Teaching is one of the most satisfying things that someone can do. The feeling of seeing a student finally grasp a difficult concept is almost indescribable. Most of us are familiar with this feeling through our time with young family members or with friends. Teachers, however, are able to experience this feeling on a daily basis. Teaching at a high school level can be especially satisfying, since you’re directly overseeing the development of a student at one of the most vital stages of their lives. I’m sure you’ve heard at least one story in your life about someone who decides to join a certain profession because they had a really good teacher in a certain subject. Tech revolutionary Steve Jobs credits one of his middle school teachers for allowing him to obtain his full potential.
On paper, being a high school teacher seems really great. You get to teach others about a subject that you’re passionate about, and the age of your students means that you typically don’t have to worry about behavior like you would if you were teaching elementary aged kids. However, a lot of people say that teachers are paid poorly. You can just turn on the news and see that there’s a nationwide sentiment that teachers at every level should be paid more than they actually are. Is there any truth to that thought? Are high school teachers paid well? In this article, I intend to answer that question among a few others. I’ll go over the average salary for high school teachers, and how that figure can vary based upon things like experience and location. I’ll also talk about what someone needs to do if they want to become a teacher.
High School Teachers Average Salary in 2018 – $57,200
As far as experience goes, just about every occupation values experience. Teaching isn’t really about adapting to new knowledge. While a software engineer may need to adapt with changing technologies, all that a high school teacher needs to really do is adapt to changing curriculum. When a high school pays a teacher more due to experience, they’re ultimately paying for intangibles. A more experienced teacher is typically more comfortable leading a classroom. They’re more flexible when it comes to curriculum. They’re better with kids. If you’ve ever had a much younger teacher, I think that you know what I mean when I say that the general feeling in the classroom is just different. A high school teacher’s salary can increase with experience. Someone with over 20 years of experience in teaching can make up to $20,000 more than someone with entry level experience.
How to become a high school teacher – Do you need to go to school?
If you like what you read above about the pay of a high school teacher, then you may be interested in seriously pursuing a career in teaching. If that’s the case, then there are a few things that you need to do first. The first thing that you need to do is decide what you want to teach. This is obviously a serious decision, so you need to take it very seriously. Don’t just go with what you like the most, or what you think could make you the most money. You could potentially spend the rest of your life teaching this material, so it’s important that you choose something good. From there, you need to study. Traditionally, someone looking to be a teacher will major in their desired subject and then minor in education. So, if you want to be a biology teacher then you major in biology and minor in education.
Once you have those degrees under your belt, you’re ready to acquire some experience. Usually, schools won’t let you just walk in and teach with nothing but a degree. You need hands-on experience in the classroom in order for someone to know that you’re qualified to work there. Some colleges will arrange things so that you obtain this experience as a form of experiential education. (You may be specifically assigned to a school in order to assist the teacher there, and you may even be graded for it.) If not, then you will need to independently pursue internships in your area. Find teachers who are looking for helpers in some capacity. If you can’t do that, then you may want to consider tutoring. Tutoring is basically just teaching, but it’s on a much smaller scale. This may be one of the most difficult times in your career as a high school teacher, but it will eventually pass.