Prevailing Wage for Education Teachers, Postsecondary
Prevailing wages for Education Teachers, Postsecondary under SOC 25-1081 are set by the DOL and apply to sponsored positions including roles filed under titles like Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Adjunct Instructor. DOL defines four experience levels, each with a different wage floor, and the rate shifts significantly by metro area.
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Entry-level postsecondary education faculty with limited teaching experience, typically new to U.S. academic positions. Work is performed under close supervision with defined course assignments and limited independent curriculum development. Common for instructors new to the field.
Qualified faculty with moderate classroom experience and some independent course design. Level 2 is the most common filing level for Education Teachers, Postsecondary, covering instructors who work with general supervision and manage standard teaching duties within an established department.
Experienced faculty who exercise independent judgment across curriculum, advising, and research responsibilities. Typically holds an established publication or research record and mentors junior colleagues. Supervision received is minimal and scope of work is broad.
Fully competent senior faculty, often tenured or tenure-track professors, who lead departmental curriculum development, direct research programs, and set academic standards. These positions carry institution-wide influence and operate with full professional autonomy.
Prevailing Wage for Education Teachers, Postsecondary by OES area
Each shape is a DOL OES area, the unit prevailing wage is published for.
What’s an OES area?
The Department of Labor publishes prevailing wages for geographic zones called OES areas. Every U.S. county belongs to exactly one, and the wage floor applies across the whole area. A worker in Oakland gets the San Francisco metro wage, not a separate Oakland wage.
Top 10 cities · Level 1
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See which U.S. employers are actively hiring for Education Teachers, Postsecondary and sponsoring H-1B, OPT, and green card visas at or above the prevailing wage.
Search visa-sponsored jobsPrevailing Wage Guide for Education Teachers, Postsecondary
Confirm your title maps to SOC 25-1081
Titles like Lecturer, Clinical Faculty, or Visiting Professor are sometimes filed under different SOC codes, which carry different prevailing wage floors. Verify your offer letter title aligns with the 25-1081 filing before accepting terms.
Watch how research stipends affect your base
Postsecondary education roles often separate research grants, course releases, or summer stipends from base salary. Only the guaranteed base salary counts toward the prevailing wage floor on an LCA filing, not supplemental research funding.
Compare metro wages before targeting job markets
Prevailing wages for postsecondary education faculty vary sharply by metro. California markets like Riverside and Fresno show significantly higher floors than Midwestern markets such as Rockford or Sioux City, affecting both compliance thresholds and negotiation baselines.
Use Migrate Mate to find sponsoring universities
Migrate Mate shows which colleges and universities have sponsored Education Teachers, Postsecondary positions in the past, including historical sponsorship counts by employer. That record helps you focus your search on institutions with a demonstrated pattern of filing H-1B or green card cases for this role.
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Find Jobs for this rolePrevailing Wage by Reported Job Title
DOL classifies these titles under SOC 25-1081.00 alongside Education Teachers, Postsecondary, so the same four-tier wage schedule applies to each. Tap a title to see the full breakdown.
Adjunct Instructor Prevailing Wage
Adjunct Instructor Prevailing Wage
Adjunct Instructor positions fall under SOC 25-1081.00 (Education Teachers, Postsecondary). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Assistant Professor Prevailing Wage
Assistant Professor Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Assistant Professor for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 25-1081.00 (Education Teachers, Postsecondary). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
Associate Professor Prevailing Wage
Associate Professor Prevailing Wage
Associate Professor is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 25-1081.00 (Education Teachers, Postsecondary). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Education Instructor Prevailing Wage
Education Instructor Prevailing Wage
Education Instructor positions fall under SOC 25-1081.00 (Education Teachers, Postsecondary). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Education Professor Prevailing Wage
Education Professor Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Education Professor for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 25-1081.00 (Education Teachers, Postsecondary). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
Faculty Member Prevailing Wage
Faculty Member Prevailing Wage
Faculty Member is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 25-1081.00 (Education Teachers, Postsecondary). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Instructor Prevailing Wage
Instructor Prevailing Wage
Instructor positions fall under SOC 25-1081.00 (Education Teachers, Postsecondary). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Lecturer Prevailing Wage
Lecturer Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Lecturer for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 25-1081.00 (Education Teachers, Postsecondary). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
Professor Prevailing Wage
Professor Prevailing Wage
Professor is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 25-1081.00 (Education Teachers, Postsecondary). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Special Education Professor Prevailing Wage
Special Education Professor Prevailing Wage
Special Education Professor positions fall under SOC 25-1081.00 (Education Teachers, Postsecondary). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does DOL set the prevailing wage for Education Teachers, Postsecondary?
DOL calculates prevailing wages for SOC 25-1081 using Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Wages are surveyed by occupation and metropolitan area, then divided into four levels based on experience and responsibility. Employers sponsoring a postsecondary education faculty member must pay at least the wage corresponding to the level that matches the actual job duties.
What do the four wage levels mean and how do I identify mine?
Level 1 covers entry-level instructors under close supervision. Level 2 applies to qualified faculty working with moderate independence, and is the most common filing level for this occupation. Level 3 covers experienced faculty with broad autonomous responsibilities. Level 4 applies to fully competent senior or tenured professors with institution-wide scope. Your level is determined by the actual duties in the LCA, not your job title alone.
Why does the prevailing wage for this role vary so much between cities?
DOL uses regional Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics surveys to set metro-specific wage floors, and academic labor markets differ sharply by region. The wage on your LCA must reflect the worksite location listed on the filing, not national averages. High-cost metro areas with dense university concentrations, such as New York or Ann Arbor, produce higher survey medians than smaller metro markets, so the same role can carry a very different floor depending on where the position is located.
What happens if my job offer is below the prevailing wage for a sponsored position?
USCIS and DOL require the employer to certify on the LCA that the offered wage meets or exceeds the prevailing wage for the occupation, experience level, and worksite location. If the offer falls short, the LCA cannot be certified by OFLC, which blocks the H-1B or PERM process entirely. The employer must raise the offered salary to the required floor before the sponsorship can proceed.
How do I find and verify the prevailing wage for Education Teachers, Postsecondary in a specific U.S. location?
Use the OFLC Wage Search tool to look up the current prevailing wage by SOC code 25-1081 and the metro area matching your worksite. Select the wage level that reflects the actual duties of your role. Migrate Mate can help you identify which employers have sponsored this occupation before, so you can cross-reference open listings against the DOL floor for your target location.
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