Teaching and community
What does a Primary School Teacher do?
Helping people learn, cope and get back on their feet.
What the day is like
- Indoors, under a roof.
- A screen and a keyboard.
- People all day.
- Responsible for other people.
The facts
- Pay
- $63,820 a year, median
- Kindergarten and Elementary School Teachers, May 2025
- Usually needs
- Bachelor's degree
- Several years, and usually a formal qualification.
- Jobs
- +0% projected change in jobs, 2025-2035 projections
- Demand looks steady
What people find hard about it
- Marking and planning at home
- Parents
- Noise and constant demands
Employment is flat, and the hours outside the classroom surprise most new teachers.
Will machines take this job?
Hard for machines to take over. Preparation and marking are automating. Presence, trust and pastoral responsibility are not.
How to find out whether it suits you
Spend a week as a classroom assistant before you commit to training.
Would this actually suit you?
CareerDNA works that out from what you choose rather than from what you say about yourself: two minutes of choosing between real jobs, a few puzzles, and some questions about what you are like. It is free, it saves as you go, and it will tell you plainly where the answer is thin.