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Boston Career Explorer

Educational Instruction and Library

Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors

Teach or instruct out-of-school youths and adults in basic education, literacy, or English as a Second Language classes, or in classes for earning a high school equivalency credential.

Also called: Adult Basic Education Instructor (ABE Instructor), Adult Basic Education Teacher (ABE Teacher), Adult Education Instructor, Adult Education Teacher, ESL Instructor (English as a Second Language Instructor), ESL Teacher (English as a Second Language Teacher)

Median pay in Greater Boston
$62,020
$29.82/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
980
Massachusetts 2024–2034
−11.5%
170 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
Bachelor'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
$49,780$52,110$62,020$80,370$92,320

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

What you’d do

  • Observe and evaluate students' work to determine progress and make suggestions for improvement.
  • Observe students to determine qualifications, limitations, abilities, interests, and other individual characteristics.
  • Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects and communicate those objectives to students.
  • Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs, abilities, and interests.
  • Prepare students for further education by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
  • Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.

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 exposure84 of 100

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

  • AIOE 92
  • Language-model AIOE 93
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 68

Observed AI use today: Some (Anthropic Economic Index)

AI exposure for this job is higher, though observed AI use is still limited. AI tools can help with checking student work, adapting materials, and planning lessons. They are less able to read a student's needs and encourage adults to keep going. Federal projections also expect fewer of these jobs because fewer students drop out of high school.

Likely to change

  • Reviewing student work and giving feedback
  • Adapting lesson materials to student levels

Still relies on people

  • Getting to know each learner's goals
  • Encouraging students to keep going

What federal projections say

“Demand change - share decreases as enrollment rates in ABE and ASE classes are expected to decline due to fewer high school dropouts, which will reduce the need for these types of teachers.”
BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, factors affecting this job (U.S.)

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).

4 programs near Boston (plus 10 graduate)

Related occupations

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