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Education and Training | Physical Education Teacher

Physical Education Teacher

What Does a Professional in this Career Do?

A Physical Education Teacher works with elementary and secondary school students on physical education and athletic training. A PE teacher should have knowledge of sports, anatomy and handling common injuries. Sports taught include football, basketball, baseball, soccer, gymnastics, track & field, and aerobics.

Job Outlook

There were 754 Physical Education Teacher job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 12412 in the United States.

In combination with other careers in the Physical Education Teacher industry, which includes the Physical Education Teacher career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:

Salary

Many new Physical Education Teacher jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.

National

The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $55,884.

State

The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $53,488.

Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Physical Education Teacher postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $50,184.

Education and Experience

Posted Physical Education Teacher jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.

Education LevelPercentage
Associate's Degree2.67%
Bachelor's Degree48.45%
Master's Degree14.1%
Doctoral Degree1.81%
Other12.7%

Posted Physical Education Teacher jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.

Years of ExperiencePercentage
0 to 2 years73.18%
3 to 5 years21.04%
6 to 8 years1.69%
9+ years4.09%

Skills

Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Physical Education Teacher positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.

Baseline Skills

A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.

  • Teaching (54.79%)
  • Communication (35.3%)
  • Planning (19.26%)
  • Interpersonal Communications (13.79%)
  • Writing (12.98%)
  • Management (10%)
  • Problem Solving (9.61%)
  • Parent Communication (9.48%)
  • Progress Reporting (9.14%)
  • Leadership (8.77%)

Defining Skills

A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.

  • Lesson Planning (28.68%)
  • Physical Education (92.3%)

Necessary Skills

A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.

  • Special Education (9.28%)
  • Classroom Management (13.4%)
  • Learning Styles (9.68%)
  • Individualized Education Programs (IEP) (9.67%)
  • Differentiated Instruction (9.06%)
  • Curriculum Development (11.31%)

Distinguishing Skills

A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.

  • Adapted Physical Education (4.82%)

Salary Boosting Skills

A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.

  • Adapted Physical Education (100%)

Alternative Job Titles

Sometimes employers post jobs with Physical Education Teacher skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:

  • Physical Education/Health Teacher
  • High School Physical Education Teacher
  • Elementary Physical Education Teacher
  • Middle School Physical Education Teacher
  • Adaptive Physical Education Teacher
  • Elementary Teacher
  • Middle School Teacher
  • Physical Education Instructor
  • Long Term Substitute Special Education Teacher

Similar Occupations

If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.

Common Employers

Here are the employers that have posted the most Physical Education Teacher jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.

United States

  • Clark County School District (253)
  • IDEA Public Schools (77)
  • Chicago Public Schools (75)
  • Sargent Rehabilitation Center (74)
  • Boston Public Schools (73)
  • Euro School Of Tennis (69)
  • Stride K12 (67)
  • Calex Sports (63)
  • Pasco County Schools (54)
  • Cabarrus County Schools (51)

North Carolina

  • Cabarrus County Schools (66)
  • Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (36)
  • Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools (36)
  • Union County Public Schools (33)
  • Wake County Public Schools (25)
  • Sargent Rehabilitation Center (17)
  • Rowan-Salisbury Schools (16)
  • Pender County Schools (15)
  • Durham Public Schools (14)
  • Cumberland County Schools (14)

NC State Programs Relevant to this Career

If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!