Educational Instruction and Library
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
Teach one or more subjects to students at the secondary school level.
MAY 2025 · OCCUPATIONAL WAGES
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
Source wage group: Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Median annual wage$72,040USD per year · Published 50th percentile
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $48,780 | Not published |
| 25th | $59,980 | Not published |
| 50th · Median | $72,040 | Not published |
| 75th | $92,570 | Not published |
| 90th | $107,600 | Not published |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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Compare 51 state/DC wage marketsTHE WORK BEHIND THE TITLE
What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
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Typical 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.
Expand more tasks (26)
- 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.
- Plan and conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.
- Guide and counsel students with adjustments, academic problems, or special academic interests.
- Use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations.
- Prepare objectives and outlines for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or requirements of states and schools.
- Assign and grade class work and homework.
- Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
- Enforce all administration policies and rules governing students.
- Confer with parents or guardians, other teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students' behavioral and academic problems.
- Confer with other staff members to plan and schedule lessons promoting learning, following approved curricula.
- Prepare and implement remedial programs for students requiring extra help.
- Provide students with disabilities with assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities such as restrooms.
- Meet with other professionals to discuss individual students' needs and progress.
- Meet with parents and guardians to discuss their children's progress and to determine priorities for their children and their resource needs.
- Prepare reports on students and activities as required by administration.
- Instruct and monitor students in the use of equipment and materials to prevent injuries and damage.
- Collaborate with other teachers and administrators in the development, evaluation, and revision of secondary school programs.
- Prepare for assigned classes, and show written evidence of preparation upon request of immediate supervisors.
- Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, and teacher training workshops to maintain and improve professional competence.
- Plan and supervise class projects, field trips, visits by guest speakers, or other experiential activities, and guide students in learning from those activities.
- Attend staff meetings and serve on committees, as required.
- Sponsor extracurricular activities, such as clubs, student organizations, and academic contests.
- Administer standardized ability and achievement tests, and interpret results to determine students' strengths and needs.
- Select, store, order, issue, and inventory classroom equipment, materials, and supplies.
- Perform administrative duties, such as school library assistance, hall and cafeteria monitoring, and bus loading and unloading.
Skills used in this work
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Expand more skills (29)
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
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