Graduates · Ontario · 2021 Census
What can you do with an education degree?
What graduates actually work as, from Statistics Canada, beside what Job Bank says about each job: openings, pay, and what it takes.
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What can you do with an education degree in Ontario?
In the 2021 Census, the most common jobs among employed Ontarians aged 25 to 34 with a bachelor's degree or higher in education were elementary school and kindergarten teachers (49.1%), secondary school teachers (15.5%) and early childhood educators and assistants (4.2%). This is one of the more direct fields: the single biggest job, elementary school and kindergarten teachers, covers 49.1% of these graduates, and the 12 most common jobs together cover 77.5%.
What graduates really do
What jobs do education graduates in Ontario actually have?
Ontario is published for the education field, so the lead table is Ontario graduates aged 25 to 34.
| Job | Share of graduates | People | Job Bank outlook | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elementary school and kindergarten teachers | 49.1% | 19,765 | Moderate | $46.15/hr |
| Secondary school teachersOur guide | 15.5% | 6,220 | Moderate | $48.08/hr |
| Early childhood educators and assistantsOur guide | 4.2% | 1,695 | Good | $22.00/hr |
| Administrative officers | 1.2% | 490 | Limited | $29.38/hr |
| College and other vocational instructors | 1.2% | 480 | Limited | $45.00/hr |
| Other instructors | 1.1% | 425 | No Job Bank outlook | — |
| Educational counsellors | 1% | 405 | Moderate | $40.00/hr |
| Retail salespersons and visual merchandisers | 1% | 405 | Limited | $17.95/hr |
| Administrative assistants | 0.9% | 380 | Moderate | $26.67/hr |
| Social and community service workers | 0.8% | 330 | Moderate | $26.50/hr |
| Education policy researchers, consultants and program officers | 0.8% | 310 | Moderate | $41.43/hr |
| Post-secondary teaching and research assistants | 0.7% | 290 | No Job Bank outlook | — |
How does it look for other groups?
These are different groups of people, shown separately on purpose: a different place, age group or level of education. Do not read them as one comparison.
| Job | Share of graduates | People | Job Bank outlook | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elementary school and kindergarten teachers | 42.5% | 18,955 | Moderate | $46.15/hr |
| Early childhood educators and assistantsOur guide | 13.3% | 5,955 | Good | $22.00/hr |
| Secondary school teachersOur guide | 9.6% | 4,300 | Moderate | $48.08/hr |
| Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates | 2.8% | 1,235 | Good | $24.00/hr |
| Light duty cleaners | 1.6% | 710 | Moderate | $19.00/hr |
| College and other vocational instructors | 1.2% | 520 | Limited | $45.00/hr |
| Home child care providers | 1.1% | 470 | Moderate | $19.00/hr |
| Administrative assistants | 1% | 465 | Moderate | $26.67/hr |
| Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations | 1% | 450 | Limited | $17.95/hr |
| School principals and administrators of elementary and secondary education | 0.9% | 410 | Good | $57.14/hr |
| Social and community service workers | 0.9% | 405 | Moderate | $26.50/hr |
| Elementary and secondary school teacher assistants | 0.9% | 405 | Moderate | $26.00/hr |
Do those jobs have openings?
Which of those jobs are hiring?
1 of the 12 most common jobs have a good or very good Ontario outlook from Job Bank for 2025 to 2027, together covering 4.2% of these graduates. Outlook is a province-wide forecast of openings against job seekers, not a promise for any one town or employer.
- Early childhood educators and assistants: Job Bank outlook good, 4.2% of these graduates.
When the degree is not enough
What does the degree not lead to on its own?
A degree in education from an Ontario program that is part of the teacher education route is the most direct path to certification, but certification itself comes from the Ontario College of Teachers, not from the university.
An education-related degree that is not a teacher education program does not certify you to teach in publicly funded schools. Check the program with the College before you count on it.
Routes that need more than the degree
Become an Ontario certified teacher
The Ontario College of Teachers describes a consecutive program as a four-semester program leading to a Bachelor of Education, open to students who have completed an undergraduate degree. Its becoming-a-teacher page lists a postsecondary degree of at least three years plus a four-semester teacher education program, then an application to the College for certification. Ontario College of Teachers: teacher education program providersKnow the concurrent route
The Ontario College of Teachers says teacher candidates in a concurrent program complete a program leading to a Bachelor of Education while also completing an undergraduate degree in another discipline. Check which route your program is, because it decides whether you still need a consecutive program after graduating. Ontario College of Teachers: teacher education program providersAdd a college graduate certificate
Ontario Colleges states that graduate certificates require a university degree or a college certificate or diploma for admission, and build on knowledge and experience from earlier postsecondary study. Check each program on ontariocolleges.ca for its own entry requirements. Ontario Colleges: program types
Jobs to look at
Careers worth a closer look
Full guides: what the work is really like, who hates it, what it pays, and the route in.
- TeacherGetting thirty people who did not choose to be there to learn something, five times a day, and marking it afterwards.Career guide
- Early childhood educatorTeaching and caring for young children in child care and early learning settings, where playing, feeding and comforting are all the curriculum.Career guide
- Recreation and fitness instructorLeading classes, groups and programmes in sport, fitness and recreation, often part-time and often with the hours that other people have free.Career guide
- Human resources professionalHiring, paying, training and sometimes letting go of the people an organisation depends on, inside rules that exist for good reasons.Career guide
- Social workerHelping people and families get through crises and hard systems, from housing and child safety to mental health and end of life.Career guide
Read this before you rely on it
What the numbers do not show
- The Census is from 2021. Jobs and hiring have moved since. Job Bank's outlook is current to 2025 to 2027.
- It counts employed people and what they do, not whether they wanted that job or use their degree in it. A graduate working as a retail supervisor is counted in the data exactly like one working in their field.
- It is a 25% sample, and Statistics Canada rounds every count to a multiple of five. Small groups are noisy.
- For Ontario the Census publishes bachelor's degree or higher together, so those tables include master's and doctoral graduates.
- Each person is counted once, by their highest credential. A person who finished a diploma and then a degree appears under the degree, not the diploma.
- The 12 jobs shown are the most common, not all of them. The rest of the graduates are spread across hundreds of other jobs.
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population, tables 98-10-0447-01 and 98-10-0403-01; Job Bank (Employment and Social Development Canada) Ontario outlooks and wages, linked on each job. We join them by occupation code and change neither.
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