Education · SOC 25-1081
AI handles routine grading and prep, but mentorship, original research, and academic judgment remain deeply human.
Parts of the job are exposed, but judgment and context still matter.
Timeline: AI tutoring tools will absorb routine feedback and drill-style content within 3-5 years, but tenure-track research and mentorship roles remain stable through the decade.
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$86,350 median pay
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$86,220 median pay
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$77,010 median pay
Industry pages show which sectors this occupation feeds and the AI companies driving the shift.
AI job-risk card
Education Teachers, Postsecondary is watch on AIFear. Parts of the job are exposed, but judgment and context still matter.
AIFear.com
Our AI Fear Score for Education Teachers, Postsecondary is 38/100 (Watch). Parts of the job are exposed, but judgment and context still matter.
38 out of 100, based on an AI-model review of this occupation's O*NET tasks against what current AI can actually do.
Most exposed: Drafting syllabus and handout content, Grading structured assignments and exams, Literature search and citation compilation, Generating initial course outlines. Harder to automate: Mentoring students through career decisions, Original field research and scholarly argument, Committee deliberation and institutional governance, Supervising fieldwork and dissertation progress.
Lean into AI-assisted research synthesis, Curriculum design, Academic mentorship, Scholarly communication. Consider roles such as Department chair or academic dean or Educational program director or Research center director.
Tasks, skills and AI-exposure for this role were reviewed by an AI model against its O*NET task profile (curated roles use published research anchors). Pay and employment, where shown, are U.S. BLS OEWS (May 2024) figures. This is an estimate, not a prediction about any individual's job. Compare all occupations.