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Health Occupations Education

A program that prepares individuals to teach specific vocational health occupations programs at various educational levels.

Types of Degrees Health Occupations Education Majors Are Earning

Those studying Health Occupations Education can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Master’s Degree	103
Doctor’s Degree	16

What Health Occupations Education Majors Need to Know

Studies in Health Occupations Education develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Health Occupations Education graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Health Occupations Education emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Education and Training — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 5.4 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — 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

Skills developed in a Health Occupations Education program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Instructing — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Learning Strategies — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to Health Occupations Education careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

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

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Health Occupations Education graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Training and Teaching Others	4.6 / 7
Getting Information	4.4 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.4 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.3 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.3 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.3 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.2 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.2 / 7
Coaching and Developing Others	4.1 / 7
Working with Computers	4.1 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Health Occupations Education professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Google Docs	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Learning management system LMS	Computer based training software	—
Image scanning software	Optical character reader OCR or scanning software	—
Desire2Learn LMS software	Computer based training software	—
DOC Cop	Information retrieval or search software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Health Occupations Education graduates include:

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

What Can You Do With a Health Occupations Education Degree?

Graduates with a degree in Health Occupations Education commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary	10.7%	$46,663	$40,304–$53,022
Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary	0.6%	$86,398	$72,979–$99,816

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

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

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	38.3%
Master’s degree	21.8%
Doctoral degree	8.1%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	8.0%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	7.2%
Post-doctoral training	6.0%
Postsecondary certificate	4.5%
High school diploma or equivalent	2.6%
Less than a high school diploma	1.7%
Some college courses	1.7%
First professional degree	0.1%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in Health Occupations Education?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 68.9% of Health Occupations Education degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	82	68.9%
Men	37	31.1%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Health Occupations Education graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	70	58.8%
Asian	18	15.1%
Hispanic or Latino	7	5.9%
Black or African American	9	7.6%
Two or More Races	3	2.5%
Race Unknown	7	5.9%
International Students	5	4.2%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Health Occupations Education Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of Health Occupations 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 Health Occupations Education Programs

Online study is reported by IPEDS for Health Occupations 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
Master’s	7	0
Doctoral (Research)	2	0

^{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 Health Occupations Education Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, Health Occupations 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	Annual Degrees Awarded
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	39,881
Physical Education Teaching and Coaching	6,964
Reading Teacher Education	5,986
Music Teacher Education	4,544
English/Language Arts Teacher Education	3,018
Mathematics Teacher Education	2,993
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas, Other	2,352
Social Studies Teacher Education	1,963
Art Teacher Education	1,860
Health Teacher Education	1,472
Agricultural Teacher Education	1,051
Science Teacher Education/General Science Teacher Education	1,022

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.