The Complete Guide to Becoming A Business Teacher, Postsecondary

Chapter 1: What Does a Business Teacher, Postsecondary Actually Do?

When you tell someone you're thinking about becoming a business teacher at a college or university, they usually picture standing in front of a classroom, writing on a whiteboard, and explaining concepts like supply and demand or marketing strategy. That part of the job is real, and it's central. But it is a surprisingly small fraction of what a postsecondary business teacher actually does across a typical work week. To make a good decision about whether this career is right for you, you need to see the whole picture, not just the classroom moment.

A postsecondary business teacher, sometimes called a business instructor or business professor, works at a community college, a four-year university, a business school, or occasionally a technical institute. The title "postsecondary" simply means education after high school. At a community college, you might be called an instructor or professor and you'll likely teach introductory courses like Principles of Management, Introduction to Marketing, Business Law basics, or Accounting 101. At a four-year institution, you'll often teach more specialized courses in your particular area of expertise, like Corporate Finance, Organizational Behavior, Supply Chain Management, or Entrepreneurial Strategy. The level of student you work with also shifts — community college students are often a mix of recent high school graduates and working adults trying to upskill, while four-year university students are typically full-time students who have declared a business major.

So what does a typical week actually look like?