# Special Education Teachers, Secondary School

> Teach academic, social, and life skills to secondary school students with learning, emotional, or physical disabilities. Includes teachers who specialize and work with students who are blind or have visual impairments; students who are deaf or have hearing impairments; and students with intellectual disabilities.

- Edition: Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition
- Page: https://www.collegesref.com/careers/special-education-teachers-secondary-school
- SOC code: 25-2058.00
- Career family: Education
- Median annual pay: $74,260 (10th percentile $49,800, 90th percentile $109,100)
- Projected growth: Little or no change, -0.2%
- Openings a year: 10,400
- Typical entry education: Bachelor's degree
- Bright outlook: no
- Data years: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

## Interest profile (code SIA)

| Interest area | Score (0–100) |
| --- | ---: |
| Realistic (R) | 23 |
| Investigative (I) | 47 |
| Artistic (A) | 46 |
| Social (S) | 100 |
| Enterprising (E) | 16 |
| Conventional (C) | 42 |

## What you'd do

- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates (importance 92/100)
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships (importance 89/100)
- Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings (importance 89/100)
- Working with Computers (importance 87/100)
- Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work (importance 87/100)
- Documenting/Recording Information (importance 85/100)
- Getting Information (importance 83/100)
- Training and Teaching Others (importance 80/100)
- Thinking Creatively (importance 80/100)
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems (importance 79/100)

## Skills

Instructing, Learning Strategies, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Active Listening, Coordination, Monitoring, Service Orientation, Social Perceptiveness, Writing

## Knowledge

Education and Training, English Language, Psychology, Customer and Personal Service, Therapy and Counseling, Administrative, Computers and Electronics, Mathematics, Public Safety and Security, Administration and Management

## Also called

Blind Teacher, Braille Teacher, Cross-Categorical SPED Teacher (Cross-Categorical Special Education Teacher), Deaf Teacher, Education Specialist, Emotional Disability Special Education Teacher (ED SPED Teacher), Emotionally Impaired Teacher, Exceptional Children's Teacher (EC Teacher), Exceptional Student Education Teacher (ESE Teacher), Handicapped Teacher

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

- [Special Education and Teaching](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/1310) (CIP 1310, 1,003 colleges)

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

| College | Program | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yrs | Median debt |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| [Manhattan College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/manhattan-college-1583) | Special Education and Teaching | not reported | $83,932 | not reported |
| [Utah State University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/utah-state-university-3102) | Special Education and Teaching | $58,712 | $74,535 | $17,379 |
| [SUNY Cortland](https://www.collegesref.com/college/suny-cortland-2653) | Special Education and Teaching | not reported | $74,079 | $24,250 |
| [Seton Hall University-New Jersey](https://www.collegesref.com/college/seton-hall-university-new-jersey-2399) | Special Education and Teaching | not reported | $72,067 | not reported |
| [Molloy College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/molloy-college-1749) | Special Education and Teaching | $49,948 | $71,781 | $27,000 |
| [The College of New Jersey](https://www.collegesref.com/college/the-college-of-new-jersey-2736) | Special Education and Teaching | not reported | $66,767 | $26,000 |
| [CUNY Medgar Evers College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/cuny-medgar-evers-college-744) | Special Education and Teaching | $58,611 | $66,377 | not reported |
| [Saint Joseph's University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/saint-joseph-s-university-2308) | Special Education and Teaching | $54,709 | $64,827 | $26,261 |

## Related careers

- [Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/special-education-teachers-kindergarten): $65,120 median pay
- [Special Education Teachers, Elementary School](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/special-education-teachers-elementary-school): $65,120 median pay
- [Special Education Teachers, Middle School](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/special-education-teachers-middle-school): $66,810 median pay
- [Special Education Teachers, Preschool](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/special-education-teachers-preschool): $64,830 median pay
- [Teaching Assistants, Special Education](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/teaching-assistants-special-education): $36,780 median pay
- [Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/elementary-school-teachers-except-special-education): $63,970 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.