Self-enrichment Teachers

Summary

Self-enrichment teachers provide instruction on a wide variety of subjects, such as music, that students take for fun.

Quick Facts: Self-enrichment Teachers
2010 Median Pay	$36,340 per year $17.47 per hour
Entry-Level Education	High school diploma or equivalent
Work Experience in a Related Occupation	1 to 5 years
On-the-job Training	None
Number of Jobs, 2010	252,800
Job Outlook, 2010-20	21% (Faster than average)
Employment Change, 2010-20	52,800

What Self-enrichment Teachers Do

Self-enrichment teachers instruct in a variety of subjects that students take for fun or self-improvement, such as music and foreign languages. These classes generally do not lead to a degree or certification, and students take them voluntarily to learn new skills or gain understanding of a subject.

Work Environment

About 14 percent of self-enrichment teachers were self-employed in 2010. Some teach in classrooms, but some teach in other spaces such as their own homes.

How to Become a Self-enrichment Teacher

There are no formal education requirements, but employers generally require self-enrichment teachers to have experience in the subject they teach. Some employers prefer workers who have teaching experience.

Pay

The median hourly wage of self-enrichment teachers was $17.47 in May 2010.

Job Outlook

Employment of self-enrichment teachers is expected to grow by 21 percent from 2010 to 2020, faster than the average for all occupations. Growth is expected as more people seek to learn new hobbies and gain marketable skills.

Similar Occupations

Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of self-enrichment teachers with similar occupations.

O*NET

O*NET provides comprehensive information on key characteristics of workers and occupations.

Contacts for More Information

Learn more about self-enrichment teachers by contacting these additional resources.

What Self-enrichment Teachers Do About this section

Some self-enrichment teachers teach classes intended solely for recreation, such as scuba diving.

Self-enrichment teachers instruct in a variety of subjects that students take for fun or self-improvement, such as music and foreign languages. These classes generally do not lead to a degree or certification, and students take them voluntarily to learn new skills or gain understanding of a subject.

Duties

Self-enrichment teachers generally provide instruction in formal education programs, such as adult education programs, or they teach classes or lessons on their own as a private instructor.

Self-enrichment teachers in formal education programs typically do the following:

• Create and teach lessons
• Propose new classes to program directors or their supervisor
• Determine class goals and objectives and develop a curriculum to meet those goals
• Evaluate the course and make any necessary improvements or changes
• Help advertise and promote classes

In formal education programs, self-enrichment teachers instruct students in a variety of subjects. Some teach academic subjects, such as literature, foreign languages, and history. Others teach classes that provide students with useful life skills, such as cooking, personal finance, and time management.

Self-enrichment teachers also teach classes intended solely for recreation, such as photography, pottery, and painting. Some teach classes offered through religious institutions, such as marriage preparation for couples or religious education for children.

Most self-enrichment classes are relatively informal. Some classes, such as pottery or sewing, may be largely hands-on. The instructor may demonstrate techniques and then observe and correct students as they try to do the activity themselves. Other classes, such as financial planning or religious studies, may include lectures or rely more heavily on group discussions.

Self-enrichment classes may last 1 or 2 days or several weeks. These brief classes may be introductory and generally focus on one topic. For example, a cooking class might focus on making bread. Others, such as language classes, last longer and help students progress with increasing levels of difficulty. Some self-enrichment classes introduce children and youth to activities such as drama. They may be designed to last from 1 week to several months.

Private self-enrichment teachers typically do the following:

• Advertise their services to find new students
• Locate a space to give lessons, which in some cases may be in the teacher’s home
• Schedule lessons
• Teach students one-on-one or in small groups
• Determine rates and keep financial records

Private self-enrichment teachers often teach lessons in piano, guitar, singing, or other instruments. The instructor might work with the student for only 1 or 2 hours per week and then tell the student what to practice between lessons. Many instructors work with the same students each week for years.

All self-enrichment teachers must prepare lessons. The amount of time needed to prepare varies, depending on the subject and the length of the course.

Work Environment About this section

Self-enrichment teachers may demonstrate techniques and then observe and correct students as they try to do the activity themselves.

Self-enrichment teachers held about 252,800 jobs in 2010.

About 14 percent of self-enrichment teachers were self-employed in 2010. Others worked for community educational programs, religious organizations, or elementary and secondary schools.

The work setting varies, depending on the type of class being taught. Some teachers, such as horseback riding instructors or sailing instructors, spend most of their time outdoors. Others, such as citizenship instructors, may work in a classroom.

Work Schedules

It is common for self-enrichment teachers to have a full-time job in another occupation, but some have several part-time teaching assignments.

Many classes for adults are held in the evenings and on weekends to accommodate students who have jobs or family responsibilities. Classes for children are usually held after school or on weekends.

How to Become a Self-enrichment Teacher About this section

There no formal education requirements for self-enrichment teachers, but employers generally require teachers to have experience in the subject they are going to teach.

There are no formal education requirements, but employers generally require self-enrichment teachers to have experience in the subject they teach. Some employers prefer workers who have teaching experience.

Education

In general, there are few educational or training requirements for self-enrichment teachers beyond having expert knowledge of the chosen subject. However, self-enrichment teachers may be required to have formal training in disciplines where educational programs are available, such as music or foreign languages.

Work Experience

Self-enrichment teachers generally need to have some experience in the field in which they teach. For example, a pottery teacher should have some experience in designing and making pottery. They can get this experience through formal work experience, but they can also get it through volunteer work or personal hobbies. Formal education programs may prefer to hire workers who have some teaching experience.

Important Qualities

Instructional skills. Self-enrichment teachers need to be able to present new information and demonstrate skills to students who sometimes have little experience or knowledge of the topic.

Organizational skills. Self-enrichment teachers, particularly those who are self-employed, need to be well-organized. They usually keep their own financial records, track their own income, and file taxes.

Patience. Working with students of different skill levels can be difficult, so self-enrichment teachers need to be patient when students have trouble understanding or mastering a skill.

Pay About this section

The median hourly wage of self-enrichment teachers was $17.47 in May 2010. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $9.03 and the top 10 percent earned more than $33.92.

It is common for teachers to have a full-time job in another occupation, but some have several part-time teaching assignments. Part-time instructors are usually paid for each class that they teach and receive few benefits.

Many classes for adults are held in the evenings and on weekends to accommodate students with jobs or family responsibilities. Classes for children are usually held after school or on weekends.

Job Outlook About this section

Employment of the self-enrichment teachers is expected to grow by 21 percent from 2010 to 2020, faster than the average for all occupations. Growth is expected as more people want to learn new hobbies and gain marketable skills.

From 2010 to 2020, adults and children are expected to continue seeking new hobbies and pastimes and will take classes to learn these skills. Self-enrichment teachers will be needed to teach these classes.

In addition, more people will seek to gain skills to make themselves more attractive to prospective employers. Some self-enrichment teachers offer instruction in foreign languages, computer programming, public speaking, and many other subjects that help workers gain marketable skills. People are increasingly taking courses to improve their job skills, which will create more demand for self-enrichment teachers.

Contacts for More Information About this section

The Handbook does not have contacts for more information for this occupation.