SOC 25-2023.00

    Career/Technical Education Teachers, Middle School

    Teach occupational, vocational, career, or technical subjects to students at the middle, intermediate, or junior high school level.

    Median pay
    $65,030
    Growth
    -0.5%
    Little or no change
    Openings a year
    1,000
    Typical education
    Bachelor's degree

    Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition

    Source: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

    See the pathway

    Annual pay range

    Lowest 10% earn less than
    $49,200
    Median
    $65,030
    Highest 10% earn more than
    $101,890
    National wages for all workers in this occupation. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

    16,870 people work in this occupation.

    In short

    Middle school career and technical education teachers instruct students in vocational, occupational, and technical subjects. They earn a median annual salary of $65,030, with opportunities to guide young learners toward future career paths.

    Written with AI from the BLS, O*NET and CareerOneStop data on this page. Every figure is checked against that data before it is published.

    What career/technical education teachers, middle school do

    Job Zone 4: Considerable preparation

    Teach occupational, vocational, career, or technical subjects to students at the middle, intermediate, or junior high school level.

    Most need a bachelor's degree and several years of related experience.

    What the work is like

    These educators teach practical, vocational, and technical subjects to students in middle, intermediate, or junior high schools. On a daily basis, their primary activities involve training, teaching, coaching, and developing others. They must think creatively to design engaging lessons, gather relevant information, and use computers to support learning. Building strong interpersonal relationships and communicating effectively with supervisors, peers, and subordinates are also essential parts of the job.

    To succeed, teachers need strong skills in instructing, speaking, active listening, and learning strategies. They must also use critical thinking and social perceptiveness to understand student needs. Key knowledge areas for this role include education and training, the English language, computers, and psychology. Because this profession aligns with a social interest area, successful teachers typically demonstrate work styles such as dependability, cooperation, empathy, optimism, and high stress tolerance.

    How to get there

    Entering this field generally requires a bachelor's degree. Most professionals also need several years of experience in a related field before they begin teaching. Students preparing for this career often major in teacher education and professional development or in specific subject areas related to the technical skills they plan to teach.

    Depending on where you plan to work, some states list a license for this occupation. Prospective teachers should check their local state guidelines to determine the specific licensure process required to teach in public middle schools.

    Pay and outlook explained

    In 2025, the median annual pay for these teachers was $65,030. Earnings can vary significantly based on experience and location; the lowest 10 percent of workers earn less than $49,200, while the highest 10 percent earn more than $101,890.

    There are 16,870 people employed in this occupation. Between 2025 and 2035, employment is projected to experience little or no change, with a projected decline of -0.5 percent. Despite this flat growth, about 1,000 job openings are still expected to become available each year.

    Interest profile

    Realistic (R)
    38 / 100
    Investigative (I)
    39 / 100
    Artistic (A)
    40 / 100
    Social (S) · strongest
    100 / 100
    Enterprising (E)
    21 / 100
    Conventional (C)
    47 / 100
    How strongly each interest area describes the work, from O*NET (scores rescaled to 0–100). The interest code lists the strongest areas in order.

    Interest code SCA. Compare it with yours

    What you'd do

    Training and Teaching Others
    86
    Coaching and Developing Others
    75
    Thinking Creatively
    74
    Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
    73
    Getting Information
    73
    Working with Computers
    72
    Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
    71
    Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
    71
    Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
    70
    Providing Consultation and Advice to Others
    69
    Work activities rated by importance for this occupation, O*NET (0–100).

    Skills and strengths

    Skills

    • Instructing
    • Learning Strategies
    • Speaking
    • Active Listening
    • Critical Thinking
    • Monitoring
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Social Perceptiveness
    • Active Learning
    • Writing

    Knowledge

    • Education and Training
    • English Language
    • Computers and Electronics
    • Administrative
    • Customer and Personal Service
    • Psychology
    • Administration and Management
    • Mathematics
    • Communications and Media
    • Sociology and Anthropology

    Abilities

    • Oral Expression
    • Deductive Reasoning
    • Near Vision
    • Oral Comprehension
    • Speech Clarity
    • Written Comprehension
    • Written Expression
    • Inductive Reasoning
    • Problem Sensitivity
    • Speech Recognition

    Work styles

    • Dependability
    • Social Orientation
    • Cooperation
    • Empathy
    • Optimism
    • Self-Control
    • Integrity
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Sincerity
    • Achievement Orientation

    Also called

    Agriculture Teacher · Agriscience Technology Instructor (Agriculture Science Technology Instructor) · Automotive Education Teacher · Business Education Teacher · Career and Technology Education Teacher (CTE Teacher) · Career Discovery Teacher · Career Education Teacher · Career Technical Education Instructor · Carpentry Teacher · Computer Discovery Teacher

    Career pathway

    From your interests to career/technical education teachers, middle school

    Interests that fit the work, the career, majors that lead there and colleges whose graduates in those majors earn the most. Hover or focus a step to follow one path.

