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Education

Special education teachers, preschool

Typically requires Bachelor's degree

What is this page & how do I use it?

This is a research report for one career — the kind an analyst would write for a stock. The rating at the top is the neutral baseline (same for everyone); below it come the cases for and against, how the last official forecast for this career actually aged, and what the education path costs and pays.

How to use it: read the bulls-vs-bears case, then hit Score this career to weigh it against your other options with your own interests factored in.

CareerStar rating
RiskyLow uncertainty

Analyst take: Decent prospects — +1.4% projected growth, low AI exposure (20/100).

42
/ 100
low riskhigh
top row = high reward

Moat (borrowed from investing — the water that defends a castle): how shielded this career is from AI. Narrow = some shelter, but AI can reach a real share of its tasks.

The small grid is a style box (borrowed from Morningstar’s fund reports): the blue square places this career on reward (top row = high) versus risk (left column = low), against all 730 careers. Low uncertainty means the score leans mostly on measured data (growth, pay) rather than forward-looking bets, so it's comparatively solid.

🐂 Bulls say
  • +Low AI exposure — resilient (20% of tasks exposed).
  • +High pay — above 56% of careers ($62,190).
🐻 Bears say
  • Slow growth — behind 60% of careers.
📜 Reality check — how the last forecast for this career fared

In 2014, the U.S. government projected +9% growth for this career by 2024. What actually happened: +14.9%. The forecast held up well — a reminder that every number on this page is an estimate, and this is how the last one aged. Full back-test →

Was this rating fair?
Projected growth
+1.4%
Median pay
$62,190
AI exposure
20/100
share of tasks exposed to AI — not job loss

Education & ROI — how to get here

Real outcomes for the college majors that feed this occupation, across 618 bachelor’s programs.

Median earnings
$38,709
1 year after graduating
Typical debt
$26,717
median federal debt
Pay-to-debt
1.4×
first-year pay ÷ debt
Feeder majors
Education/Teaching of the Gifted and Talented
Selective schools offering these majors
Vanderbilt University
TN · 6% admit rate
$89,590/yr
$91,565 grad pay
Northwestern University
IL · 8% admit rate
$91,250/yr
$89,363 grad pay
Boston University
MA · 11% admit rate
$86,285/yr
$83,238 grad pay
University of Virginia-Main Campus
VA · 17% admit rate
$39,926/yr
$86,863 grad pay
University of Florida
FL · 24% admit rate
$22,523/yr
$71,588 grad pay
Florida State University
FL · 24% admit rate
$25,720/yr
$61,675 grad pay

Earnings & debt from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard; majors mapped to this occupation via the NCES CIP→SOC crosswalk. A grounded ROI snapshot, not a guarantee — pay varies widely by school and specialty.

What this work involves

teachingpeoplecommunication