English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary
Teach courses in English language and literature, including linguistics and comparative literature. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
- Median pay
- $78,760
- Doing it now
- 69,300
- By 2035
- No change
- Usually needs
- Doctoral or professional degree
a year
across the country
4,500 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
- Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
- Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as poetry, novel structure, and translation and adaptation.
- Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
- Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
- Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- English Language and Literature, GeneralSee 1,301 colleges that teach it
- English Language and Literature/Letters, OtherSee 59 colleges that teach it
- Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and ServicesSee 390 colleges that teach it
- LiteratureSee 79 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Helping and teaching
Analytical and curious
Creative and expressive
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $78,760 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.