Summary Report for:
25-1123.00 - English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary
Teach courses in English language and literature, including linguistics and comparative literature.
Sample of reported job titles:
English Professor, English Instructor, Professor, Instructor, General Education Instructor, Humanities Professor, English Teacher, Composition Instructor, Creative Writing Professor, ESL Instructor (English as a Second Language Instructor)
Tasks | Knowledge | Skills | Abilities | Work Activities | Work Context | Job Zone | Interests | Work Styles | Work Values | Related Occupations | Wages & Employment
Tasks
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
- Prepare course materials such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
- Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate and/or graduate students on topics such as poetry, novel structure, and translation and adaptation.
- Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
- Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, and course materials and methods of instruction.
- Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
- Maintain regularly scheduled office hours in order to advise and assist students.
- Keep abreast of developments in their field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
- Select and obtain materials and supplies such as textbooks.
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Knowledge
| English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar. |
| Education and Training — Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects. |
| Communications and Media — Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media. |
| Philosophy and Theology — Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture. |
| Psychology — Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders. |
| History and Archeology — Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures. |
| Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction. |
| Fine Arts — Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture. |
| Computers and Electronics — Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming. |
| Sociology and Anthropology — Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins. |
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Skills
| Instructing — Teaching others how to do something. |
| Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents. |
| Writing — Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience. |
| Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems. |
| Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. |
| Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively. |
| Learning Strategies — Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things. |
| Active Learning — Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making. |
| Social Perceptiveness — Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do. |
| Time Management — Managing one's own time and the time of others. |
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Abilities
| Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand. |
| Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. |
| Written Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand. |
| Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. |
| Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you. |
| Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events). |
| Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense. |
| Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer). |
| Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem. |
| Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person. |
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Work Activities
| Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others. |
| Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions. |
| Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used. |
| Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person. |
| Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time. |
| Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources. |
| Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work. |
| Coaching and Developing Others — Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills. |
| Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems. |
| Interacting With Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information. |
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Work Context
| Electronic Mail — How often do you use electronic mail in this job? |
| Face-to-Face Discussions — How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job? |
| Freedom to Make Decisions — How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer? |
| Contact With Others — How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it? |
| Structured versus Unstructured Work — To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals? |
| Public Speaking — How often do you have to perform public speaking in this job? |
| Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions? |
| Telephone — How often do you have telephone conversations in this job? |
| Frequency of Decision Making — How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization? |
| Coordinate or Lead Others — How important is it to coordinate or lead others in accomplishing work activities in this job? |
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Job Zone
| Title |
Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed |
| Overall Experience |
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job. |
| Job Training |
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training. |
| Job Zone Examples |
These occupations often involve coordinating, training, supervising, or managing the activities of others to accomplish goals. Very advanced communication and organizational skills are required. Examples include librarians, lawyers, aerospace engineers, physicists, school psychologists, and surgeons. |
| SVP Range |
(8.0 and above) |
| Education |
A bachelor's degree is the minimum formal education required for these occupations. However, many also require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree). |
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Interests
Interest code: ASI
| Artistic — Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules. |
| Social — Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others. |
| Investigative — Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally. |
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Work Styles
| Dependability — Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations. |
| Integrity — Job requires being honest and ethical. |
| Independence — Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done. |
| Initiative — Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges. |
| Analytical Thinking — Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems. |
| Concern for Others — Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job. |
| Achievement/Effort — Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks. |
| Innovation — Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems. |
| Persistence — Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles. |
| Attention to Detail — Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks. |
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Work Values
| Achievement — Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement. |
| Independence — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employs to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy. |
| Relationships — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service. |
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Related Occupations
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Wages & Employment Trends
National
Employment data collected from Postsecondary Teachers.
| Median wages (2007) |
$54,000 annual |
| Employment (2006) |
1,672,000 employees |
| Projected growth (2006-2016) |
Much faster than average (21% or higher)
|
| Projected need (2006-2016) |
662,000 additional employees |
State & National
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2007 wage data
and 2006-2016 employment projections
.
"Projected growth" represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2006-2016). "Projected need" represents job openings due to growth and net replacement.
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