Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
US occupation · SOC 25-2031
Job titles people report: Art Teacher, English Teacher, Math Teacher (Mathematics Teacher), Music Teacher, PE Teacher (Physical Education Teacher), Science Teacher, Secondary Teacher, Social Studies Teacher, Spanish Teacher, Teacher
Pay and outlook
- Median annual wage, May 2025
- $72,040
- Half earn more, half earn less
- Middle half earn
- $59,980 – $92,570
- 25th to 75th percentile
- People employed, May 2025
- 1,065,210
- Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
- Projected change, 2025–35
- -0.2%
- Shrinking (below 0%)
- Openings a year (projected)
- 63,500
- New jobs plus replacing people who leave
- Typical education to enter
- Bachelor's degree
- BLS
- All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
- Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
- Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.
What the work involves
Teach one or more subjects to students at the secondary school level.
Main tasks
- Prepare students for later grades by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
- Instruct through lectures, discussions, and demonstrations in one or more subjects, such as English, mathematics, or social studies.
- Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students.
- Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
- Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs and interests.
- Prepare, administer, and grade tests and assignments to evaluate students' progress.
- Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects, and communicate those objectives to students.
- Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.
Getting in
- Typical education to enter (BLS)
- Bachelor's degree
- O*NET Job Zone 4
- Considerable preparation
- Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Interests it suits
The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.
- Social: helping, teaching and caring for people
- Artistic: creating, designing and self-expression
- Conventional: organising information, records and procedures
Fields of study that lead here
From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 92 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.
Biology & Life Sciences
- Biology/Biological Sciences, General
Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Biology & Life Sciences at the Major step.
Where many students take biology & life sciences
- University of California-San DiegoLa Jolla, CA · 20% of degrees · 34,948 undergraduates
- Arizona State University Campus ImmersionTempe, AZ · 10% of degrees · 64,674 undergraduates
- Texas A&M University-College StationCollege Station, TX · 10% of degrees · 59,615 undergraduates
- University of California-DavisDavis, CA · 18% of degrees · 32,253 undergraduates
- University of California-Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA · 17% of degrees · 33,475 undergraduates
- Michigan State UniversityEast Lansing, MI · 13% of degrees · 40,922 undergraduates
Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.
Social Sciences
- Social Sciences, General
- Social Sciences, Other
- Economics, General
- Political Science and Government, General
- American Government and Politics (United States)
- Canadian Government and Politics
- Political Science and Government, Other
Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Social Sciences at the Major step.
Where many students take social sciences
- University of California-Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA · 25% of degrees · 33,475 undergraduates
- University of California-Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, CA · 27% of degrees · 23,113 undergraduates
- University of California-BerkeleyBerkeley, CA · 17% of degrees · 33,068 undergraduates
- University of California-IrvineIrvine, CA · 15% of degrees · 30,197 undergraduates
- Arizona State University Digital ImmersionScottsdale, AZ · 8% of degrees · 53,782 undergraduates
- University of California-DavisDavis, CA · 13% of degrees · 32,253 undergraduates
Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.
Visual & Performing Arts
- Art/Art Studies, General
- Music, General
Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Visual & Performing Arts at the Major step.
Where many students take visual & performing arts
- Savannah College of Art and DesignSavannah, GA · 42% of degrees · 15,243 undergraduates
- Southern New Hampshire UniversityManchester, NH · 4% of degrees · 163,164 undergraduates
- University of Central FloridaOrlando, FL · 8% of degrees · 59,146 undergraduates
- New York UniversityNew York, NY · 16% of degrees · 28,663 undergraduates
- The New SchoolNew York, NY · 68% of degrees · 6,563 undergraduates
- Berklee College of MusicBoston, MA · 57% of degrees · 7,468 undergraduates
Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.
Education
- Bilingual and Multilingual Education
- Junior High/Intermediate/Middle School Education and Teaching
- Secondary Education and Teaching
- Teacher Education, Multiple Levels
- Montessori Teacher Education
- Waldorf/Steiner Teacher Education
- Online Educator/Online Teaching
- International Teaching and Learning
34 more programmes
- Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Educational Methods
- Art Teacher Education
- Driver and Safety Teacher Education
- English/Language Arts Teacher Education
- Foreign Language Teacher Education
- Health Teacher Education
- Family and Consumer Sciences/Home Economics Teacher Education
- Technology Teacher Education/Industrial Arts Teacher Education
- Mathematics Teacher Education
- Music Teacher Education
- Physical Education Teaching and Coaching
- Reading Teacher Education
- Science Teacher Education/General Science Teacher Education
- Social Science Teacher Education
- Social Studies Teacher Education
- Computer Teacher Education
- Biology Teacher Education
- Chemistry Teacher Education
- Drama and Dance Teacher Education
- French Language Teacher Education
- German Language Teacher Education
- History Teacher Education
- Physics Teacher Education
- Spanish Language Teacher Education
- Speech Teacher Education
- Geography Teacher Education
- Latin Teacher Education
- Psychology Teacher Education
- Earth Science Teacher Education
- Environmental Education
- Communication Arts and Literature Teacher Education
- Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor
- Teaching French as a Second or Foreign Language
- Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language, Other
Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Education at the Major step.
