Educational Instruction and Library Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 25-1121

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary

The published band from $47,570 to $163,350 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Law Teachers, Postsecondary.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary: Law Teachers, Postsecondary ($129K) , Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary ($93K) , Business Teachers, Postsecondary ($99K) , Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary ($107K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 25-1121 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Explain and demonstrate artistic techniques
  2. 2. Evaluate and grade students' class work, performances, projects, assignments, and papers
  3. 3. Prepare students for performances, exams, or assessments
  4. 4. Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions
  5. 5. Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as acting techniques, fundamentals of music, and art hi…
  6. 6. Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts
  7. 7. Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records
  8. 8. Organize performance groups and direct their rehearsals
  9. 9. Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional confe…
  10. 10. Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction
  11. 11. Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others
  12. 12. Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary: O*NET ranks Speaking first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 25-1121 - lead skill Speaking at 4.6 ; lead knowledge Fine Arts. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Speaking 4.6
  2. 2. Instructing 4.4
  3. 3. Learning Strategies 4.1
  4. 4. Reading Comprehension 4.0
  5. 5. Active Listening 4.0
  6. 6. Active Learning 4.0
  7. 7. Writing 3.9
  8. 8. Monitoring 3.8

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Fine Arts 4.9
  2. 2. Education and Training 4.7
  3. 3. English Language 4.3
  4. 4. Communications and Media 3.6
  5. 5. Psychology 3.4
  6. 6. History and Archeology 3.4
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$47,570 to $163,350
median $78,620 · ~3.4× spread
$79K
National median
↑ +2%
Growth 2024-2034
9,000
Annual openings
93,560
Estimated US jobs
Law Teachers, Postsecondary
Highest-pay peer · $129K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Master's degree

Top Paying States for Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary

1. Massachusetts $85,820
2. Vermont $97,980
3. Delaware $103,320
4. District of Columbia $96,900
5. California $99,410
6. Rhode Island $97,580
7. Maryland $85,590
8. New York $98,850
9. New Jersey $80,100
10. Michigan $82,990

Other Educational Instruction and Library Occupations titles

  1. 1. Business Teachers, Postsecondary $99,080
  2. 2. Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary $107,310
  3. 3. Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary $93,250
  4. 4. Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary $94,980
  5. 5. Law Teachers, Postsecondary $128,500
  6. 6. Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary $99,650

The OEWS band for Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary runs from $47,570 (10th) to $163,350 (90th), about 3.4× wide, with median $78,620. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +2% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 9,000 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Master's degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Massachusetts at $85,820. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Law Teachers, Postsecondary at $128,500. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary pay-rank #28 in Educational Instruction and Library Occupations

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary sits at pay-rank #28 of 64 detailed Educational Instruction and Library Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 25-1121 · national median $78,620 · middle third of Educational Instruction and Library Occupations (#28/64). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 25-1121

Massachusetts · top state for Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary

$86K published median

Vermont · #2 state pay

$98K · behind Massachusetts

Law Teachers, Postsecondary

Highest-pay peer vs Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary · $129K

Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary

Lower-pay peer beside Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary · $93K

Compare Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary mid-table among Educational Instruction and Library Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #28 of 64 detailed Educational Instruction and Library Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Communications Teachers, Postsecondary ($79K), English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary ($79K), Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary ($79K), Postsecondary Teachers, All Other ($78K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do art, drama, and music teachers, postsecondary do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary. Leading ones include: Explain and demonstrate artistic techniques; Evaluate and grade students' class work, performances, projects, assignments, and papers; Prepare students for performances, exams, or assessments; Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for art, drama, and music teachers, postsecondary? ▼
For SOC 25-1121, O*NET importance scores lead with Speaking (4.6), Instructing (4.4), Learning Strategies (4.1), Reading Comprehension (4.0). Knowledge areas emphasize Fine Arts, Education and Training, English Language. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $47,570 and the 90th at $163,350 for Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary (3.4× spread). The national median is $78,620. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary is +2%. Projected annual openings: about 9,000. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary? ▼
BLS assigns Master's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary? ▼
Massachusetts ($85,820), Vermont ($97,980), Delaware ($103,320) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 25-1121. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics