Occupations/25-9043.00
Teaching Assistants, Special Education
Assist a preschool, elementary, middle, or secondary school teacher to provide academic, social, or life skills to students who have learning, emotional, or physical disabilities. Serve in a position for which a teacher has primary responsibility for the design and implementation of educational programs and services.
Usually a certificate, vocational program, or associate degree — not a bachelor’s.
AI automation risk
19%
More resilient
Human characteristics
63%
Strong human-characteristic mix
Task orientation
18%
More resilient
A day in this job
- Mostly human
Tutor and assist children individually or in small groups to help them master assignments and to reinforce learning concepts presented by teachers.
- Mostly human
Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification or positive reinforcement.
- Mostly human
Supervise students in classrooms, halls, cafeterias, school yards, and gymnasiums, or on field trips.
The tasks we can read here lean on people, judgment, or hands-on work. The AI risk number is still this job’s rank against other occupations.
Core tasks
- 01Provide assistance to students with special needs.
- 02Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification or positive reinforcement.
- 03Supervise students in classrooms, halls, cafeterias, school yards, and gymnasiums, or on field trips.
- 04Provide students with disabilities with assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms.
- 05Carry out therapeutic regimens, such as behavior modification and personal development programs, under the supervision of special education instructors, psychologists, or speech-language pathologists.
- 06Tutor and assist children individually or in small groups to help them master assignments and to reinforce learning concepts presented by teachers.
Model drivers (O*NET 1–5)
- Repeating same tasks1.76
- Degree of automation1.09
- Time sitting2.55
- Originality (ability)3.00
- Conflict situations3.47
- Hands-on objects/tools1.70
- Outdoors / weather3.08
- Disease exposure3.13
- Decision freedom3.31
Top abilities
- Oral Expression4.00
- Oral Comprehension4.00
- Speech Recognition3.75
- Speech Clarity3.75
- Problem Sensitivity3.75
- Written Comprehension3.62
- Near Vision3.62
- Deductive Reasoning3.38
Essential skills
- Reading Comprehension3.62
- Active Listening3.88
- Writing3.12
- Speaking3.75
- Mathematics1.88
- Science1.38
- Critical Thinking3.38
- Active Learning3.00
- Learning Strategies3.62
- Monitoring3.62
CIP matches
Schools offering related programs
12 of 82 shown
Earnings are College Scorecard medians for that program, 1 and 2 years after completion. A dash means the Department suppressed the cell or the campus is not in the field file.
| Institution | Program | Tuition | Admit | Grad 6-yr | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA · Public | Education, General 13.0101 | $15,200 | 57% | 86% | 1 yr $80,858 2 yr $90,412 Doctoral · CIP 13.01 |
Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ · Public | Education, General 13.0101 | $12,000 | 90% | 69% | 1 yr $71,734 2 yr $73,949 Doctoral · CIP 13.01 |
Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN · Private nonprofit | Education, General 13.0101 | $63,600 | 7% | 93% | 1 yr $71,575 2 yr $61,516 Doctoral · CIP 13.01 |
California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA · Public | Education, General 13.0101 | $7,100 | 40% | 74% | 1 yr $70,296 2 yr $66,461 Master's · CIP 13.01 |
CUNY Hunter College New York, NY · Public | Special Education and Teaching, General 13.1001 | $7,400 | 48% | 60% | 1 yr $67,660 2 yr $66,089 Master's · CIP 13.10 |
Stanford University Stanford, CA · Private nonprofit | Education, General 13.0101 | $62,400 | 4% | 96% | 1 yr $65,025 2 yr $64,196 Master's · CIP 13.01 |
University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO · Public | Education, General 13.0101 | $13,600 | 81% | 72% | 1 yr $60,771 2 yr $60,771 Graduate certificate · CIP 13.01 |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA · Private nonprofit | Education, General 13.0101 | $60,100 | 4% | 96% | 1 yr $60,306 2 yr $58,165 Master's · CIP 13.01 |
Howard University Washington, DC · Private nonprofit | Special Education and Teaching, General 13.1001 | $33,200 | 53% | 65% | 1 yr $57,477 2 yr $57,125 Master's · CIP 13.10 |
University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA · Public | Education, General 13.0101 | $13,800 | 9% | 92% | 1 yr $57,318 2 yr $56,302 Master's · CIP 13.01 |
University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA · Public | Education, General 13.0101 | $15,200 | 24% | 87% | 1 yr $57,159 2 yr $57,318 Master's · CIP 13.01 |
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL · Public | Education, General 13.0101 | $17,500 | 45% | 85% | 1 yr $56,716 2 yr $49,058 Master's · CIP 13.01 |