Skip to content
Boston Career Explorer

Educational Instruction and Library

Substitute Teachers, Short-Term

Teach students on a short-term basis as a temporary replacement for a regular classroom teacher, typically using the regular teacher's lesson plan.

Also called: Building Sub (Building Substitute), Building Sub Teacher (Building Substitute Teacher), Child Development Sub Teacher (Child Development Substitute Teacher), ESL Sub (English as a Second Language Substitute), HS Sub Teacher (High School Substitute Teacher), Pre-School Sub Teacher (Pre-School Substitute Teacher)

Median pay in Greater Boston
$42,080
$20.23/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
5,450
Massachusetts 2024–2034
+4.5%
1,010 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
$33,750$37,080$42,080$50,680$63,270

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

What you’d do

  • Enforce school and class rules to maintain order in the classroom.
  • Answer students' questions.
  • Follow lesson plans designed by absent teachers.
  • Take class attendance and maintain attendance records.
  • Supervise students during activities outside the classroom, such as recess, lunch, and field trips.
  • Teach social skills to students, such as communication, conflict resolution, and etiquette.

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 exposure68 of 100

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

  • AIOE 88
  • Language-model AIOE 95
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 20

Observed AI use today: Not published (Anthropic Economic Index)

AI exposure for this job is higher than average, which means AI tools can help with or change some of the tasks. Tools could help with things like attendance records and answering simple student questions. Keeping order, supervising students at recess, lunch, and field trips, and being present in the room are not tasks AI tools do.

Likely to change

  • Taking and recording class attendance
  • Answering students' routine questions

Still relies on people

  • Keeping order and enforcing class rules
  • Supervising students outside the classroom

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

Next steps from here

Related jobs that build on what you already do.

  • Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education

    Classroom management and working with children carry over. The move offers a Boston median pay of $81,700 and a regular classroom of your own.

    Pay difference
    +$39,620 median
    AI exposure
    Moderate
    MA growth
    +1.9%
    To get started
    Bachelor's degree

  • Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education

    Enforcing rules and keeping order carry over. It asks for an associate's degree and has a Boston median pay of $46,030.

    Pay difference
    +$3,950 median
    AI exposure
    Moderate
    MA growth
    +0.9%
    To get started
    Associate's degree

  • Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School

    Leading a class and keeping order carry over. It offers a Boston median pay of $101,250 teaching hands-on, job-focused subjects.

    Pay difference
    +$59,170 median
    AI exposure
    Moderate
    MA growth
    +1.7%
    To get started
    Bachelor's degree

Training near Boston

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

No college programs near Boston map to this job. Many people enter through on-the-job training or apprenticeship.

Talk to a career coach at the Office of Workforce Development about apprenticeships and City partner programs.

Related occupations

Talk to a career coach

A coach at the Office of Workforce Development can help you plan your next step, and connect you with training, apprenticeships and City partner programs that are not listed here.

Talk to a career coach