Within the context of China's education system, which is characterized by significant regional developmental disparities and high societal expectations for educators, the socioeconomic status of teachers remains a persistent concern. This situation underscores the critical importance of identifying and nurturing psychological resources that can help sustain teacher motivation and professional engagement. Although the concept of a growth mindset is well-established as a predictor of academic success in students, its potential application within occupational settings—particularly among the teaching workforce itself—has not been sufficiently explored. To address this gap, the present study examines how a growth mindset of socioeconomic status (SES) may influence work engagement through a sequential mediating mechanism involving core self-evaluation (CSE) and job autonomy. Data were collected from a sample of 1,082 primary and secondary school teachers across diverse regions in China (59.9% from rural areas; 71.2% female). Participants completed validated measures assessing their SES mindset, CSE, perceived job autonomy, and work engagement. The proposed model was tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results revealed two key findings: (1) SES growth mindset was a significant direct predictor of higher work engagement; and (2) a significant sequential indirect pathway was identified, indicating that SES growth mindset boosted core self-evaluation, which in turn was associated with greater perceived job autonomy, ultimately leading to enhanced work engagement (β = 0.142, p < .001 for the path from CSE to autonomy; β = 0.052, p < .05 for the final path to engagement). These findings highlight that fostering a growth mindset regarding SES, along with interventions aimed at improving teachers' core self-evaluation and autonomy, could be effective strategies for promoting professional engagement. School administrators are encouraged to incorporate principles of mindset training and autonomy-supportive leadership into teacher development programs.