How people communicate, in public speaking, media, relationships, and groups, is what you teach, building skills students use in every part of life. Teaching a skill everyone needs but few are taught.
Teaching mixes lectures, discussion, and a lot of student presentations and projects to coach. You move between theory and practice, set to the academic calendar. Feedback and critique are the real teaching here, and getting nervous students to speak well takes patience, since the skill is built by doing, not memorizing.
The harder part is the coaching and feedback load: communication work needs detailed, individual response. Many positions are contingent or part-time, with modest pay, and the field keeps shifting as media evolves. Student preparation and confidence vary widely from room to room.
It fits someone articulate, generous with feedback, and energized by growth. If you need stability or light grading, the role rarely offers it. But if helping students find their voice, and watching a shaky speaker become a confident one, is satisfying, the work tends to be quietly rewarding.
Don't do Truest if you aren't ready
to invest in yourself and your career.
Where this role sits in the broader career landscape — and where it can take you.
Still figuring out what you want to become
when you grow up?
Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
How people communicate, in public speaking, media, relationships, and groups, is what you teach, building skills students use in every part of life. Teaching a skill everyone needs but few are taught.
Median pay for a Communication Studies Instructor is about $78K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $47K to $160K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, Instructing, and Learning Strategies.
Most people in this role hold a master's degree.
Employment in this field is projected to grow about 2.1% through 2034, with roughly 29,260 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Speech Teacher, Public Speaking Teacher, and Media Arts Professor.
It's your career.
Take the wheel.