Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

Median salary

$72,040

Average salary

$76,320

Employment

1,065,210

Projected growth

1.6% decline

Annual openings

66,200

Typical entry education

Bachelor's degree

What Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education Do

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

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: None
Self-employed: 0%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

How Much Preparation Does This Take?

Job Zone 4 of 5

Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

Experience: A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations.
Education: Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Job training: Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Source: O*NET Job Zones.

Key Knowledge Areas

Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.

Education and Trainingimportance 4.7/5
English Languageimportance 4.3/5
Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 3.9/5
Computers and Electronicsimportance 3.6/5
Psychologyimportance 3.4/5
Sociology and Anthropologyimportance 3.2/5
History and Archeologyimportance 3.0/5
Communications and Mediaimportance 3.0/5

Work Environment

What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.

E-Mail5.0/5
Contact With Others4.8/5
Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.7/5
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled4.6/5
Public Speaking4.5/5
Freedom to Make Decisions4.3/5

Careers With Similar Skills

Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.

Special Education Teachers, Secondary School98% skill match
Library Science Teachers, Postsecondary98% skill match
Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary98% skill match
Special Education Teachers, Preschool98% skill match
Instructional Coordinators97% skill match
Human Resources Specialists97% skill match
Dermatologists97% skill match
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education97% skill match

Transferable Skills

Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.

Instructingimportance 4.1/5
Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.9/5
Coordinationimportance 3.8/5
Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.8/5
Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.4/5
Time Managementimportance 3.3/5
Persuasionimportance 3.0/5
Negotiationimportance 3.0/5

Software & Technologies

Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.

Hot Technologies

Other Software Used

Work Style

Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.

Dependability
Optimism
Social Orientation
Cooperation
Empathy
Integrity
Self-Control

Career Interests

This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.

SocialHigh
ArtisticMedium
ConventionalMedium
InvestigativeMedium
EnterprisingLow
RealisticLow

This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

Where This Career Is Most Concentrated

Metro areas where secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).

1Gettysburg, PA2.43× national avg
2Dover, DE2.26× national avg
3Hanford-Corcoran, CA2.19× national avg
4McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX1.97× national avg
5Yuba City, CA1.91× national avg

Possible Career Moves

A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.

Special Education Teachers, Secondary SchoolLateral Move
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special EducationLateral Move
Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical EducationLateral Move
Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special EducationLateral Move

See the full career path from Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education →

Related Education Programs

Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.