, and job training and community service organizations. They set educational standards and goals and aid in establishing the policies and procedures to carry them out. They develop academic programs; monitor students’ educational progress; hire, train, motivate, and evaluate teachers and other staff; manage guidance and other student services; administer recordkeeping; prepare budgets; and handle relations with staff, parents, current and prospective students, employers, and the community.

Instructional coordinators evaluate school curriculums and recommend changes. They research the latest teaching methods and coordinate and provide training to teachers. They also coordinate equipment purchases and assist in the use of new technology in schools.

Educational, vocational, and school counselors—who work at the elementary, middle, secondary, and postsecondary school levels—help students evaluate their abilities, talents, and interests so that the student can develop realistic academic and career options. They also help students understand and deal with their social, behavioral, and personal problems. Secondary school counselors use interviews, counseling sessions, tests, or other methods when advising and evaluating students. They advise on college majors, admission requirements, and entrance exams, and on trade, technical school, and apprenticeship programs. Elementary school counselors do more social and personal counseling and less vocational and academic counseling than do secondary school counselors. School counselors work with students individually or in small groups, or with entire classes.

Librarians help people to find information and to use it effectively in their scholastic, personal, and professional pursuits. They manage staff and develop and direct information programs and systems for the public, as well as oversee the selection and organization of library materials. Librarians may supervise library technicians—who help librarians acquire, prepare, and organize material; direct library users to standard references; and retrieve information from computer databases—and library assistants, clerical—who check out and receive library materials, collect overdue fines, and shelve materials.

Teacher assistants , also called teacher aides or instructional aides, provide instructional and clerical support for classroom teachers, allowing teachers more time for lesson planning and teaching. Teacher assistants tutor and assist children, particularly special education students, in learning class material using the teacher’s lesson plans, providing students with individualized attention. Assistants also aid and supervise students in the cafeteria, schoolyard, or school discipline center, or on field trips. They record grades, set up equipment, and prepare materials for instruction.

Schoolbus drivers transport students to and from school and related events.

The educational services industry employs many other workers who are found in a wide range of industries. For example, administrative support workers such as secretaries, administrative assistants , and general office clerks account for about 1 out of 10 jobs in educational services.

Training & Advancement

The educational services industry employs some of the most highly educated workers in the labor force. Postsecondary teachers, particularly college and university faculty, generally need a doctoral degree for full-time, tenure-track employment, but sometimes can teach with a master’s degree, particularly at 2-year colleges. Most faculty members are hired as instructors or assistant professors and may advance to associate professor and full professor. Some faculty advance to administrative and managerial positions, such as department chairperson, dean, or president. 

Kindergarten, elementary, middle, and secondary school teachers must have a bachelor’s degree and complete an approved teacher training program, with a prescribed number of subject and education credits and supervised practice teaching. All States require public school teachers to be licensed; licensure requirements vary by State. Many States offer alternate licensure programs for people who have bachelor’s degrees in the subject they will teach, but lack the necessary education courses required for a regular license. With additional education or certification, teachers may become school librarians, reading specialists, curriculum specialists, or guidance counselors. Some teachers advance to administrative or supervisory positions—such as department chairperson, assistant principal, or principal—but the number of these jobs is limited. In some school systems, highly qualified, experienced elementary and secondary school teachers can become senior or mentor teachers, with higher pay and additional responsibilities. 

Vocational education teachers normally need work or other experience in their field—and a license or certificate, when required by the field—for full professional status. Most States require vocational education teachers and adult literacy and remedial education teachers to have a bachelor’s degree and some States also require teacher certification. Self-enrichment teachers need only practical experience in the field to teach. 

School counselors generally need a master’s degree in a counseling specialty or a related field. All States require school counselors to hold State school counseling certification; however, certification procedures vary from State to State. Some States require public school counselors to have both counseling and teaching certificates. Depending on the State, a master’s degree in counseling and 2 to 5 years of teaching experience may be required for a counseling certificate. Experienced school counselors may advance to a larger school; become directors or supervisors of counseling, guidance, or student personnel services; or, with further graduate education, become counseling psychologists or school administrators. 

