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Vocational training
Trade Instructor
Teaching the trade you spent twenty years doing.
Typical pay
$50k-$85k
How you get in
Field experience plus a teaching credential
Outlook
Growing as trades enrollment rises
Trade instructors teach hands-on skills at community colleges and training centers. A common second-act career for experienced tradespeople.
A day in the life
- 7:30aSet up the shop and run the safety check
- 8:00aLecture: code updates
- 9:30aLab time, walking the floor coaching
- 12:00pOffice hours
- 1:30pEvaluate student projects
- 4:00pCurriculum planning
How to get in
Field experience plus a CTE credential
Duration
3-12 months on top of your trade years
Cost
$500-$5,000
Credential
Career and technical education teaching credential
- Accumulate the years in the trade your state requires — usually 3-7
- Apply to a high school CTE program or technical center
- Complete the state's alternative credential coursework while teaching
- Keep your trade license current
Community college adjunct
Duration
Weeks to apply
Cost
$0
Credential
Trade license plus documented experience
- Apply to teach one night course in your trade
- Prove yourself over a few semesters as an adjunct
- Move to full-time faculty when a line opens
- An associate or bachelor's helps for full-time but is rarely required to start
What people love
- · Uses experience you already have
- · Easier on the body than field work
- · School schedule
What wears people down
- · Pay cut from field work
- · Grading and admin
- · Student motivation varies