# Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

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

- Edition: Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition
- Page: https://www.collegesref.com/careers/secondary-school-teachers-except-special-and-career-technical-education
- SOC code: 25-2031.00
- Career family: Education
- Median annual pay: $72,040 (10th percentile $48,780, 90th percentile $107,600)
- Projected growth: Little or no change, -0.2%
- Openings a year: 63,500
- Typical entry education: Bachelor's degree
- Bright outlook: no
- Data years: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

## Interest profile (code SAC)

| Interest area | Score (0–100) |
| --- | ---: |
| Realistic (R) | 29 |
| Investigative (I) | 37 |
| Artistic (A) | 46 |
| Social (S) | 100 |
| Enterprising (E) | 32 |
| Conventional (C) | 44 |

## What you'd do

- Training and Teaching Others (importance 91/100)
- Coaching and Developing Others (importance 86/100)
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems (importance 84/100)
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships (importance 84/100)
- Developing Objectives and Strategies (importance 81/100)
- Working with Computers (importance 80/100)
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates (importance 80/100)
- Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work (importance 79/100)
- Getting Information (importance 77/100)
- Thinking Creatively (importance 77/100)

## 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

## 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

## Majors that lead here (NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk, 4-digit CIP)

- [Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/1312) (CIP 1312, 1,830 colleges)
- [Biology, General](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/2601) (CIP 2601, 1,703 colleges)
- [English Language and Literature, General](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/2301) (CIP 2301, 1,510 colleges)
- [Mathematics](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/2701) (CIP 2701, 1,483 colleges)
- [History](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/5401) (CIP 5401, 1,464 colleges)
- [Fine and Studio Arts](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/5007) (CIP 5007, 1,455 colleges)
- [Music](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/5009) (CIP 5009, 1,381 colleges)
- [Chemistry](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/4005) (CIP 4005, 1,371 colleges)
- [Political Science and Government](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/4510) (CIP 4510, 1,292 colleges)
- [Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/1313) (CIP 1313, 1,257 colleges)
- [Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/1609) (CIP 1609, 1,019 colleges)
- [Physics](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/4008) (CIP 4008, 956 colleges)
- [Economics](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/4506) (CIP 4506, 925 colleges)
- [Social Sciences, General](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/4501) (CIP 4501, 547 colleges)
- [Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/1601) (CIP 1601, 538 colleges)
- [Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/1314) (CIP 1314, 438 colleges)
- [Biological and Physical Sciences](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/3001) (CIP 3001, 379 colleges)
- [Germanic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/1605) (CIP 1605, 354 colleges)
- [Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/1612) (CIP 1612, 282 colleges)
- [Physical Sciences, General](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/4001) (CIP 4001, 224 colleges)
- [American Sign Language](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/1616) (CIP 1616, 221 colleges)
- [East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/1603) (CIP 1603, 216 colleges)
- [Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/1302) (CIP 1302, 189 colleges)
- [Slavic, Baltic and Albanian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/1604) (CIP 1604, 149 colleges)
- [Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/1901) (CIP 1901, 123 colleges)
- [Middle/Near Eastern and Semitic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/1611) (CIP 1611, 113 colleges)
- [Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, Other](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/1699) (CIP 1699, 74 colleges)
- American Indian/Native American Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (CIP 1610, 27 colleges)
- Environmental Geosciences (CIP 3041, 17 colleges)
- Earth Systems Science (CIP 3038, 9 colleges)
- Southeast Asian and Australasian/Pacific Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (CIP 1614, 6 colleges)
- Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature (CIP 3036, 5 colleges)
- History and Language/Literature (CIP 3045, 5 colleges)

## Colleges with strong outcomes (College Scorecard, 2025)

| College | Program | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yrs | Median debt |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| [Duke University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/duke-university-837) | Mathematics | $130,467 | $297,029 | $13,875 |
| [Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT](https://www.collegesref.com/college/massachusetts-institute-of-technology-mit-1615) | Mathematics | $141,075 | $174,951 | not reported |
| [University of Chicago](https://www.collegesref.com/college/university-of-chicago-2895) | Mathematics | not reported | $172,826 | $12,000 |
| [Dartmouth College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/dartmouth-college-769) | Mathematics | $93,979 | $168,580 | $12,500 |
| [Williams College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/williams-college-3281) | Economics | $105,744 | $166,678 | $9,750 |
| [Princeton University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/princeton-university-2154) | Economics | $108,471 | $160,763 | not reported |
| [Harvard University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/harvard-university-1157) | Economics | $120,683 | $155,592 | $14,000 |
| [Claremont McKenna College CMC](https://www.collegesref.com/college/claremont-mckenna-college-cmc-557) | Economics | $99,125 | $146,524 | $11,750 |

## Related careers

- [Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/middle-school-teachers-except-special-and-career-technical-education): $64,370 median pay
- [Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/elementary-school-teachers-except-special-education): $63,970 median pay
- [Tutors](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/tutors): $43,350 median pay
- [Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/adult-basic-education-adult-secondary-education-and-english-as-a-second-language): $61,540 median pay
- [Special Education Teachers, Secondary School](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/special-education-teachers-secondary-school): $74,260 median pay
- [Special Education Teachers, Elementary School](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/special-education-teachers-elementary-school): $65,120 median pay

## Sources

- [O*NET Database](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), version 31.0 (CC BY 4.0)
- [BLS Employment Projections](https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables.htm), version 2025-35, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm), version 2025, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk](https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/resources.aspx?y=56), version 2020, data year 2020 (Public domain (U.S. government work))

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.