Secondary School Teachers
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Speciality
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Overview
Teach one or more subjects to students at the secondary school level.
Highlights
Undergraduate program resulting in the highest median salary ($53K): Liberal Arts
Largest undergraduate program (14.3% of workers): General Education
Explore Pathways
Titles for this career often contain these words
TeacherInstructorHighSchoolLanguageScienceEnglishPhysicalEducatorEducationHistoryMusicArtArtsMathematicsMathBiologyComputerESLasSecondFrenchGradesNineThroughTwelveHealthManualPESecondarySocialWorldAccountingAlgebraCraftsAthleticAthleticsBalletBandBilingualBusinessCeramicsChemicalChemistryChoirChoralClassroomTechnologyEconomicsExerciseForeignGeometryHomeGuitarGymGymnasiumHebrewCoachTrainingMilitaryMontessoriTheoryOrchestraOrganFitnessPhysicsPianoPublicSpeakingReligionSewingSingingStudiesSpanishSpeechSportsSubstituteTheaterTrigonometryTypingViolinVocalVoice
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Responsibilities and activities

High school teachers typically do the following:

  • Plan lessons and instruct their students in the subject they teach
  • Assess students’ abilities, strengths, and weaknesses
  • Adapt lessons to changes in class size
  • Grade students’ assignments and exams
  • Communicate with parents about students’ progress
  • Work with individual students to challenge them and to improve their abilities
  • Prepare students for standardized tests required by the state
  • Develop and enforce classroom rules and administrative policies
  • Supervise students outside of the classroom—for example, during lunchtime or detention

High school teachers generally teach students from the 9th through 12th grades. They usually specialize in one area. Some teach core subjects, such as math, science, or history. Others specialize in elective courses, such as art, music, or physical education. They may teach several different classes within their subject area. For example, a high school math teacher may teach algebra, calculus, and/or geometry.

High school teachers may instruct students from different grades throughout the day. For example, one class may have mostly students from the 9th grade, and another may have 12th-grade students. In many schools, students are divided into classes on the basis of their abilities, so teachers need to adapt their lessons based on students’ skills.

Outside of their instructional time, teachers plan lessons, grade assignments, and meet with other teachers and staff.

Teachers of English as a second language (ESL) or English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) work exclusively with students who are learning the English language. These teachers work with students individually or in groups to help them improve their English language skills and help them with assignments for other classes.

Students with learning disabilities and emotional or behavioral disorders are often taught in traditional classes. High school teachers work with special education teachers to adapt lessons to these students’ needs and to monitor the students’ progress.

Teachers must be comfortable with using and learning new technology. With parents, they may use text-messaging applications to communicate about students’ assignments and upcoming events. With students, teachers may create websites or discussion boards to present information and to expand a lesson taught in class.

Some high school teachers take on additional responsibilities, such as coaching sports or advising academic clubs, activities that frequently take place before or after school.

Salary
Median salary: $62,870 annually
Half of those employed in this career earn between $49,990 and $81,410.
$63K$0$20K$40K$60K$80K$100K$120K
Context: Median Salary
How do salaries for this career compare to other jobs' salaries?
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Salary growth for secondary school teachers
Is this job likely to reward you for sticking with it through pay raises and promotions? The higher a job’s “experience quotient,” the more you are likely to get as you stay there.
Experience quotient percentile
Take a minute to look at how much you might expect your salary to increase with each five years' experience, as well as how the numbers working at each age change. Does this seem to be a job for the young or the old, or could it be a career offering steady salary growth for many years?
Salary distribution
$64K$63K$43K$50K$55K$58K$63K$35K$63K$0$20K$40K$60K$80K$100K20-2425-2930-3435-3940-4445-4950-5455-5960-64
Number employed
020K40K60K80K100K20-2425-2930-3435-3940-4445-4950-5455-5960-64
About Secondary School Teachers
How do benefits for this career compare to other jobs? The availability of health care, especially employer provided health care, and pension plans can add significantly to the value of compensation you receive in a career. These charts compare how this career compares to other careers with regard to health care and pension plans.
Employee has health insurance
Employer is providing health insurance
Employer-provided pension plan is available
Worker concerns
Some jobs are more stressful than others, and some are just plain dangerous. The following list gives the percentages of secondary school teachers who report hazardous or difficult situations typically occurring at least once a week.
  • High Conflict Frequency (63%)
  • Unpleasant or Angry People (55%)
  • Time Pressure (53%)
  • Responsible for Others' Health (32%)
SOURCES:
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Personality and skills
Can you see yourself in the ranks of Secondary School Teachers? Here are the skills and traits that could lead to success.
Communication skills
Teachers must share ideas with their students, other teachers, and school administrators and staff. In addition, they need to discuss students’ progress with parents.
Patience
High school teachers must stay calm in difficult situations, such as when students struggle with material.
Resourcefulness
High school teachers need to engage students in learning and adapt lessons to each student’s needs.
Injury and Illness
About 11 secondary school teachers become injured or ill for every 10,000 workers, which reflects fewer events than in 52% of other careers. The most common specific illnesses or injuries are detailed following.
Bruises and contusions
Soreness and pain
Sprains, strains, tears
Education pathways to this career
Education attained by secondary school teachers
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), secondary school teachers typically hold a bachelor's degree.
Sometimes the typical education identified by the BLS differs a bit from the reality of the how much education current workers actually have. The donut shows the education level held by people currently working as secondary school teachers as reported in responses to the American Community Survey.
Details: Education and training recommended for secondary school teachers

