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High School Teachers Job Overview

High school teachers teach students in ninth through twelfth grades, who are usually between 14 and 18 years old. They teach subjects such as English, history, math, science and foreign languages. They are also in charge of managing their classrooms, and they develop lesson plans to teach subjects according to the school or district curriculum. They establish classroom rules so the classroom is a place where students can comfortably work and learn. They often also supervise activities of student clubs and organizations. They participate in faculty meetings and discuss school and class issues with school administrators.

High school teachers take care of the daily tasks involved in running a classroom. They take attendance to check which students are present in school. They also assign homework so their students can practice lessons at home. They keep track of scores by recording them in a grade book and then analyze the scores to create progress reports and report cards. High school teachers may provide advice to students with behavioral or academic problems and meet with students, parents and administrators to try and resolve these problems.

High School Teachers Schools and Degrees

High school teachers should at least hold a bachelor’s degree. They should complete an approved teacher training program, a student teacher internship, pass a state licensing exam and have excellent interpersonal and communication skills. They may also need to take additional courses in education. Private schools may have different standards for their teachers.

Job Requirements

High school teachers should have a high level of job-related social interaction with students, including speaking with them in and out of the classroom setting. They are often placed in conflict situations where students and parents may become angry or unpleasant. They should be responsible for the health and safety of students, work as part of a team and be responsible for work done by others.

Nature of Work

High school teacher teach using methods such as lecture and demonstrations. They usually work indoors but may work outdoors to teach physical education or sports. They may occasionally be exposed to noise levels that are distracting. They must ensure all work is done accurately as errors could cause students to receive incorrect grades and must meet strict daily and weekly deadlines. They work regular school hours and might have to work overtime to complete grades.

High School Teachers Jobs and Outlook

According to research in 2006, high school teachers held about 1,133,000 jobs in the US. Employment is the highest in the following industries:

• Elementary and Secondary Schools
• Employment Services
• Educational Support Services
• Other Schools and Instruction
• Other Residential Care Facilities

The mean annual wage for high school teachers in the US is about $52,450.

Job Numbers and Growth

About 1,038,000 high school teachers can be found working in the US. A very low unemployment level has been the case recently. Employees without jobs were about 2%.

Area Job Conditions

Finding employees is easiest in Kankakee (Illinois), Vallejo (California), and Sandusky (Ohio), and by comparison more challenging in Springfield (Illinois), Mobile (Alabama), and Redding (California).

The pay is best in Nassau (New York), Yuba City (California), and Chicago (Illinois) and worst in St. Joseph (Missouri), Sioux Falls (South Dakota), and Fayetteville (North Carolina).

Training and Education

You'll generally want a bachelor's degree for this career path. Of current employees, 96% graduated from college with degrees. Some 4% of high school teachers attened college but did not go on to get a bachelor's degree. A high school education was sufficient for 1% of workers. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which if any could help you with this career.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

High school teachers working part-time accounted for 8% of those employed in 2008.

High School Teachers by Metropolitan Area (city and its surroundings)

In the table below, a Job Density near 0% means the area has an average number of people in this occupation, for its population. A higher or lower Job Density (e.g., +22% or -45%) tells you there are that many more or fewer workers of that type there than in the average US metro area. So, the higher the number, the more common the occupation.