Art Teachers

Employers

Art teachers work at public and private institutions, museums, day care centers, juvenile detention centers, community centers, and schools of the arts. Although rural areas maintain schools, more teaching positions are available in urban or suburban areas. Art teachers also find opportunities in charter schools, which are smaller, deregulated schools that receive public funding. The Department of Labor reports that there were more than 1.4 million elementary school teachers, including art teachers, working in the United States in May 2023. There were more than 1 million secondary school teachers and 272,110 self-enrichment teachers, including art teachers, employed in the U.S. in that same year.

Starting Out

After completing the teacher certification process, including the required months of student teaching, work with your college's career services office to find a full-time position. The departments of education of some states maintain listings of job openings. Many schools advertise teaching positions on employment Web sites and in the classifieds of the state's major newspapers. Another way to learn about job opportunities is to directly contact the principals and superintendents of the schools in which you'd like to work. While waiting for full-time work, you can work as a substitute teacher to gain experience. In urban areas with many schools, you may be able to substitute full time.