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General Teaching Assistant/Aide

A program that prepares individuals to assist a teacher in regular classroom settings or in providing instruction and supervision to special student populations, such as bilingual/bicultural students, special education students, adult learners, and students learning English. Includes instruction in techniques of general classroom supervision, maintaining order, assisting with lessons and carrying out related assignments. Examples: [Early Childhood Education Teacher Assistant/Aide], [Elementary Education Teacher Assistant/Aide], [Special Education Teacher Assistant/Aide], [Paraprofessional Educator]

Types of Degrees General Teaching Assistant/Aide Majors Are Earning

Those studying General Teaching Assistant/Aide may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	638
Associate’s Degree	756
Bachelor’s Degree	10
Master’s Degree	587

What General Teaching Assistant/Aide Majors Need to Know

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

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in General Teaching Assistant/Aide emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 3.1 / 5; level 3.1 / 7.
• Mathematics — Importance 3.0 / 5; level 3.2 / 7.

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

Skills

Skills emphasized by a General Teaching Assistant/Aide program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

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

Abilities

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

• Oral Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.4 / 7.
• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.
• Speech Recognition — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.4 / 7.

Common Job Activities

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

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.4 / 7
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.3 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.0 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	3.9 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	3.9 / 7
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others	3.9 / 7
Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings	3.9 / 7
Thinking Creatively	3.7 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	3.7 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	3.7 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

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

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Padlet	Computer based training software	—
Quizlet	Computer based training software	—
Hand held spell checkers	Spell checkers	—
Blackboard software	Data base user interface and query software	—
Tadpoles	Desktop communications software	—
Word processing software	Word processing software	—
Student information systems SIS software	Data base user interface and query software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Google Classroom	Project management software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for General Teaching Assistant/Aide graduates include:

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

What Can You Do With a General Teaching Assistant/Aide Degree?

Graduates with a degree in General Teaching Assistant/Aide commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Teaching Assistants, Special Education	9.5%	$96,801	$75,024–$118,577
Teaching Assistants, Preschool, Elementary, Middle, and Secondary School, Except Special Education	9.8%	$89,337	$72,651–$106,022
Teaching Assistants, All Other	11.7%	$37,615	$29,976–$45,253

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

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to General 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	29.1%
High school diploma or equivalent	25.7%
Some college courses	17.7%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	9.5%
Postsecondary certificate	8.8%
Master’s degree	8.7%
Less than a high school diploma	0.5%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in General Teaching Assistant/Aide?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 92.2% of General Teaching Assistant/Aide degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	2,345	92.2%
Men	198	7.8%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	1,195	47.0%
Asian	77	3.0%
Hispanic or Latino	878	34.5%
Black or African American	235	9.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native	19	0.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	5	0.2%
Two or More Races	81	3.2%
Race Unknown	36	1.4%
International Students	17	0.7%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do General Teaching Assistant/Aide Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of General Teaching Assistant/Aide graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise 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 General Teaching Assistant/Aide Programs

Fully online options is tracked by IPEDS for General 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

^{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 General Teaching Assistant/Aide Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, General 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	Annual Degrees Awarded
Education, General	27,481
Special Education and Teaching, General	22,116
Teaching Assistants/Aides	3,878
Teaching Assistants/Aides, Other	1,322
Adult Literacy Tutor/Instructor	13
Early Childhood Education and Teaching	—

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.