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Elementary Teacher

Academic programs / Undergraduate degrees / Career opportunities / Elementary Teacher

Elementary Teacher

Explore employment trends, required job duties and skills for this career. ASU offers a variety of degrees that can help you prepare for and meet your career goals. Visit ASU's Career and Professional Development Services to learn how to develop your career plan.

Potential job titles in this career
Art Teacher, Classroom Teacher, Elementary Classroom Teacher, Elementary School Teacher, Elementary Teacher, Math Teacher (Mathematics Teacher), Music Teacher, Primary Teacher, Reading Teacher, Teacher

* Additional schooling, certification, or degrees maybe be required for some of the potential careers that are listed.
What will I do?
  • Instruct students individually and in groups, using teaching methods such as lectures, discussions, and demonstrations.
  • Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among the students.
  • Guide and counsel students with adjustment or academic problems or with special academic interests.
  • Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs and interests.
  • Plan and conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.
  • Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
  • Read books to entire classes or small groups.
  • Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
  • Confer with parents or guardians, teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students' behavioral and academic problems.
  • Meet with parents and guardians to discuss their children's progress and to determine priorities for their children and their resource needs.
  • In this career, it is important to know
    English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

    Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
    It's useful to be good at
    Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

    Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

    Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

    Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

    Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

    Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

    Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

    Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

    Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

    Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
    Employment trends
    Location Pay period 2024
    10% 25% Median% 75% 90%
    United States Hourly
    Yearly $46,440 $50,680 $62,340 $79,410 $102,010
    Arizona Hourly
    Yearly $40,100 $47,040 $50,980 $63,600 $80,010
    2024 Median%
    United States Hourly $62,340 Yearly
    Arizona Hourly $50,980 Yearly

    Employment (2024)
    1,422,700 employees
    Projected growth (2024 - 2034)
    Decline (-2% or lower)
    Projected job openings (2024 - 2034)
    91,000
    * Data obtained from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) under sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA).
    What are accelerated programs?
    Accelerated programs allow students the opportunity to expedite the completion of their degree.

    Accelerated master's

    These programs allow students to accelerate their studies to earn a bachelor's plus a master's degree in as few as five years (for some programs).

    Each program has requirements students must meet to be eligible for consideration. Students typically receive approval to pursue the accelerated master’s during the junior year of their bachelor's degree program. Interested students can learn about eligibility requirements and how to apply.
    What are concurrent programs?
    Concurrent degrees allow students to pursue their own personal or professional interests, earn two distinct degrees and receive two diplomas. To add a concurrent degree to your existing degree, work with your academic advisor.
    What are joint programs?
    Joint programs, or jointly conferred degrees, are offered by more than one college and provide opportunities for students to take advantage of the academic strengths of two academic units. Upon graduation, students are awarded one degree and one diploma conferred by two colleges.

    What constitutes a new program?
    ASU adds new programs to Degree Search frequently. Come back often and look for the “New Programs” option.
    What are online programs?
    ASU Online offers programs in an entirely online format with multiple enrollment sessions throughout the year. See https://asuonline.asu.edu/ for more information.
    What is the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE)?
    The Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) is a program in which residents of western states (other than Arizona) may be eligible for reduced nonresident tuition. See more information and eligibility requirements on the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) program.

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