Secondary Education Degrees And Jobs

Job Popularity in Metro Areas for Secondary School Teachers

The map below shows some metro areas where the profession is more popular, compared to the size of the population, than in the rest of the country. A table below the map shows job popularity and salaries across the US.

(Also see our complete career descriptions list.)

Metro Areas Rated for Popularity (as of 2007) for:
Secondary School Teachers

Listed below are metro areas ranked by the popularity of jobs for Secondary School Teachers relative to the population of the city, as of 2007.

Clicking on each city's name takes you to a detailed career profile for that city, providing the number of jobs, salaries, amount of training required, and more, for hundreds of job types.

Career Stories for Secondary School Teachers

The inside stories from people actually working in the field.
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• High School History Teacher

  Job Title: High School History Teacher

  Education: Master in Education

  Previous Experience: I have been a teacher for 28 years, it was my first career

  Job Tasks: I teach World History to 9th and 10th grade students. I typically start my day before 5:00 AM when I do my planning for the day. I then spend the next seven hours in direct contact with students: passing on information, consoling, boosting. After school, I spend about another 1 1/2 hours working with students before going home to work on long range lessons.

  Despite the long hours, the job is very rewarding. Every day is different, because the students are always changing. Most of my students are 14 to 16 years old and a lot of things are going on in their lives. Everything affects what they do, and can do, in a major way. Any thing that is planned must be planned with alternative methods of presentation. I can't count the number of times that it has been necessary to total trash a planned activity based on the students demeanor on the day it was scheduled.

  On top of this, it is necessary in the field of education, as in many others, to remain current in the pedagogy. This means spending time in continuing education of some sort of curriculum development programs. This part really should not be a problem, because if you are passionate about the career, you will want to make sure that you stay on top of things, both in education and in content area.

  Best and Worst Parts of the Job: The best part is the teaching, it is a real kick to be in fromt of (or beside) a student when they finally "get it." The worst part is the paperwork. The tracking of student achievement has become more of a challenge as we get further into "No Child Left Behind".

  Job Tips: Tip 1 - you have to be passionate about your content and strive to continue to learn more each day in your content area

  Tip 2 - you have to be passionate about teaching and working with kids

  Tip 3 - remember that the final results of your efforts may not be fully realized until many years after you make the effort

• High School Latin Teacher

  Job Title: High School Latin Teacher

  Education: BA in Latin, College of William and Mary

  Previous Experience: I worked as a research assistant at the Center for Gifted Education at the College of William and Mary and deceloped curriculum designed for gifted students, as well as observing classrooms in three different school districts.

  Job Tasks: As a teacher, the smallest portion of my day is actually spent teaching. I usually arrive at work an hour in advance of the first school bell to finish copying any worksheets for my classes, and to finish cutting out manipulatives or drawing up review games for the students.

  When my classes begin, so does the most enjoyable part of the day, when I have the opportunity to interact with my students. This can also be the most stressful as I have usually spent many hours developing the lesson plans I use, so if a lesson bombs, it can be very stressful. However, every period and every student is a little like a puzzle piece, trying to figure out how to fit in and include each student's interests and learning style into the greater whole of the lesson.

  During my planning period and down-time, I spend my time planning my lessons and how I intend to teach my subject, as well as calling and e-mailing parents. I also use this time to tutor students who come in during their activity and lunch periods as well as finishing up paperwork.

  After school, I generally stay for at least two hours after the students go home to finish grading, entering the grades, and organizing the classroom materials for the next day. At least two days a week, I stay a little longer to allow students to come afterschool for tutoring or Classics Club, an after-school club I sponsor.

  I try to make sure that I don't bring any grading home, but on big test days, it is inevitable.

  Best and Worst Parts of the Job: The best is knowing that you've gotten through to a student and seen that "aha moment" where the light suddenly switches on. I love that I get to socialize with other people on a daily basis and earn money for doing so. The unfortunate part is that it takes a tremendous amount of energy and work on a daily basis to be a teacher, and particularly to be an effective one.

  Job Tips:
  1. My first tip would be to be passionate about your subject. Students have a hard time feeling passionate about anything if their role model is not.

  2. Secondly, make sure that you enjoy spending time around large groups of people who are either younger or less experienced than yourself. You have to have a very patient personality to deal with all of the things that are thrown at you in a classroom.

  3. Lastly, you have to develop a very thick skin and learn not to take everything personally. This can be very hard when you've invested so much of your personal energy into what you do, but its important to make sure that you have a life outside of school that you value, and remember that whenever you feel overwhelmed.

