Substitute teachers, short-term
SOC Code: 25-3031
Substitute teachers, short-term carries a 35% AI exposure score (Medium automation risk), with a median annual wage of $38,470 and +1.6% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 510,100 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 35% AI exposure, Substitute teachers, short-term sits 2 points below the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 46% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
35/100
Substitute teachers, short-term, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage F $38,470
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth D +1.6%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) C- 35% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Substitute teachers, short-term in the Medium band.
Credential × growth standing
Bachelor's band with mid-pack BLS pace
Substitute teachers, short-term shares the Bachelor's gate with 178 peer occupations and lands in Slow growth (245 of 832). Neither the rarest nor the most crowded growth shelf - use wage and AI desks on this page for the differentiator.
Where Substitute teachers, short-term sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Substitute teachers, short-term sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
35% Lower than most lower than 54% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Substitute teachers, short-term vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Substitute teachers, short-term is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Substitute teachers, short-term's Medium automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score below 40% reflects tasks anchored in physical dexterity, unstructured environments, or high-touch human interaction that current AI cannot reliably replicate.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 25-3031) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Substitute teachers, short-term be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Substitute teachers, short-term. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Enforce school and class rules to maintain order in the classroom.
- 2. Answer students' questions.
- 3. Follow lesson plans designed by absent teachers.
- 4. Take class attendance and maintain attendance records.
- 5. Provide students with disabilities with assistive devices, supportive technology, or assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms.
- 6. Supervise students during activities outside the classroom, such as recess, lunch, and field trips.
- 7. Organize and supervise games or other recreational activities.
- 8. Teach social skills to students, such as communication, conflict resolution, and etiquette.
- 9. Assist students with boarding or exiting school buses.
- 10. Tutor or assist students individually or in small groups.
Key Skills Required
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Instructing
- Writing
- Learning Strategies
- Time Management
Knowledge Areas
- English Language
- Education and Training
- Public Safety and Security
- Customer and Personal Service
- Computers and Electronics
- Mathematics
- Psychology
- Communications and Media
- History and Archeology
- Geography
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Substitute teachers, short-term?
Substitute teachers, short-term has an AI exposure score of 35%, indicating a medium level of automation risk. The majority of tasks in this role require human judgment, creativity, or physical presence that AI cannot easily replicate.
What is the job outlook for Substitute teachers, short-term?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Substitute teachers, short-term is projected to grow by 1.6% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 510,100 workers.
What skills are needed for Substitute teachers, short-term?
Key skills for Substitute teachers, short-term include Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, and others. Typical entry-level education is Bachelor's degree.
How much do Substitute teachers, short-term earn?
The median annual wage for Substitute teachers, short-term is $38,470, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Substitute teachers, short-term?
The typical entry-level education for Substitute teachers, short-term is Bachelor's degree. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves None. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Substitute teachers, short-term?
Substitute teachers, short-term roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
Medium automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. Most tasks require human judgment and are resistant to automation.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Substitute teachers, short-term: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (35% here).
- Actuaries · AI exposure 35%
- Automotive and watercraft service attendants · AI exposure 35%
- Chemical technicians · AI exposure 35%
- Crushing, grinding, and polishing machine setters, operators, and tenders · AI exposure 35%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (+1.6% here).
- Automotive body and related repairers · growth +1.6%
- First-line supervisors of protective service workers, all other · growth +1.6%
- Plant and system operators, all other · growth +1.6%
- Rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators · growth +1.6%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 57 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Substitute teachers, short-term's numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Substitute teachers, short-term side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).