Special Education Teachers, Secondary School

Median salary

$74,260

Average salary

$77,260

Employment

163,930

Projected growth

1.6% decline

Annual openings

11,100

Typical entry education

Bachelor's degree

What Special Education Teachers, Secondary School Do

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.

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: None
Self-employed: 0.5%

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 4.8/5
English Languageimportance 4.6/5
Psychologyimportance 4.2/5
Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 3.9/5
Therapy and Counselingimportance 3.6/5
Administrativeimportance 3.5/5
Computers and Electronicsimportance 3.5/5
Mathematicsimportance 3.4/5

Work Environment

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

Contact With Others5.0/5
E-Mail5.0/5
Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.9/5
Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team4.9/5
Coordinate or Lead Others in Accomplishing Work Activities4.6/5
Freedom to Make Decisions4.5/5

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.

Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education99% skill match
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education98% skill match
Special Education Teachers, Preschool98% skill match
Dermatologists98% skill match
Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping98% skill match
Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents97% skill match
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers97% skill match
Musicians and Singers97% 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 3.9/5
Service Orientationimportance 3.9/5
Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.8/5
Time Managementimportance 3.8/5
Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.6/5
Persuasionimportance 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.

Empathy
Cooperation
Dependability
Optimism
Self-Control
Social Orientation
Sincerity

Career Interests

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

SocialHigh
InvestigativeMedium
ArtisticMedium
ConventionalMedium
RealisticLow
EnterprisingLow

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 special education teachers, secondary school make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).