All states require public high school teachers to have at least a bachelor’s degree. Many states require high school teachers to have majored in a subject area, such as science or history.

High school teachers typically enroll in their college’s teacher education program, which instructs them on presenting information to students of different abilities and background. Programs typically include a student-teaching program, in which prospective teachers work with a mentor teacher and get experience instructing students in a classroom. For information about teacher preparation programs in your state, visit Teach.org.

Some states require high school teachers to earn a master’s degree after earning their teaching certification and obtaining a job.

Teachers in private schools do not need to meet state requirements. However, private schools typically seek high school teachers who have a bachelor’s degree and a major in a subject area.

Details: Licensing and certification recommended for secondary school teachers

All states require teachers in public schools to be licensed or certified in the specific grade level they will teach. Those who teach in private schools typically are not required to be licensed.

High school teachers typically are awarded a secondary or high school certification, which allows them to teach the 7th through the 12th grades.

Requirements for certification or licensure vary by state but generally involve the following:

  • A bachelor’s degree with a minimum grade point average
  • Completion of a student-teaching program
  • Passing a background check
  • Passing a general teaching certification test, as well as a test that demonstrates their knowledge in the subject they will teach.

For information on certification requirements in your state, visit Teach.org.

Teachers often are required to complete professional development classes to keep their license or certification. Some states require teachers to complete a master’s degree after receiving their certification and obtaining a job.

All states offer an alternative route to certification or licensure for people who already have a bachelor’s degree but lack the education courses required for certification. Some alternative certification programs allow candidates to begin teaching immediately with supervision by an experienced teacher. These programs cover teaching methods and other topics, such as resource management. After they complete the program, candidates are awarded full certification. Other programs require students to take classes in education before they can teach.

