What You'll Do

  • Assist in bus loading and unloading.
  • Assist librarians in school libraries.
  • Attend staff meetings and serve on committees, as required.
  • Carry out therapeutic regimens, such as behavior modification and personal development programs, under the supervision of special education instructors, psychologists, or speech-language pathologists.
  • Clean classrooms.
  • Discuss assigned duties with classroom teachers to coordinate instructional efforts.
  • Distribute teaching materials, such as textbooks, workbooks, papers, and pencils, to students.
  • Employ special educational strategies or techniques during instruction to improve the development of sensory- and perceptual-motor skills, language, cognition, or memory.
  • Enforce administration policies and rules governing students.
  • Grade homework and tests, and compute and record results, using answer sheets or electronic marking devices.

Essential Skills

Active Listening 3.88/5
Speaking 3.75/5
Social Perceptiveness 3.75/5
Reading Comprehension 3.62/5
Learning Strategies 3.62/5
Monitoring 3.62/5
Service Orientation 3.62/5
Instructing 3.5/5
Critical Thinking 3.38/5
Writing 3.12/5
Coordination 3.12/5
Persuasion 3.12/5

Career Fit Overview

Use this summary to understand the kind of profile this role rewards. It helps you judge whether this career looks like a stronger match than your current role, a nearby move worth exploring, or a broader path to compare more seriously.

Top passions

  • Helper: Supporting people and making a difference matters to you.
  • Organizer: Bringing order to data and processes satisfies you.
  • Analyst: Investigating problems and finding patterns keeps you engaged.

Common styles

Cooperation, Dependability, Empathy, Optimism, Social Orientation

Want a personal read on fit? Take the free assessment and compare this career to your current role, nearby alternatives, and broader stronger-fit options.

Key Abilities

This career demands strong capabilities in the following areas:

Oral Comprehension 4.0/5
Oral Expression 4.0/5
Problem Sensitivity 3.75/5
Speech Recognition 3.75/5
Speech Clarity 3.75/5
Written Comprehension 3.62/5
Near Vision 3.62/5
Deductive Reasoning 3.38/5

Technologies & Tools

Appletree Automate the Schools ATS Blackboard software Children's educational software ClassDojo Email software Flipgrid Google Classroom Google Meet Hand held spell checkers High School Scheduling and Transcript HSST Kahoot! Loom Microsoft Excel Microsoft Office software Microsoft Outlook Microsoft PowerPoint Microsoft Word Padlet ParentSquare

Work Environment & Strengths

Common Strengths for This Career

  • Cooperation (High importance: 4.79/5)
  • Dependability (High importance: 4.77/5)
  • Empathy (High importance: 4.71/5)
  • Optimism (High importance: 4.66/5)
  • Social Orientation (High importance: 4.55/5)

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How to Become One

This career typically requires vocational school, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. Some specialized training or certification may also be required.

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Also Known As

This career is known by many different job titles across industries. Here are all the variations:

Assistant Instructor Basic Skills Improvement Program Instructional Aide (BSIP Instructional Aide) Classroom Paraprofessional Co-Teacher Early Childhood SPED PARA (Early Childhood Special Education Paraprofessional) Education Support Professional Educational Assistant Paraeducator Paraprofessional (Para) Special Needs Para (Special Needs Paraprofessional) Special Programs Instructional Assistant Specialized Programs TA (Specialized Programs Teacher Assistant) SPED Aide (Special Education Aide) SPED Assistant (Special Education Assistant) SPED Assistant (Special Educational Assistant) SPED Associate (Special Education Associate) SPED Classroom Aide (Special Education Classroom Aide) SPED Instructional Aide (Special Education Instructional Aide) SPED Instructional Assistant (Special Education Instructional Assistant) SPED Para (Special Education Paraprofessional) SPED Paraeducator (Special Education Paraeducator) SPED TA (Special Education Teacher Assistant) SPED TA (Special Education Teaching Assistant) TA (Teacher's Assistant) TA (Teaching Assistant) Teacher's Aide

Career Fit FAQs

Is this career a good fit for me

This page shows the role itself. To see personal fit, use the assessment to compare your interests, motivations, and strengths against this career and against the role you are in now.

Can this help if I want to stay in my field

Yes. Many people use career pages like this to compare nearby roles in the same field and see whether they need a full switch or a better-fit version of the work they already know.

What should I compare first

Start with the daily tasks, the preparation level, and the work-style signals on this page. Then use the assessment to see whether this role looks like a stronger fit than your current role or just a different title.