Occupation salary profile

Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School

SOC 25-2032 BLS OEWS May 2025 H-1B LCAs, last 12 months

Teach occupational, vocational, career, or technical subjects to students at the secondary school level. Excludes “Special Education Teachers” (25-2050), and “Substitute Teachers, Short-Term” (25-3031).

National median · BLS
$66,270
▲ +3.69% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$57,040
▼ -2.35% YoY · 49 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$72,680
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
111,420
Jobs (BLS)
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Enter your pay and a location to see where you stand against BLS and H-1B pay, your estimated take-home pay, and your purchasing power.

Pay range for Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 49 certified Labor Condition Applications filed by sponsoring employers in the last 12 months.

Percentile All U.S. workers (BLS) H-1B sponsored
10th — entry pay$50,040$46,028
25th$60,590$49,906
Median (50th)$66,270$57,040
75th$80,060$68,902
90th — top pay$101,340$90,383
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $57,040 for Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School — 13.9% below the BLS national median of $66,270.

Hourly ⇄ annual pay

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Based on hrs/week × weeks/year = 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School

BLS projects employment of career/technical education teachers, secondary school to decline 0.4% from 2025 to 2035, while employment across all occupations grows 3.5%. About 6,400 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
110,500 → 110,100
-400 jobs
Projected change
-0.4%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
6,400
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
Plus less than 5 years experience
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 4)
Considerable Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Fastest-declining jobs → Best-paying jobs that need a bachelor's degree →

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035 · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook →

H-1B sponsored pay

Pay by H-1B wage level

Employers assign every H-1B filing a Department of Labor prevailing-wage level, from Level I (entry) to Level IV (fully competent). Pay rises steeply with level.

H-1B median $57,040
Change vs prior year -2.35%
After inflation (CPI-U) -5.31%
Wage level LCAs Share P25 Median P75
Level I 28 57.1% $48,792 $55,500 $58,198
Skills & tools

Skills needed for Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School

How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.

Top skills
  • Instructing4.5
  • Active Listening4.1
  • Learning Strategies4.1
  • Reading Comprehension4.1
  • Speaking4.1
  • Critical Thinking4.0
  • Monitoring4.0
  • Social Perceptiveness4.0
  • Writing4.0
  • Active Learning3.9
Top knowledge areas
  • Education and Training4.5
  • English Language4.0
  • Computers and Electronics3.8
  • Customer and Personal Service3.5
  • Public Safety and Security3.3
  • Administration and Management3.3
  • Mathematics3.1
  • Psychology3.1
Software and technology used
Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3DGoogle DocsMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft WordBlackboard LearnCollaborative editing softwareCourse management system softwareDesire2Learn LMS softwareDOC CopEdmodoEdpuzzleEmail softwareImage scanning softwareiParadigms TurnitinKahoot!

Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

About the job

What career/technical education teachers, secondary school do

  • Instruct students individually and in groups, using various teaching methods, such as lectures, discussions, and demonstrations.
  • Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students.
  • Prepare materials and classroom for class activities.
  • Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
  • Instruct students in the knowledge and skills required in a specific occupation or occupational field, using a systematic plan of lectures, discussions, audio-visual presentations, and laboratory, shop, and field studies.
  • Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment and materials to prevent injury and damage.
  • Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects, and communicate those objectives to students.
  • Use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations.
Also called
Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher (FACS Teacher)InstructorTeacherTechnology Education TeacherAgricultural Education TeacherAuto Technology Instructor (Automotive Technology Instructor)Career and Technical Education Teacher (CTE Teacher)Cosmetology TeacherVocational TeacherWelding Instructor
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Agricultural Education InstructorAgriculture Education InstructorAgriculture TeacherAgriscience InstructorAllied Health TeacherAuto Body Repair Teacher (Automotive Body Repair Teacher)Auto Mechanics Instructor (Automotive Mechanics Instructor)Auto Mechanics Teacher (Automotive Mechanics Teacher)Auto Teacher (Automotive Teacher)Automotive InstructorBookkeeping TeacherBuilding Trades TeacherBusiness Education TeacherBusiness Machines TeacherBusiness TeacherBusiness Technology TeacherCareer Education TeacherCareer Technology TeacherCarpentry InstructorCarpentry TeacherCDL Driving Instructor (Commercial Driver's License Driving Instructor)Certified Flight InstructorComputer InstructorComputer Science TeacherComputer TeacherConstruction Technology InstructorConsumer Science TeacherCooking TeacherCosmetology InstructorCulinary Arts InstructorCulinary Arts TeacherDrafting InstructorDrafting TeacherDriver Education InstructorDriving InstructorDry Cleaning TeacherEducation Technology TeacherEducatorElectronics TeacherFACS Teacher (Family and Consumer Science Teacher)Floral Design TeacherHealth Science InstructorHealth Science Technology Education Teacher (HSTE Teacher)High School Auto Repair Teacher (High School Automotive Repair Teacher)High School Business TeacherHigh School Vocational Education TeacherIndustrial Arts TeacherIndustrial Technology TeacherKey Punch TeacherLink Trainer TeacherMachine Shorthand TeacherMarketing Education TeacherMarketing InstructorMarketing TeacherMasonry TeacherMeat Cutting TeacherRadio Repair TeacherSecretarial TeacherShop TeacherShorthand TeacherSkilled Trades TeacherTailoring TeacherTechnical Education TeacherTechnology InstructorTelevision Repair TeacherVocational Auto Body Instructor (Vocational Automotive Body Instructor)Vocational Childcare TeacherVocational Education TeacherVocational TrainerWeaving TeacherWelding TeacherWork Adjustment Instructor

Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.