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Teaching Assistant/Aide

Types of Degrees Teaching Assistant/Aide Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Teaching Assistant/Aide may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	1,050
Associate’s Degree	756
Bachelor’s Degree	10
Master’s Degree	1,510

What Teaching Assistant/Aide Majors Need to Know

Coursework for Teaching Assistant/Aide build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Teaching Assistant/Aide graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Teaching Assistant/Aide emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 3.2 / 5; level 3.3 / 7.
• Mathematics — Importance 3.1 / 5; level 3.3 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.1 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.

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

Skills

Skills developed in a Teaching Assistant/Aide program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Listening — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.4 / 7.
• Social Perceptiveness — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.3 / 7.
• Instructing — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.2 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Teaching Assistant/Aide careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.
• Speech Recognition — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.3 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Teaching Assistant/Aide graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.2 / 7
Getting Information	4.1 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	3.9 / 7
Assisting and Caring for Others	3.9 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	3.8 / 7
Thinking Creatively	3.7 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	3.7 / 7
Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings	3.6 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	3.6 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	3.6 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Teaching Assistant/Aide professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Google Classroom	Project management software	—
Quizlet	Computer based training software	—
Word processing software	Word processing software	—
Kahoot!	Multi-media educational software	—
Hand held spell checkers	Spell checkers	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Teaching Assistant/Aide graduates include:

• Educational Assistant
• Paraeducator
• TA (Teaching Assistant)
• Teacher’s Aide
• Classroom Assistant
• Proctor
• Teacher Aide
• Special Programs Instructional Assistant
• SPED Paraeducator (Special Education Paraeducator)
• SPED Assistant (Special Educational Assistant)
• Paraprofessional (Para)
• SPED Assistant (Special Education Assistant)
• Special Needs Para (Special Needs Paraprofessional)
• SPED TA (Special Education Teaching Assistant)
• SPED Associate (Special Education Associate)

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Teaching Assistant/Aide graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	38.9%
Master’s degree	18.5%
High school diploma or equivalent	16.6%
Some college courses	11.6%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	6.6%
Postsecondary certificate	5.4%
Doctoral degree	1.2%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	0.7%
Less than a high school diploma	0.3%
Post-master’s certificate	0.2%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in Teaching Assistant/Aide?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 94.9% of Teaching Assistant/Aide degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	3,679	94.9%
Men	199	5.1%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Teaching Assistant/Aide graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	2,502	64.5%
Asian	78	2.0%
Hispanic or Latino	885	22.8%
Black or African American	237	6.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native	19	0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	5	0.1%
Two or More Races	84	2.2%
Race Unknown	36	0.9%
International Students	32	0.8%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Teaching Assistant/Aide Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of Teaching Assistant/Aide graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$19,820
4 years	$27,870
5 years	$30,544

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $30,544 — roughly 54% above the 1-year mark.

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

Online Teaching Assistant/Aide Programs

Distance learning is reported by IPEDS for Teaching Assistant/Aide. 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	28	2
Master’s	1	1

^{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 Teaching Assistant/Aide Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Teaching Assistant/Aide graduates earn a median of $27,870 four years after completion — about 27% below the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000). On earnings alone, this program does not show an income premium over the baseline; non-financial outcomes (career interests, certification requirements, advancement potential) are typically the stronger argument for fields in this range.

^{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
Education	13
Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education	13.02
Curriculum and Instruction	13.03
Education, General	13.01
Education, Other	13.99
EDUCATION	13.00
Educational Administration and Supervision	13.04
Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research	13.06
Educational/Instructional Media Design	13.05
International and Comparative Education	13.07
Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education	13.09
Special Education and Teaching	13.10

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.