Training requirements for education administrators depend on where they work. Principals, assistant principals, and school administrators usually have held a teaching or related job before entering administration, and they generally need a master’s or doctoral degree in education administration or educational supervision, as well as State teacher certification. Academic deans usually have a doctorate in their specialty. Education administrators may advance up an administrative ladder or transfer to larger schools or school systems. They also may become superintendent of a school system or president of an educational institution. 

Training requirements for teacher assistants range from a high school diploma to some college training. Districts that assign teaching responsibilities to teacher assistants usually have higher training requirements than those that do not. Teacher assistants who obtain a bachelor’s degree, usually in education, may become certified teachers. 

Librarians normally need a master’s degree in library science. Many States require school librarians to be licensed as teachers and have courses in library science. Experienced librarians may advance to administrative positions, such as department head, library director, or chief information officer. Training requirements for library technicians range from a high school diploma to specialized postsecondary training; a high school diploma is sufficient for library assistants. Library workers can advance—from assistant, to technician, to librarian—with experience and the required formal education. Schoolbus drivers, who need a commercial driver’s license, have limited opportunities for advancement; some become supervisors or dispatchers. 

Job Outlook

Overall growth in student enrollments is expected to slow over the next 10 years, resulting in wage and salary employment growth of 14 percent in the educational services industry between 2000-10, slightly less than the 16 percent increase projected for all industries combined. However, because a greater than average number of workers in nearly all the major occupations that make up this industry—from janitors to education administrators—are over the age of 45, it is likely that a surge in baby-boomer retirements will create many job openings in addition to those due to employment growth. 

A growing number of school districts, particularly those in urban and rural areas, are finding it harder to recruit all the teachers, administrators, and support personnel they need. Many schools in fast-growing areas of the country—including several States and cities in the South and West—also are experiencing difficulty recruiting education workers, especially teachers. As retirements increase over the projection decade, the number of students graduating with education degrees may not be sufficient to meet this industry’s growing needs, making job opportunities for graduates in many education fields very good to excellent. Currently, alternative licensing programs are helping to attract noneducation majors into teaching. Still, math, science, and bilingual teachers should continue to have excellent opportunities. At the postsecondary level, a smaller number of Ph.D's is projected to graduate, making the market for postsecondary teachers more favorable than it has been in years. Candidates applying for tenured positions, though, will continue to face keen competition as many colleges and universities reduce the number of these positions in favor of adjunct or part-time faculty. 

A growing emphasis on improving education and making it available to more children and young adults will increase overall demand for workers in education services. Reforms, such as universal preschool, all-day kindergarten, and reduced class sizes, if enacted, will require more preschool and elementary school teachers. However, flat enrollment projections at the preschool and elementary school level will reduce demand and a moderate increase in enrollment at the secondary school level will lead to average employment growth for preschool, elementary, middle, and secondary school teachers. As children of the baby boom reach college age, postsecondary student enrollments are expected to increase, spurring faster than average employment growth for postsecondary teachers. 

The numbers of counselors, speech-language pathologists and audiologists, and special education teachers are projected to grow faster than average through 2010, because of increasing enrollment of special education students, continued emphasis on inclusion of disabled students in general education classrooms, and the effort to reach students with problems at younger ages. Employment of teacher assistants also will grow faster than average. School reforms call for more individual attention to students, and many teacher assistants will be needed in general, special education, and English as a Second Language classrooms. 

Despite expected increases in education expenditures, budget constraints at all levels of government may place restrictions on educational services, particularly in light of the rapidly escalating cost of college tuition, special education, Construction costs for new schools, and other services. Cuts in funding could affect student services—such as school busing, library and educational materials, and extracurricular activities—and employment of administrative, instructional, and support staff. Budget considerations also may affect attempts to expand school programs, such as increasing the number of counselors and teacher assistants in elementary schools  

Earnings

Source: Career Guide to Industries, Bureau of Labor Statistics

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