Also called: Kindergarten Teachers
Kindergarten Teachers build instructing, social perceptiveness and coordination skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors (91%).
Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers
Sorted by skill match.
| # | Career | Skill match | Median pay | Pay change | Extra education |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors | 91% | $61,540 | −2% | None |
| 2 | Instructional Coordinators | 79% | $77,440 | +24% | Graduate degree |
| 3 | Education Teachers, Postsecondary | 78% | $75,350 | +20% | Graduate degree |
| 4 | Child, Family, and School Social Workers | 78% | $59,550 | −5% | None |
| 5 | Recreational Therapists | 77% | $61,960 | −1% | None |
| 6 | Music Therapists | 76% | $77,930Pay for the broader BLS group “Therapists, All Other” | Not compared | None |
| 7 | Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary | 75% | $75,870 | +21% | Graduate degree |
| 8 | Training and Development Specialists | 75% | $69,280 | +11% | None |
| 9 | Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors | 75% | $64,330 | +3% | Graduate degree |
| 10 | English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary | 75% | $78,760 | +26% | Graduate degree |
Compared with Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education, median $62,680. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.
How important each skill is in work as kindergarten teachers (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).
The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.
Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.
A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.
91% skill match · $61,540 · −2% pay
Technology Design
No work-context factor stands out as unusually hard in O*NET data.
79% skill match · $77,440 · +24% pay
Management of Financial Resources · Management of Material Resources · Complex Problem Solving
78% skill match · $75,350 · +20% pay
Operations Analysis · Management of Financial Resources · Complex Problem Solving
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors (91% skill match, median $61,540), Instructional Coordinators (79% skill match, median $77,440) and Education Teachers, Postsecondary (78% skill match, median $75,350), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
Among the 25 matches, 17 pay more than kindergarten teachers at the median. The biggest increases: Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary (+36%, $85,020), Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary (+34%, $84,290) and Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary (+28%, $80,340).
10 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones. 15 usually need a graduate degree: Instructional Coordinators, Education Teachers, Postsecondary and Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary.
We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.