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Middle School Education & Teaching

A program that prepares individuals to teach students in the middle, intermediate or junior high grades, which may include grades four through nine by regulation.

Types of Degrees Middle School Education & Teaching Majors Are Earning

People majoring in Middle School Education & Teaching can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	40
Associate’s Degree	279
Bachelor’s Degree	1,990
Master’s Degree	661

What Middle School Education & Teaching Majors Need to Know

Programs in Middle School Education & Teaching develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Middle School Education & Teaching graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Middle School Education & Teaching emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Education and Training — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 5.8 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 5.5 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Sociology and Anthropology — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills developed in a Middle School Education & Teaching program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Instructing — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Learning Strategies — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to Middle School Education & Teaching careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Middle School Education & Teaching graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Training and Teaching Others	4.7 / 7
Getting Information	4.5 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.4 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.3 / 7
Coaching and Developing Others	4.3 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.2 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.2 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.2 / 7
Working with Computers	4.1 / 7
Developing Objectives and Strategies	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Middle School Education & Teaching professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Desmos	Analytical or scientific software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Blackboard software	Data base user interface and query software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Padlet	Computer based training software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Google Docs	Word processing software	—
Geogebra	Analytical or scientific software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Middle School Education & Teaching graduates include:

• Educator
• College Professor
• Adjunct Education Professor
• Visual Education Teacher
• Lecturer
• Literacy Education Professor
• Counselor Education Professor
• Adult Basic Education Instructor
• Adjunct Lecturer
• Continuing Education Instructor
• Science Education Professor
• Educational Leadership Professor
• Educational Administration Teacher
• Adjunct Instructor
• Educational Instructor

What Can You Do With a Middle School Education & Teaching Degree?

Graduates with a degree in Middle School Education & Teaching commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Education Teachers, Postsecondary	2.4%	$98,329	$80,157–$116,500

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Middle School Education & Teaching graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Doctoral degree	47.3%
Bachelor’s degree	34.1%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	7.2%
Master’s degree	6.3%
Less than a high school diploma	2.5%
Post-master’s certificate	1.7%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	0.8%
Post-doctoral training	0.1%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Middle School Education & Teaching?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 73.8% of Middle School Education & Teaching degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	2,195	73.8%
Men	781	26.2%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Middle School Education & Teaching graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	2,289	76.9%
Asian	51	1.7%
Hispanic or Latino	185	6.2%
Black or African American	258	8.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native	6	0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	3	0.1%
Two or More Races	72	2.4%
Race Unknown	102	3.4%
International Students	10	0.3%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Middle School Education & Teaching Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of Middle School Education & Teaching graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$44,857
4 years	$43,846
5 years	$48,879

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $48,879 — roughly 9% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Middle School Education & Teaching Programs

Fully online options are documented by IPEDS for Middle School Education & Teaching. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	5	4
Bachelor’s	15	17
Master’s	24	14

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Middle School Education & Teaching Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, Middle School Education & Teaching graduates earn a median of $43,846 four years after completion — roughly 15% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	108,054
Elementary Education and Teaching	42,205
Secondary Education and Teaching	10,594
Teacher Education, Multiple Levels	8,732
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods, Other	6,573
English/Language Arts Teacher Education	3,018
Kindergarten/Preschool Education and Teaching	2,616
Art Teacher Education	1,860
Bilingual and Multilingual Education	932
Adult and Continuing Education and Teaching	901
Biology Teacher Education	696
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Educational Methods	399

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.