Teaching Assistants, Preschool, Elementary, Middle, and Secondary School, Except Special Education
What they do
Assist a preschool, elementary, middle, or secondary school teacher with instructional duties. Serve in a position for which a teacher has primary responsibility for the design and implementation of educational programs and services.
Expected pay range
Expected pay range
This represents the median earnings for this career in the selected county or state. In the range shown, 25% of workers earned less than the bottom salary and 25% earned more than the top salary. Data is provided by the Texas Workforce Commission.
About teaching assistants, preschool, elementary, middle, and secondary school, except special education
Other titles
Educational Assistant, Instructional Assistant, Paraeducator, Paraprofessional, Teacher Aide, Teacher Assistant
Tasks they perform
- Assist in bus loading and unloading.
- Assist librarians in school libraries.
- Attend staff meetings and serve on committees, as required.
Skills they need
- 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.
- Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
- Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Licenses and Certifications
How to decide which one is right? That depends on an individual’s career path, specialty, and resources.
- License Type
- Stand-alone license
- Status
- Active
- Exam
- State exam required
- Education
- No educational requirements
- Continuing education
- No continuing education requirement to maintain license
- Criminal record
- Background check required
- License Type
- Stand-alone license
- Status
- Active
- Exam
- State exam required
- Education
- No educational requirements
- Continuing education
- No continuing education requirement to maintain license
- Criminal record
- Background check required
- License Type
- Stand-alone license
- Status
- Active
- Exam
- State exam required
- Education
- No educational requirements
- Continuing education
- No continuing education requirement to maintain license
- Criminal record
- Background check required
Certifications
Certifications may be available for this career and can help build knowledge and skills in specific job roles. Explore available certifications (external link opens new tab)
Similar careers
View careers in the same field as teaching assistants, preschool, elementary, middle, and secondary school, except special education.
Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary
Better pay
Median salary for this career is higher than the median salary of all careers in the county selected. Salary data is provided by the Texas Workforce Commission.
Special Education Teachers, Secondary School
Better pay
Median salary for this career is higher than the median salary of all careers in the county selected. Salary data is provided by the Texas Workforce Commission.
Tutors
In demand
In demand careers have high-growth, high-demand, and emerging jobs critical to Texas. They are based on economic indicators like in demand industries, labor market trends, and economic conditions, provided by the Texas Workforce Commission.
Additional career information and resources
Learn more about teaching assistants, preschool, elementary, middle, and secondary school, except special education with these helpful sites.
- American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO (external link opens new tab)
- American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO (external link opens new tab)
- National Association for the Education of Young Children (external link opens new tab)
- National Education Association (external link opens new tab)
- National Parent Teacher Association (external link opens new tab)
- National Resource Center for Paraeducators (external link opens new tab)
- Occupational Outlook Handbook: Teacher assistants (external link opens new tab)