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.
524,770 people do this job in the US. $41,670 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 15%
- 0%
- 85%
Anthropic's data does not cover this job.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 5%. Today's estimate: 7%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 18 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enforce school and class rules to maintain order in the classroom.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 15% | 33 min13 min to 1.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Follow lesson plans designed by absent teachers.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 13% | 38 min25 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, or teacher training workshops to improve professional competence.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 12% | 3.3 h50 min to 6.7 h | 32%Half by Jan 2027 | |
| Teach a variety of subjects, such as English, mathematics, and social studies.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 11% | 50 min25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Teach social skills to students, such as communication, conflict resolution, and etiquette.Done daily by most who do it. | 8% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Supervise students during activities outside the classroom, such as recess, lunch, and field trips.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 7% | 33 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Answer students' questions.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 5% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Tutor or assist students individually or in small groups.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 25 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Distribute teaching materials, such as textbooks, workbooks, papers, and pencils, to students.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Organize and supervise games or other recreational activities.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Counsel students with adjustment or academic problems.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 25 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Grade students' assignments and exams.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 3% | 38 min13 min to 2.5 h | 86%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors57% now, 66% by 2028
- Special Education Teachers, Secondary School22% now, 31% by 2028
- Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education8% now, 12% by 2028
- Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education29% now, 35% by 2028
- Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education36% now, 44% by 2028
- Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education40% now, 46% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).