Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School vs Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education: Similar Median Pay, Different Work

Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School vs Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education: what changes?

Consider Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School if you want to teach occupational, vocational, career, or technical subjects to students at the secondary school level. 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. Prior experience in a related occupation is typically needed for Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School (less than 5 years).

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School 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

Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School

National median pay (2025): $66,270
Route into the job: Bachelor's degree; Prior related experience: less than 5 years
Prior related experience: Prior related experience: less than 5 years.
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: Instruct students individually and in groups, using various teaching methods, such as lectures, discussions, and demonstrations.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 6,400

Know before you choose

BLS lists less than 5 years of related experience. This is normally reached through feeder roles, not directly from school.

See the full Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School 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 6,400 annual openings for Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School.

Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School has the edge on median pay

Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School is at $66,270, compared with $64,370 for Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education.

44.8/ 100

Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School

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

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

Dimension	Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School	Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
Median pay (2025)	$66,270	$64,370
Pay percentile	58.2 percentile	55.8 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	-0.4%	-0.4%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	6,400	38,800
2025 employment	110,500	630,100
How you qualify	Bachelor's degree; Prior related experience: less than 5 years	Bachelor's degree
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 4	Job Zone 4
Related work experience	Prior related experience: less than 5 years.	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 Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School brief Read Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education brief

Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School vs Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School

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

Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School has the edge on median pay

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

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