    1. Interests

    2. This career

      • Career/Technical Education Teachers, Middle School$65,030 median pay

    3. Majors

    4. Colleges

    College Scorecard program outcomes

    Colleges with strong outcomes

    Programs that lead to this career, ranked by what their graduates earn four years after finishing. Earnings are for graduates who received federal aid.

    1. 1California State University-Sacramento logo
      California State University-Sacramento

      Sacramento, CA · Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $69,280
      4 yrs after
      $82,062
      Median debt
      $23,000
    2. 2
      CUNY Brooklyn College

      Brooklyn, NY · Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $54,793
      4 yrs after
      $80,207
      Median debt
      $12,875
    3. 3St. John's University-New York logo
      St. John's University-New York

      Queens, NY · Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      Not reported
      4 yrs after
      $78,215
      Median debt
      $25,500
    4. 4CUNY Queens College logo
      CUNY Queens College

      Queens, NY · Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $58,736
      4 yrs after
      $76,925
      Median debt
      $12,500
    5. 5
      College of Staten Island CUNY

      Staten Island, NY · Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $65,767
      4 yrs after
      $75,272
      Median debt
      Not reported
    6. 6
      University of Louisville

      Louisville, KY · Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $57,958
      4 yrs after
      $74,873
      Median debt
      $19,250
    7. 7Hofstra University logo
      Hofstra University

      Hempstead, NY · Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $61,408
      4 yrs after
      $74,525
      Median debt
      $23,250
    8. 8
      CUNY Hunter College

      New York, NY · Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $67,434
      4 yrs after
      $72,919
      Median debt
      Not reported

    Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data, 2025. Programs with few graduates are not listed.

    NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk

    Majors that lead here

    Related programs by four-digit CIP code. They are common routes in, not the only ones.

    CareerOneStop

    Certifications, licenses and pay by state

    What career/technical education teachers, middle school may need beyond a degree, where a license is required, and what the work pays in each state.

    Training

    Programs of study that prepare people for this work.

    • Agricultural Teacher Education
    • Business and Innovation/Entrepreneurship Teacher Education
    • Family and Consumer Sciences/Home Economics Teacher Education
    • Health Occupations Teacher Education
    • Sales and Marketing Operations/Marketing and Distribution Teacher Education
    • Technical Teacher Education
    • Technology Teacher Education/Industrial Arts Teacher Education
    • Trade and Industrial Teacher Education

    Find training near you on CareerOneStop

    Licenses by state

    51 states list a license for this work. Open your state for the license and the agency that issues it.

    Check license requirements on CareerOneStop

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 6, 2026.

    Your plan

    Build my pathway plan

    Courses, majors, colleges, scholarships and a timeline for this career, built from your profile.

    Related careers

    Careers with similar work, interests or skills.

    All careers

    Questions about career/technical education teachers, middle school

    Written with AI from the BLS, O*NET and CareerOneStop data on this page. Every figure is checked against that data before it is published.

    What are some alternative job titles for this career?

    People in this profession are also called business education teachers, computer discovery teachers, career discovery teachers, and agriscience technology instructors. Other titles include automotive education teachers, carpentry teachers, and career technical education instructors.

    What is the job outlook for middle school career and technical education teachers?

    Employment is projected to see little or no change from 2025 to 2035, with a minor decrease of -0.5 percent. However, the field still expects to see 1,000 job openings each year to replace workers who leave.

    Is a license required to work in this field?

    Licensing requirements vary by location, as some states list a license for this work. Candidates should research the specific educational board requirements in their state.

    Sources and attribution

    Every figure on this page comes from these public datasets. Missing values are shown as not reported, never estimated.

    O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 6, 2026.

    Page data updated November 5, 2026.