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Trade & Industrial Education

Types of Degrees Trade & Industrial Education Majors Are Earning

People majoring in Trade & Industrial Education can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Associate’s Degree	2
Bachelor’s Degree	315
Master’s Degree	380
Doctor’s Degree	15

What Trade & Industrial Education Majors Need to Know

Programs in Trade & Industrial Education build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Trade & Industrial Education graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in Trade & Industrial Education emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Education and Training — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 5.6 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set built by a Trade & Industrial Education program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Instructing — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Learning Strategies — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to Trade & Industrial Education careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Trade & Industrial Education graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Training and Teaching Others	4.7 / 7
Getting Information	4.5 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.4 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.3 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.3 / 7
Coaching and Developing Others	4.3 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.2 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.2 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.2 / 7
Working with Computers	4.1 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Trade & Industrial Education professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
DOC Cop	Information retrieval or search software	—
Sakai CLE	Computer based training software	—
Image scanning software	Optical character reader OCR or scanning software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Collaborative editing software	Word processing software	—
Calendar and scheduling software	Calendar and scheduling software	—
Blackboard Learn	Computer based training software	—
Google Docs	Word processing software	—
Course management system software	Computer based training software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Trade & Industrial Education graduates include:

• Instructor
• Educator
• Teacher
• Vocational Trainer
• Industrial Arts Teacher
• Business Education Teacher
• Vocational Teacher
• Computer Science Teacher
• Career Education Teacher
• Technical Education Teacher
• Computer Teacher
• Industrial Technology Teacher
• Business Teacher
• Carpentry Teacher
• Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher (FACS Teacher)

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Trade & Industrial Education graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Doctoral degree	38.1%
Bachelor’s degree	25.7%
Master’s degree	15.6%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	7.5%
Postsecondary certificate	4.1%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	3.8%
High school diploma or equivalent	2.9%
Some college courses	2.0%
First professional degree	0.1%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Trade & Industrial Education?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 54.2% women and 45.8% men among Trade & Industrial Education graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	386	54.2%
Men	326	45.8%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Trade & Industrial Education graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	444	62.4%
Asian	17	2.4%
Hispanic or Latino	90	12.6%
Black or African American	109	15.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native	5	0.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	1	0.1%
Two or More Races	21	2.9%
Race Unknown	16	2.2%
International Students	9	1.3%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Trade & Industrial Education Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Trade & Industrial Education graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$49,919
4 years	$50,204
5 years	$56,331

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $56,331 — roughly 13% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Trade & Industrial Education Programs

Fully online options are documented by IPEDS for Trade & Industrial Education. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	1	1
Bachelor’s	4	6
Master’s	8	2

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Trade & Industrial Education Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Trade & Industrial Education graduates earn a median of $50,204 four years after completion — roughly 32% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	13.13
Agricultural Teacher Education	13.1301
Art Teacher Education	13.1302
Biology Teacher Education	13.1322
Business and Innovation/Entrepreneurship Teacher Education	13.1303
Chemistry Teacher Education	13.1323
Communication Arts and Literature Teacher Education	13.1339
Computer Teacher Education	13.1321
Drama and Dance Teacher Education	13.1324
Driver and Safety Teacher Education	13.1304
Earth Science Teacher Education	13.1337
English/Language Arts Teacher Education	13.1305

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.