Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors vs Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education: $62K vs $64K Median Pay

Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors vs Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education: what changes?

Consider Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors if you want to teach or instruct out-of-school youths and adults in basic education, literacy, or English as a Second Language classes, or in classes for earning a high school equivalency credential. Consider Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education if you would rather teach one or more subjects to students at the middle, intermediate, or junior high school level. Both list bachelor's degree; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors and Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors

National median pay (2025): $61,540
Route into the job: Bachelor's degree
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate: Observe and evaluate students' work to determine progress and make suggestions for improvement.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 3,800

Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 13.9% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors brief

Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

National median pay (2025): $64,370
Route into the job: Bachelor's degree
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate: Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 38,800

Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 0.4% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education brief

How the national numbers differ

Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education has the edge on annual openings

Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education is at 38,800 annual openings, compared with 3,800 annual openings for Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors.

Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education has the edge on projected growth

Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education is at -0.4% projected growth, compared with -13.9% projected growth for Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors.

Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education has the edge on median pay

Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education is at $64,370, compared with $61,540 for Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors.

33.9/ 100

Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors

52.7/ 100

Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors vs Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

Dimension	Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors	Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
Median pay (2025)	$61,540	$64,370
Pay percentile	50.2 percentile	55.8 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	-13.9%	-0.4%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	3,800	38,800
2025 employment	41,100	630,100
How you qualify	Bachelor's degree	Bachelor's degree
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 4	Job Zone 4
Related work experience	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job training	BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.	BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors brief Read Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education brief

Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors vs Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors

Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

How the national numbers differ

Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education has the edge on annual openings

Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education has the edge on projected growth

Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education has the edge on median pay

Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors vs Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

Try another comparison

Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors vs Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education

Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors vs Elementary School Teacher

Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education vs Elementary School Teacher

Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education vs Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education