Job description
Middle school teachers provide schooling in their chosen subject to children during their first years of high school (sixth, seventh and eighth grade). By training in their chosen subject, they offer specialised teaching by following a school’s curriculum to help their students learn the syllabus and pass their end-of-year exams.
Duties
- Follow the school syllabus and create lessons plans
- Teach the lessons they’ve planned for their entire year
- Evaluate students’ strengths and weaknesses
- Create tests and grade students’ results
- Communicate with parents about students’ progression
- Create a safe and collaborative teaching environment
- Devise classroom rules and discipline standards
- Supervise students during breaks and school trips
Skills and qualities
Job outlook
Projected growth
3%
New jobs
21.4k
Automation risk
17%
Career progression
Many experienced middle school teachers can progress to a lead teacher position, helping less experienced teachers improve and gain new skills.
You could also become an assistant principal or principal, or move into higher education by gaining a master’s degree and additional qualifications.
Working conditions
Average hours
40h/ week
Typical schedule
Full Time
Some nights and weekends
Middle school teachers work in private or public schools at middle level, after junior school and before senior high school or college.
As a teacher, you will usually be expected to arrive to class before your students and occasionally stay after hours for parent-teacher meetings and seminars.
Although there are set hours, you will spend a lot of your evening marking papers and preparing for your upcoming classes. You may also have to deal with student disputes and bullying which can take an emotional toll on many middle school teachers.
Salary
Bottom 10%
$39k
Median
$59k
Top 10%
$93k
Annual salary estimates are based on percentile wage data collected through the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey of US workers.
Qualifications and training
Education level
Undergraduate
Bachelor’s degree in chosen content area
Study time
4 years
To become a middle school teacher, you must complete a bachelor’s degree in your chosen subject of teaching at an accredited university.
Thereafter, you’ll need to complete a student-teaching programme and obtain your state-issued certification or licence. Once you’ve gained your teaching licence, you can begin teaching under the supervision of an experienced teacher.
Last Updated: Wednesday, November 2, 2022
