Varied and Rewarding Career Opportunities
The adult education field offers varied and rewarding career opportunities.  Tutor, teacher, instructor, professor, lecturer, facilitator, trainer, coach and mentor are some of the titles used to describe professionals in this field.
• Educational Settings
Adult educators teach in many different settings, including public schools, colleges, universities, businesses, vocational schools, job training centers and community organizations. For the reason that teachers of adults are required around the world, this occupation offers plenty of opportunity for traveling and teaching abroad.
• Occupational Outlook
There is wonderful range in the types of courses adult educators teach. Just imagine all the reasons adults must learn, to get and maintain employment, and advance professionally; to manage positive and negative life changes such as the birth of a child or death of a parent; and to fulfill themselves with rewarding hobbies and activities.
No wonder many adults are taking courses – a study by the United States. It was found a third of adults engaged in formal learning activities in 1988/9. That time, 588,000 jobs were held by adult and vocational education teachers in the United States. Employment of adult and vocational educators will grow as fast as the average for all occupations through 2008.
• Work Schedules
Training schedules vary - courses may be offered full or part-time, during the day, on evenings or weekends. More than one-third of adult educators have to work part-time. The opportunities of part-time work can be a big plus for parents who wish to be available for children, and professionals who enjoy moonlighting as teachers, sharing their knowledge and skills on evenings or weekends.
• Employment Permanency
On the other side, adult educators may have trouble finding permanent, full-time positions with benefits. For example, community colleges in the Toronto area have limited the hiring of permanent professors since the 1990's. In some of these institutions, instructors are hired for a maximum of nine or ten month contracts. Just when their contracts are completed, instructors are restricted from teaching at that institution for over a year; otherwise, union rules would force the colleges to hire them permanently. In situation such as these, many adult educators have no choice but to be on the move regularly and/or cobble together two or more contracts in order to secure a full-time income.
Owing to the aging population of tenured university and college professors, permanent positions are starting to become available, but such positions are still relatively scarce and competition for them can be fierce - qualifications and teaching experience are essential to even be considered.
• Qualifications, Experience and Skills
Adult educators usually require a post-secondary diploma or degree, with graduate degrees expected for teachers of college, university and professional courses. Vocational or technical instructors may require official recognition in their trade. Adult instructors may have to demonstrate their expertise in the field of instruction with, for example, a portfolio showing examples of their work.
Now as teaching is making increasing use of computers and other technology, some comfort and understanding of teaching and learning with technology is an asset. Despite adult educators, an understanding of the theory and practice of adult learning is desirable.
• How to Get Teaching Experience
Getting teaching experience is not so difficult - community based organizations such as welcome volunteers, and many organizations will even provide teacher training.
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