• High School Math Teacher

  Job Title: High School Math Teacher

  Education: BA in Criminology/Criminal Justice, Purdue University •• License to Teach Secondary Math, Purdue University

  Previous Experience: I coached Track and Field at West Lafayette High School in Indiana. I was a camp counselor while in college.

  Job Tasks: I teach Geometry, and Probability & Statistics at a high school in Virginia, outside of Washington, DC. I am a public school teacher, teaching for one of the largest school districts in the country. We have block scheduling so I typically have to write one lesson plan per day. In the past I have had to write out at least 2 and at times 3 a day. This easier load has helped out my time management, because with about a 140 students, it is always a balancing act trying to get all of the grading and planning coordinated. We also are expected to write up attendance referals, and other administrative things like parent e-mails and grade reports. On average this takes anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours a day.

  The typical day involves caring out lesson plans with each class that is meeting that day taking attendance, assessesing student achievement, and being patient with 20-30 teenagers at one time for about a 90 minute block. We often have a opening activity or a few problems to start, then we check the last homework, answer questions followed by a brief lesson. Then students are challenged to get started on the days assignment. The interaction with the kids and seeing them engage and learn is the best part of the job. With block scheduling you only consistently see all your students on a two day cycle. I also usually make myself available after school for an hour for students who may need extra help to understand a current concept being taught, making up homework, making up tests and quizzes. About twice a week I have some administrative meetings with either other teachers or on occasion parents and counselors regarding student's performance.

  Best and Worst Parts of the Job: As mentioned before interacting with the kids is the best part of the job. When you can actually see students start understanding math concepts, that is really exciting. I also enjoy challenging my students to grow up, and really take responsibility for their own academic growth.

  The worse part is when students don't take responsibility for their development, and when they struggle, it becomes the teacher's fault. It also can be difficult when as the teacher you deal with parents who think it is your fault their child is getting a lower grade they are use to. And at times a group of students struggle and if your adminstrator blames you, it can be difficult.

  Job Tips:
  1. Only pursue a teaching career if you really love interacting with children.

  2. Before you decide to teach, be sure to closely observe the age group you want to teach in the school enviroment. As a coach and camp counselor, I found that youth interacted with me very differently than as their math teacher.

  3. Once you get your degree and teaching license, be selective in finding the right school and if you get discouraged to the point of giving up, be sure to rethink your school before you totally rethink the career choice.

• High School Science Teacher

  Job Title: High School Science Teacher

  Education: BS in Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise, Virginia Tech •• BA in Chemistry, Virginia Tech •• MA Ed. in Education - Curriculum and Instruction, Virginia Tech

  Previous Experience: I taught for two year at a smaller school elsewhere in the state.

  Job Tasks: I currently teach both seventh and eighth grade science at a large secondary school. In seventh grade science, students learn basic life science. A college biology major would be a good candidate for this subject area and grade level. Eighth grade science students study physical science and either a chemistry or physics major would be preferable.

  A middle school teacher’s responsibilities include teaching five sections of class, with two planning periods. Our school is on block scheduling, so each teacher has approximately two 90-minute classes and a 45-minute class a day. School begins at 7:20 and runs until 2:05. Teachers are expected at hall duty once a day to monitor students between classes. During planning period, meetings with other teacher, counselors, school physiologists, students, or parents are often scheduled. This generally means that teachers often have to plan many of their lessons at home and often spend a lot of time at home grading papers as well. One of the other big expectations of a teacher is to keep both students and parents informed of student progress in class. This included e-mailing and/or calling home when grade updates are available.

  During a typical school year, which runs from early September through mid-June, a teacher will come across various other tasks that will be expected of them. These could range from back to school nights to coaching opportunities to planning field trips and other events for students. Overall, all job requirements are meant to aid in the education and development of your students and are worthwhile assignments. Choosing a career in teaching will lead to an exciting and fulfilling career.

  Best and Worst Parts of the Job: The best part of this job is working with students everday. At this age group, they are always changing and are full of engery. The worst part of this job is all the meetings and administrative tasks that sometimes overtake a day. In general, the good far outweigh the bad.

  Job Tips: Tip 1: Choose a school where you feel comfortable with the students, teachers, and administration.

  Tip 2: Take as many courses to keep you up to date with the content as possible.

  Tip 3: Sit back and smile at some of the things that the kids do. Rememeber, they are just kids!

Most Popular Industries (as of 2007) for:
Secondary School Teachers

Industries representing at least 1% of total jobs for the occupation.