SOC 25-2031.00

    Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

    Teach one or more subjects to students at the secondary school level.

    Median pay
    $72,040
    Growth
    -0.2%
    Little or no change
    Openings a year
    63,500
    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
    $48,780
    Median
    $72,040
    Highest 10% earn more than
    $107,600
    National wages for all workers in this occupation. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

    1,065,210 people work in this occupation.

    In short

    Secondary school teachers instruct students in specific subjects at the high school level. This career employs over one million people and offers a median annual pay of $72,040, with a stable job outlook.

    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 secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education do

    Job Zone 4: Considerable preparation

    Teach one or more subjects to students at the secondary school level.

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

    What the work is like

    These educators instruct students in specific subject areas such as mathematics, history, or art. On a daily basis, they focus on training, teaching, coaching, and developing young people. The role requires planning lessons, setting educational goals, and solving classroom problems creatively. Teachers must communicate effectively with school staff, parents, and students to build strong relationships.

    Success in this field relies heavily on a social interest area, meaning a desire to assist and work with others. Important skills include active listening, instructing, speaking, and social perceptiveness to understand student needs. Teachers must also be skilled at monitoring progress and adapting their learning strategies. This work demands a deep knowledge of education, the English language, psychology, and sociology. To handle the daily classroom environment, teachers need specific work styles, particularly dependability, self-control, empathy, cooperation, and stress tolerance.

    How to get there

    Entering this career typically requires a bachelor's degree. Because this occupation is classified under O*NET Job Zone 4, most individuals also need several years of experience in a related educational setting before they are fully prepared. Students can pursue various college majors to prepare for this path, including teacher education and professional development, mathematics, English language and literature, history, chemistry, biology, music, or fine and studio arts.

    Depending on where you plan to work, some states list a license for this profession. Additionally, some educators in this field may hold certifications such as the Certified Childbirth Educator Certification from the International Childbirth Education Association.

    Pay and outlook explained

    The median annual pay for these teachers is $72,040. Earnings vary based on experience and location, with the lowest 10 percent of earners making less than $48,780, while the highest 10 percent earn more than $107,600.

    There are 1,065,210 people employed in this field. Between 2025 and 2035, employment is projected to experience little or no change, with a slight decline of -0.2 percent. Despite this flat growth, the occupation still expects a high volume of opportunities, with 63,500 job openings projected each year.

    Interest profile

    Realistic (R)
    29 / 100
    Investigative (I)
    37 / 100
    Artistic (A)
    46 / 100
    Social (S) · strongest
    100 / 100
    Enterprising (E)
    32 / 100
    Conventional (C)
    44 / 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 SAC. Compare it with yours

    What you'd do

    Training and Teaching Others
    91
    Coaching and Developing Others
    86
    Making Decisions and Solving Problems
    84
    Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
    84
    Developing Objectives and Strategies
    81
    Working with Computers
    80
    Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
    80
    Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
    79
    Getting Information
    77
    Thinking Creatively
    77
    Work activities rated by importance for this occupation, O*NET (0–100).

    Skills and strengths

    Skills

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

    Knowledge

    • Education and Training
    • English Language
    • Customer and Personal Service
    • Computers and Electronics
    • Psychology
    • Sociology and Anthropology
    • History and Archeology
    • Communications and Media
    • Administrative
    • Public Safety and Security

    Abilities

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

    Work styles

    • Dependability
    • Optimism
    • Social Orientation
    • Cooperation
    • Empathy
    • Integrity
    • Self-Control
    • Perseverance
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Adaptability

    Also called

    Accounting Teacher · After School Teacher · Algebra Teacher · Art Educator · Art Instructor · Art Teacher · Arts and Crafts Teacher · Athletic Instructor · Athletics Teacher · Band Teacher

    Career pathway

    From your interests to secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education

    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

      • Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education$72,040 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. 1Duke University logo
      Duke University

      Durham, NC · Mathematics · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $130,467
      4 yrs after
      $297,029
      Median debt
      $13,875
    2. 2Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT logo
      Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT

      Cambridge, MA · Mathematics · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $141,075
      4 yrs after
      $174,951
      Median debt
      Not reported
    3. 3University of Chicago logo
      University of Chicago

      Chicago, IL · Mathematics · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      Not reported
      4 yrs after
      $172,826
      Median debt
      $12,000
    4. 4Dartmouth College logo
      Dartmouth College

      Hanover, NH · Mathematics · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $93,979
      4 yrs after
      $168,580
      Median debt
      $12,500
    5. 5Williams College logo
      Williams College

      Williamstown, MA · Economics · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $105,744
      4 yrs after
      $166,678
      Median debt
      $9,750
    6. 6Princeton University logo
      Princeton University

      Princeton, NJ · Economics · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $108,471
      4 yrs after
      $160,763
      Median debt
      Not reported
    7. 7Harvard University logo
      Harvard University

      Cambridge, MA · Economics · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $120,683
      4 yrs after
      $155,592
      Median debt
      $14,000
    8. 8Claremont McKenna College CMC logo
      Claremont McKenna College CMC

      Claremont, CA · Economics · Bachelor's

      1 yr after
      $99,125
      4 yrs after
      $146,524
      Median debt
      $11,750

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

    Certifications

    Core certifications employers recognise for this work.

    Search all certifications on CareerOneStop

    Training

    Programs of study that prepare people for this work. Showing 12 of 92.

    • American Government and Politics (United States)
    • American History (United States)
    • American Indian/Native American Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
    • American Sign Language (ASL)
    • Ancient/Classical Greek Language and Literature
    • Arabic Language and Literature
    • Art Teacher Education
    • Art/Art Studies, General
    • Bilingual and Multilingual Education
    • Biological and Physical Sciences
    • Biology Teacher Education
    • Biology/Biological Sciences, General

    Find training near you on CareerOneStop

    Licenses by state

    52 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 secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education

    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 common job titles for this career?

    People in this occupation are known by many titles, including algebra teachers, art instructors, band teachers, and accounting teachers.

    What level of education is typically required to start?

    You generally need a bachelor's degree to enter this field, along with some related experience to be fully prepared for the classroom.

    Are there many job openings expected in the future?

    Yes, even though the overall job growth is projected to change by -0.2 percent from 2025 to 2035, there are still 63,500 projected openings each year.

    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.