Art Teacher

Earliest entry point. Diploma level.

Other levels people enter from. Diploma, Undergraduate.

Advertising agencies, Publishing houses, Animation and gaming studios, Art galleries.

12,000 - 25,000 per month at entry level.

This is an indicative range, not a quote. Actual pay varies with employer, city, sector and the specific role.

You will spend less time making your own art than many students expect. You teach drawing, painting, craft and visual ideas, then assess work, plan lessons and help each child improve. You also often produce the school’s visual work: exhibition displays, competition entries, stage backdrops, noticeboards, certificates and festival decorations.

Most art teachers work in school art rooms, classrooms and assembly halls, with paint, paper, clay, storage cupboards and a timetable that rarely leaves much preparation time. You work with class teachers, activity coordinators and school leaders. During annual days or exhibitions, you may stay back to mount work, label displays and manage students carrying fragile pieces.

Your own drawing skill matters, but teaching skill and classroom control decide whether you do well. A strong artist who cannot organise a noisy class, work within a small materials budget or explain a technique simply will struggle. Schools also judge you by visible results, such as student portfolios, displays and competition work, alongside regular teaching.

You teach art skills, but you also keep classrooms, corridors and school events looking organised and visually alive.

The part people are surprised by. A large part of the job is mounting displays, finding materials, cleaning up and meeting event deadlines, not painting or drawing yourself.

Art teaching suits you if you enjoy making art, but also have the patience to teach thirty students with very different confidence and skill levels.

• You like showing a beginner how to shade a sphere, mix a skin tone, or cut a clean stencil, then watching them try it themselves.
• You do not mind that much of the work is practical supervision: distributing materials, checking paint spills, keeping scissors safe, and getting the room clean before the next period.
• You can stay calm when a student says, “I cannot draw,” and give them a small next step instead of praising vaguely.
• You enjoy planning work around school events, such as exhibition boards, annual-day backdrops, competition entries, certificates and stage props, often with a fixed deadline.
• You notice the work behind a picture. You can explain why a poster is hard to read, why proportions look odd, or why a colour choice changes the mood.
• You are comfortable managing a class while students use messy materials. If noise, repeated instructions and unfinished work drain you quickly, this job is likely to frustrate you.
• You are willing to keep practising your own drawing, painting or craft after college. Students notice when their teacher can demonstrate a technique, not only describe it.

You need to teach art clearly, keep a class working safely, and finish the displays, competition entries and visual work that schools rely on.

What separates the well paid from the average. The better-paid teachers usually build trust with students and school staff, then reliably deliver polished exhibitions and competition work without last-minute chaos.

The hard part is that art periods are often treated as the school’s spare time until an annual day, competition or exhibition is due. Then you may need to prepare work from many classes, arrange displays, find materials, manage paint and glue, and meet a fixed date. Teaching drawing also means handling mixed ability. One child finishes quickly; another is afraid to make the first line.

Your first two years usually involve lesson plans, checking work, controlling a noisy room and doing plenty of practical preparation after class. You may spend more time mounting charts and cleaning brushes than making your own art. Some teachers leave because they want more time for studio practice, freelancing, galleries, animation or design work. Others move when repeated contract roles or limited pay growth no longer suit them.

Art teaching involves much more than making attractive drawings with students.

• "Art teacher" means you spend the day painting. You will teach basics repeatedly, plan lessons, manage a noisy class, assess work and help students who think they cannot draw.
• You need to be a brilliant professional artist first. Good art skills matter, but explaining shading to a Class 6 student and keeping materials organised matter just as much.
• The job ends when the art period ends. Schools often expect you to prepare displays, exhibitions, competition entries, stage backdrops and posters for events.
• Art has no serious career path in education. With experience, you can lead the department, and further study such as an MFA can support a move towards college teaching.
• Any art course is enough for a school post. A BFA followed by BEd or an art education qualification is the common route, and some posts require a teacher eligibility test.

Job availability scores lowest because schools hire limited art teachers, while many applicants compete for each post.