Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary
Under the title Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary, workers teach courses in childcare, family relations, finance, nutrition, and related subjects pertaining to home management. One core duty is to evaluate and grade students' class work, laboratory work, projects, assignments, and papers. The strongest interest signal is Social (7.0 of 7), then Investigative (4.9) and Artistic, which gives it the code SIA. Plan on graduate school and often five years or more of related experience; O*NET labels this extensive preparation. Strength in speaking, reading comprehension, and learning strategies helps most here. The job can ask you to prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts. It tends to suit people who want helping, teaching or caring for people, and it offers little for anyone seeking leading, persuading and making business decisions.
What they do
Teach courses in childcare, family relations, finance, nutrition, and related subjects pertaining to home management. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Main tasks
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, laboratory work, projects, assignments, and papers.
- Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
- Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as food science, nutrition, and child care.
- Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
- Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
Skills
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Learning Strategies
- Instructing
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
Who this career fits
May suit you if
- You get energy from helping other people move forward.
- You enjoy working out why something happens, not just what happened.
- You are prepared for graduate-level study and a long training path.
- You are comfortable relying on speaking and reading comprehension.
May not suit you if
- You find a full day of dealing with people draining.
- You want to be working in the field within the next few years.
Interest profile
O*NET rates each occupation from 1 to 7 on six interest types. The code SIA takes the three highest, and Social comes first here.
Preparation
Extensive preparation. Many jobs here need graduate study, and people often spend five years or more building specialist experience.
Most-reported requirement in the O*NET survey: Doctoral Degree. This reflects what workers reported most often and is not a legal minimum. Licensing rules can differ by state or industry, so confirm what applies where you plan to work.
Also called
- Assistant Professor
- Associate Professor
- Child Development Instructor
- Dietetics Professor
- Family and Consumer Sciences Professor (FCS Professor)
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This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.