Science Teacher
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Science Teacher teaches in the natural science fields for elementary to secondary school students. Most science courses taught prior to high school are general, with specialization occurring later in high school. Teachers may teach specialized courses in physics, biology or chemistry. Other topics taught include physical science, computer science, astronomy, and geology.
Job Outlook
There were 1816 Science Teacher job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 35231 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Science Teacher industry, which includes the Science Teacher career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Science 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 $66,021.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $61,881.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Science Teacher postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $59,234.
Education and Experience
Posted Science 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 Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 52.71% |
| Master's Degree | 29.86% |
| Doctoral Degree | 8.27% |
| Other | 8.98% |
Posted Science 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 Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 60.49% |
| 3 to 5 years | 32.71% |
| 6 to 8 years | 3.24% |
| 9+ years | 3.57% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Science 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 (65.01%)
- Communication (37.69%)
- Mathematics (18.25%)
- Planning (17.23%)
- Writing (15.02%)
- Interpersonal Communications (13.43%)
- Research (10.88%)
- Problem Solving (10.31%)
- Leadership (9.58%)
- Management (9.44%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Science Education (41.48%)
- Chemistry (19.67%)
- Biology (22.92%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Instructional Strategies (8.67%)
- Educational Assessment (9.26%)
- Special Education (8.56%)
- Individualized Education Programs (IEP) (8.46%)
- Classroom Management (15.35%)
- Differentiated Instruction (10.08%)
- Computer Science (8.51%)
- Curriculum Development (16.96%)
- Lesson Planning (27.66%)
- Learning Styles (12.11%)
- Physics (15.13%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Family And Consumer Sciences (3.61%)
- General Science (4.05%)
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.
- Family And Consumer Sciences (100%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Science Teacher skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- High School Science Teacher
- Computer Science Teacher
- Biology Teacher
- Secondary Science Teacher
- Family and Consumer Science Teacher
- Chemistry Teacher
- 8th Grade Science Teacher
- High School Biology Teacher
- Mathematics and Science 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.
- Middle / High School Teacher (Other)
- Elementary School Teacher
- English / Language Arts Teacher
- Vocational Education Instructor
- History / Social Studies Teacher
- College Professor (Other)
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Science Teacher jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Stride K12 (380)
- Clark County School District (352)
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (250)
- Fusion Academy (249)
- Chicago Public Schools (228)
- Fusion (227)
- Charter Schools USA (143)
- IDEA Public Schools (142)
- Kern Community College District (139)
- Harmony Public Schools (139)
North Carolina
- Wake County Public Schools (94)
- Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools (75)
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (52)
- Union County Public Schools (46)
- Cumberland County Schools (43)
- Durham Public Schools (36)
- Johnston County Public Schools (31)
- Harnett County Schools (27)
- Forsyth Technical Community College (22)
- Hoke County Schools (21)
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!
- Biology for Educators Graduate Certificates
- NC Teach@NC State Teacher Licensure
- Plant Pests, Pathogens and People Undergraduate Certificates
- Science – Secondary Education Master's Degrees
- STEM Education – Engineering and Technology Master's Degrees
- STEM Education – Science Master's Degrees
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.