Career Trends: Middle School Teachers

Middle school teachers educate students, typically in sixth through eighth grades. Middle school teachers help students build on the fundamentals they learned in elementary school and prepare them for the more difficult curriculum they will face in high school.

Middle school teachers work in public and private schools. They generally work school hours when students are present, and use nights and weekends to prepare lessons and grade papers. Most do not work during the summer.

Middle school teachers must have at least a bachelor’s degree. In addition, public school teachers must have a state-issued certification or license.

Employment of middle school teachers is projected to grow 6 percent from 2014 to 2024, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Growth is projected because of expected increases in enrollment. However, employment growth will vary by region.

This occupation supported 614,400 jobs in 2012 and 627,500 jobs in 2014, reflecting an increase of 2.1%. In 2012, this occupation was projected to increase by 12.4% in 2022 to 690,400 jobs. As of 2014, to keep pace with prediction, the expected number of jobs was 629,600, compared with an observed value of 627,500, 0.3% 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 6.0% in 2024 to 664,200 jobs. Linear extrapolation of the 2012 projection for 2022 results in an expected number of 705,600 jobs for 2024, 6.2% higher than the 2014 projection for 2024. This indicates expectations for future employment trends are much worse than the 2012 trend within this occupation.