Career Trends: High School Teachers

High school teachers help prepare students for life after graduation. They teach academic lessons and various skills that students will need to attend college and to enter the job market.

High school teachers work in either public or private schools. Generally, they work during school hours, but most also work evenings and weekends to prepare lessons and grade papers. However, most do not teach during the summer.

High school teachers must have a bachelor’s degree. In addition, public school teachers must have a state-issued certification or license, which may require an academic background in the subject(s) they will be certified to teach.

Employment of high school teachers is projected to grow 6 percent from 2014 to 2024, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Overall growth is expected to be affected by larger class sizes and enrollment rate. Employment growth will vary by region.

This occupation supported 955,800 jobs in 2012 and 961,600 jobs in 2014, reflecting an increase of 0.6%. In 2012, this occupation was projected to increase by 5.5% in 2022 to 1,008,700 jobs. As of 2014, to keep pace with prediction, the expected number of jobs was 966,300, compared with an observed value of 961,600, 0.5% lower than expected. This indicates current employment trends are about on track with the 2012 trend within this occupation. In 2014, this occupation was projected to increase by 5.8% in 2024 to 1,017,500 jobs. Linear extrapolation of the 2012 projection for 2022 results in an expected number of 1,019,200 jobs for 2024, 0.2% higher than the 2014 projection for 2024. This indicates expectations for future employment trends are about on track with the 2012 trend within this occupation.