Where many students take education
- Western Governors UniversitySalt Lake City, UT · 19% of degrees · 155,088 undergraduates
- Grand Canyon UniversityPhoenix, AZ · 11% of degrees · 73,371 undergraduates
- Liberty UniversityLynchburg, VA · 8% of degrees · 50,012 undergraduates
- Illinois State UniversityNormal, IL · 18% of degrees · 19,057 undergraduates
- Arizona State University Campus ImmersionTempe, AZ · 5% of degrees · 64,674 undergraduates
- University of Nevada-Las VegasLas Vegas, NV · 11% of degrees · 24,622 undergraduates
Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.
English & Literature
- English Language and Literature, General
Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose English & Literature at the Major step.
Where many students take english & literature
- Southern New Hampshire UniversityManchester, NH · 2% of degrees · 163,164 undergraduates
- Arizona State University Digital ImmersionScottsdale, AZ · 3% of degrees · 53,782 undergraduates
- University of Central FloridaOrlando, FL · 2% of degrees · 59,146 undergraduates
- Liberty UniversityLynchburg, VA · 2% of degrees · 50,012 undergraduates
- University of California-Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA · 3% of degrees · 33,475 undergraduates
- California State University-Long BeachLong Beach, CA · 3% of degrees · 35,924 undergraduates
Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.
History
- History, General
- American History (United States)
Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose History at the Major step.
Where many students take history
- Southern New Hampshire UniversityManchester, NH · 1% of degrees · 163,164 undergraduates
- Liberty UniversityLynchburg, VA · 2% of degrees · 50,012 undergraduates
- Grand Canyon UniversityPhoenix, AZ · 1% of degrees · 73,371 undergraduates
- Arizona State University Digital ImmersionScottsdale, AZ · 2% of degrees · 53,782 undergraduates
- University of California-Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA · 2% of degrees · 33,475 undergraduates
- University of California-Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, CA · 3% of degrees · 23,113 undergraduates
Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.
Mathematics & Statistics
- Mathematics, General
Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Mathematics & Statistics at the Major step.
Where many students take mathematics & statistics
- University of California-Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA · 7% of degrees · 33,475 undergraduates
- University of California-Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, CA · 10% of degrees · 23,113 undergraduates
- University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignChampaign, IL · 5% of degrees · 36,258 undergraduates
- The University of Texas at AustinAustin, TX · 4% of degrees · 42,855 undergraduates
- University of California-BerkeleyBerkeley, CA · 4% of degrees · 33,068 undergraduates
- University of California-DavisDavis, CA · 4% of degrees · 32,253 undergraduates
Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.
Physics & Chemistry
- Physical Sciences, General
- Chemistry, General
- Physics, General
Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Physics & Chemistry at the Major step.
Where many students take physics & chemistry
- University of California-BerkeleyBerkeley, CA · 3% of degrees · 33,068 undergraduates
- Pennsylvania State University-Main CampusUniversity Park, PA · 2% of degrees · 42,284 undergraduates
- University of FloridaGainesville, FL · 3% of degrees · 35,629 undergraduates
- The University of Texas at AustinAustin, TX · 2% of degrees · 42,855 undergraduates
- University of Washington-Seattle CampusSeattle, WA · 3% of degrees · 31,942 undergraduates
- Texas A&M University-College StationCollege Station, TX · 2% of degrees · 59,615 undergraduates
Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.
Foreign Languages
- Foreign Languages and Literatures, General
- East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General
- Chinese Language and Literature
- Japanese Language and Literature
- Korean Language and Literature
- East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, Other
- Russian Language and Literature
- Germanic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General
19 more programmes
- German Language and Literature
- Germanic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, Other
- Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General
- French Language and Literature
- Italian Language and Literature
- Spanish Language and Literature
- Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, Other
- American Indian/Native American Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
- Arabic Language and Literature
- Hebrew Language and Literature
- Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General
- Ancient/Classical Greek Language and Literature
- Latin Language and Literature
- Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, Other
- Hawaiian Language and Literature
- Southeast Asian and Australasian/Pacific Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, Other
- American Sign Language (ASL)
- Linguistics of ASL and Other Sign Languages
- Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, Other
Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Foreign Languages at the Major step.
Where many students take foreign languages
- The University of Texas at AustinAustin, TX · 4% of degrees · 42,855 undergraduates
- Brigham Young UniversityProvo, UT · 3% of degrees · 32,952 undergraduates
- Boise State UniversityBoise, ID · 5% of degrees · 17,674 undergraduates
- University of Wisconsin-MadisonMadison, WI · 2% of degrees · 36,902 undergraduates
- University of ArizonaTucson, AZ · 2% of degrees · 42,537 undergraduates
- University of California-Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA · 2% of degrees · 33,475 undergraduates
Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.
Other fields
Our college matcher doesn't offer these fields as a major, so we can't suggest colleges for them here.
Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences
- Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
- Biological and Physical Sciences
- Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature
- Earth Systems Science
- Environmental Geosciences
- History and Language/Literature
Related careers
Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.
- Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$64,370 median · -0.4% projected
- Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education
$63,970 median · -0.4% projected
- Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors
$61,540 median · -13.9% projected
- Special Education Teachers, Secondary School
$74,260 median · -0.2% projected
- Special Education Teachers, Elementary School
$65,120 median · -0.4% projected
- Special Education Teachers, Middle School
$66,810 median · -0.4% projected
Sources
This page includes information from the 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. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0
Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk