Also called: Drama Teacher, Theatre Director (High School)
Teaches acting, stagecraft, and theater history and directs school plays and musicals.
Days are acting classes and stagecraft lessons; evenings in the spring are rehearsals, set building, and teaching a nervous freshman to project to the back row. Opening night is the payoff.
Based on BLS high school teacher pay; directing stipends add extra.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in theater or education plus a teaching license.
Ways in: 4-year college. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Theatre, Theatre Education, English.
Growing slowly (about 1% over 10 years). Tracks overall high school teacher growth.
Low risk for 10 years. AI may help with scripts and lighting cues; directing teens on stage and building shows together stays live and human.
Classes: Theater or drama, Theater tech crew, Choir or dance.
Official data: O*NET occupation 25-2031.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.