Education level of Secondary School Teachers
About 54% of secondary school teachers have a graduate-level education, and 97% have at least a bachelor's degree.
Education attained by secondary school teachers
None
High School
Some College
Associate's Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Master's Degree
Professional Degree
Doctorate
Top college degrees
Here are the top college degrees held by the 94% of people in this job who have at least a bachelor's degree. Some of degrees may link to multiple programs due to the way Census classifies college majors. Click on a program to learn more about career opportunities for people who major in that field.
  1. Education
  2. English Language and Literature
  3. Art and Music Education
  4. Mathematics
  5. Secondary Education
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College majors held by secondary school teachers
This table shows the college majors held by people working as secondary school teachers. If you see "**" before the name of a degree/program, that means this field is one that the Department of Education believes is preparatory for this career. However, you can see from this list that those recommendations are far from your only path to this job!
Salary comparison for bachelor's only
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Career salary (tail) versus Career/Major salary (dot)
Does the bachelor's-only salary rise or fall with this major?
$42K$65K
Salary for bachelor's-only
For people with this career and major
Median
Middle 50%
Middle 80%
Salary for all workers
For people with this career and major
Median
Middle 50%
Middle 80%
Education for Career and Major
Bachelor's
Master's
Professional
Doctorate
Workers with this career/major
Percentage in this career with this major
Not so much?
The link between degrees and this career
With the following sankey diagram, you can follow the top ten bachelor's degrees held by people working as secondary school teachers, and then, in turn, you can see the 10 occupations that hire the most of each degree's graduates. We hope this provides ideas for similar jobs and similar fields of study.
Expand degrees
General EducationEnglish Language and...Art and Music Educat...MathematicsSecondary Teacher Ed...HistoryLanguage and Drama E...Physical and Health ...Elementary EducationBiologyAll other degreesThis jobTop 10 majors
Where are the jobs
State-by-state employment numbers
Some careers tend to be centered in specific parts of the country. For example, most jobs in fashion are in New York or California. Let's see if your dream job is easy to find in your dream location! We have a few choices for viewing the data that can help you get a full employment picture.
Select a state to see local area details
Number of Secondary School Teachers per 1,000 workers (ACS)
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Job density versus job count
Which states hire the most secondary school teachers? We wonder if that's a fair question since states come in all sizes, so instead let's start with the question of which states have the highest density of people working as secondary school teachers. You can choose to view the number of jobs per state if you prefer.
Salaries by state
Let's get a feel for where secondary school teachers earn the highest salaries. There are several choices for which data we consider and how we view that data, and each can lead to different conclusions, so please read on...
Median salary versus state ratio
We use two methods to compare salaries across states:
  • In-state comparisons: the ratio of median (middle) salaries for secondary school teachers compared to the median salary for all people working in each state, or
  • Median salary: the unaltered median salaries for secondary school teachers.
We hope the ratio allows perspective about how salaries may compare to the regional cost-of-living.
The darkest shading corresponds to states in which secondary school teachers earn the highest salary when compared to other jobs in the state. We think this figure might be a better indicator than the actual salary for your buying power as a state resident.
Select a state to see local area details
Location-adjusted median salary for Secondary School Teachers (ACS for all specialties)
AKMEWIVTNHWAIDMTNDMNILMINYMAORUTWYSDIAINOHPANJCTRICANVCONEMOKYWVVAMDDEAZNMKSARTNNCSCDCOKLAMSALGAHITXFLPR
Employment
10% of Secondary school teachers are working part time.
We’ve found that some jobs have a huge number of part-time workers, and typically that is because they are unable to find full-time work or the job itself can’t provide full-time hours. With 10% part-time workers, this occupation has a lower percentage of part-time workers than 55% of careers.
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Employer types
This donut shares the break-down of workers by employer type, giving us a picture of what employers most typically hire for this career.
Employers of undefined (ACS)
Private for-profit
Private not-for-profit
Local government
State government
Federal government
Self-employed incorporated
Self-employed not incorporated
Working without pay
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Distribution: Salaries of secondary school teachers by type of employer
Here are the salary distributions based on employer type.
$54K$53K$56K$49K$52K$41K$55K$0$20,000$40,000$60,000$80,000$100,000Self-employed not incorporatedFederal governmentState governmentLocal governmentPrivate not-for-profitPrivate for-profitAll
Gender
Secondary school teachers and gender
With 58% women, this occupation has a higher percentage of women than 71% of careers.
Gender of Secondary school teachers
Men (42%)
Women (58%)
Distribution: salaries by gender
Does gender greatly influence your salary in this career? The closer the bars are, the less discrepancy there is.
$53K$57K$0$100K$200K$300KWomenMen
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
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Context: Women in the workforce
How does this career compare to other careers with regard to the percentage of women in the career.
58%0%20%40%60%80%100%
Context: Salary inequity
The median salary for all full-time male workers in the US exceeds the full-time median salary for women by 19%. The situation is a little better for secondary school teachers, with the median salary for men 7% higher than the median salary for women.
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Race/Origin
Race and origin of Secondary school teachers
This donut shows the distribution of race and origin among those employed as Secondary school teachers.
Race/origin of secondary school teachers
White (85% )
Black (8% )
Asian (3% )
Multiracial (2% )
Other (1% )
American Indian (1% )
Hispanic (1% )
Pacific Islander (0% )
Distribution: salaries by race/origin
Some careers might have a pay disparity based on race or origin, the closer the below bars are the less of a discrepancy is present.
$46K$51K$51K$52K$52K$54K$54K$55K$0$20K$40K$60K$80K$100KAmerican IndianOtherHispanicPacific IslanderBlackMultiracialWhiteAsian
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.