Art Teacher Jobs

Do you love art? Do you love to teach? Do you love working with kids?

If so, working as an art instructor/teacher for children may just be the job for you. Although art curriculums are usually the first classes to be cut out in schools during tough economic times, art is still a discipline that many parents want their children to learn.

Since our schools are teaching very little art these days, parents turn to private art studios and classes to sign their kids up to learn how to draw, paint and work with different mediums like charcoal, pencil and oil pastels.

I have been working as a children's art instructor for many years, on and off, at both a private Catholic school, for an art franchise and now for a private art studio.

Some people that want to teach art erroneously believe that they must have a BA in art or teaching to teach art to children. Not so. Although some studios require this of their instructors, there are also many art studios that do not. As long as you have the skills necessary to teach, have a good grasp of the different mediums and like working with kids, it's possible that you may be able to work as an art teacher for a local studio or even be an art teachers helper or aide.

I have a degree in commercial art and have been a working artist for over 30 years. I have found in the past few years that I really wanted to work with kids teaching them what I know, handing down my knowledge and of course, earning some extra money. So I was fortunate to find my last job on Craigslist for a private art studio that at first was only temporary, and now has turned into a permanent part-time job.

How to find a job as an art teacher:

• Check Craigslist for job openings. Use the search term "art teacher" or "art instructor" and see if there are any listings for teaching in your area (I have found my last 2 teaching positions this way)
• Check with private art studios in your area for teaching or aide positions. Many of these are small family businesses or franchises and sometimes they need extra help.
• Try searching Monster for any art teaching jobs. I personally have not had any success with Monster but upon checking last night, there are a few art teaching jobs available through Monster too (and BTW, Yahoo HotJobs was bought by Monster so no need to check HotJobs anymore)

Art teachers in the California education system are paid a salary, not by the hour. Pay is twice a month, or 24 times a year. The starting salary for teachers in California is about $59,000 with a Master's in Education (BA in Art)

If you want to get a job with a school district teaching art, the competition will be high and you need a teaching credential to land a job such as this. Not only is the competition tough, but you will find that most schools simply do not have the funding to hire a teacher just for this position. As I said earlier, many art programs have been cut of schools (at least here in the U.S. this is the case)

It will be likely that you will find more art jobs in the private sector than in the public educational system. If you want to work with adults teaching art there are far more opportunities in higher education facilities like Community Colleges and Universities. For myself, I love working with kids, so teaching adults is not something I personally want to aspire too (not that I don't enjoy adults, I just really love teaching to children)

Teaching art to kids can be a great part-time job, a way to earn extra money or simply an outlet for you to do something you enjoy and make a little money at. Most part-time teaching jobs are just a few hours a week ( I work about 10-15 hours a week doing this) and the pay can vary widely. One private studio I know pays their art instructors $25 an hour but you must have a BA in fine arts.

If you are trying to get into teaching and don't have a BA, expect to be paid anywhere between $12 - $18 an hour (here in California) Your hours will most likely be sporadic with possibly odd sorts of days as most private art studios only have classes certain days and times. This would make an excellent job also for a student who is studying art or teaching and is working towards a degree.

As with any job, your passion for teaching art will determine how far you want to go with this as a career. Some people make it their lifetime vocation, while some only work part-time like I do. I love my job teaching art because I enjoy the creativity of the children and love having this wonderful "job" as a beautiful, enjoyable part of my life.