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Boston Career Explorer

Educational Instruction and Library

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary

Teach courses in drama, music, and the arts including fine and applied art, such as painting and sculpture, or design and crafts. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

Also called: Art History Professor, Art Instructor, Art Professor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Instructor

Median pay in Greater Boston
$96,170
Jobs in Greater Boston
3,820
Massachusetts 2024–2034
+5.4%
440 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
Master's degree

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$61,800$67,180$96,170$126,340$157,100

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Explain and demonstrate artistic techniques.
  • Evaluate and grade students' class work, performances, projects, assignments, and papers.
  • Prepare students for performances, exams, or assessments.
  • Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
  • Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as acting techniques, fundamentals of music, and art history.
  • Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Higher exposure77 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 65
  • Language-model AIOE 74
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 92

Observed AI use today: Substantial (Anthropic Economic Index)

This job has higher AI exposure, and AI tools are already being used a good deal in this kind of work. Tools can help with drafting lecture notes, building course materials, and giving first-pass feedback on written work. Demonstrating techniques, coaching performances, and leading live discussion depend on people being in the room, so AI is more likely to change how time is spent than to replace the teacher.

Likely to change

  • Drafting lectures and art history materials
  • Grading papers and written assignments

Still relies on people

  • Demonstrating techniques in person
  • Coaching students before performances

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

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Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

211 programs near Boston (plus 81 graduate)

Related occupations

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