Home › Careers › Middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education

Middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education: pay, training and the programs that lead there

Education · SOC 25-2022

$64,370US median pay, 2025
-0.4%Projected growth, 2025–35
38,800Openings per year
DegreeUsual way in

How you get in

A degree is the usual way in.

  1. Bachelor's degree
  2. Work in: middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education

Programs that lead to this job

These are the federal program codes (CIP) that the Department of Education maps to this occupation, and how many US colleges, community colleges or trade schools report awarding credentials in each.

ProgramCodeSchools
Music Teacher EducationCIP 13.1312467
Physical Education Teaching and CoachingCIP 13.1314433
English/Language Arts Teacher EducationCIP 13.1305371
Mathematics Teacher EducationCIP 13.1311367
Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language InstructorCIP 13.1401331
Reading Teacher EducationCIP 13.1315299
Junior High/Intermediate/Middle School Education and TeachingCIP 13.1203279
Teacher Education, Multiple LevelsCIP 13.1206258
Art Teacher EducationCIP 13.1302245
Social Studies Teacher EducationCIP 13.1318212
Science Teacher Education/General Science Teacher EducationCIP 13.1316179
Biology Teacher EducationCIP 13.1322156
History Teacher EducationCIP 13.1328121
Spanish Language Teacher EducationCIP 13.133099
Health Teacher EducationCIP 13.130777
Social Science Teacher EducationCIP 13.131774
Bilingual and Multilingual EducationCIP 13.020173
Chemistry Teacher EducationCIP 13.132373
Foreign Language Teacher EducationCIP 13.130658
Drama and Dance Teacher EducationCIP 13.132444
Technology Teacher Education/Industrial Arts Teacher EducationCIP 13.130941
Family and Consumer Sciences/Home Economics Teacher EducationCIP 13.130836
Earth Science Teacher EducationCIP 13.133724
French Language Teacher EducationCIP 13.132522
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Educational MethodsCIP 13.121321

…and 15 more related programs.

See the 1,270 schools that offer these programs →

Common questions

How long does the training take?
Typically about four years for the degree. That is the usual route rather than a rule — people arrive by other paths all the time.
How much do middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education make?
The US median is $64,370 a year, meaning half earn more and half less. Pay varies widely by state, employer and experience.
Do you need a degree for this work?
Yes — a degree is the usual way in.
Where can you train for this work?
1,270 US colleges, community colleges and trade schools award credentials in a matching program. See which ones →

Pay and growth are national figures. What you earn depends on where you work, your employer and your experience, and these are projections rather than promises. Education requirements describe how most people enter the job, not a rule — plenty of people take another route.

Pay, growth, openings and entry requirements: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Program-to-occupation mapping: NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk (2020/2018). School counts: IPEDS completions, 2022–23.

Related careers in Education

Elementary school teachers, except special education · Preschool teachers, except special education · Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education · Self-enrichment teachers · Teaching assistants, postsecondary · Instructional coordinators · Teachers and instructors, all other · Educational instruction and library workers, all other