High School Business Teacher: Salary and Career Facts
Explore the career requirements for high school business teachers. Get the facts about education and licensure requirements, salary, and potential job growth to determine if this is the right career for you.
What Is a High School Business Teacher?
High school business teachers teach business classes to students in grades 9 through 12. Often, they teach introductory courses that cover the basics of the field, such as finance, marketing, business operations and management. They may provide instruction through lectures, textbook readings and hands-on projects, and they assess students' progress through quizzes and exams as well as class participation. At some high schools, business teachers also offer more specialized business courses in topics such as business law, recreational marketing and entrepreneurship.
The following chart gives you an overview about becoming a high school business teacher.
<table border="1"><tr><td><b>Degree Required</b></td><td> Bachelor's degree</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>Education Field of Study</b></td><td> Secondary education with a minor in business; business education</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>Key Responsibilities</b></td><td> Prepare lesson plans; give assignments and tests and grade them; confer with parents about student progress and conduct; supervise students in classroom and other school settings</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>Licensure and/or Certification</b></td><td> Public school teachers must be licensed</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>Job Growth (2020-2030)</b></td><td> 8% <i>for all high school teachers</i>*</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>Median Salary (2020)</b></td><td> $62,870 <i>for all high school teachers</i>*</td></tr>
</table><p><i>Source: *U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics</i>
</p><h3 id="section---WhatDegreeDoINeedToBeAHighSchoolBusinessTeacher">What Degree Do I Need to Be a High School Business Teacher?</h3><p>The degree you'll need largely depends on the state in which you plan to teach; licensing requirements vary by state. The minimum requirement for certification as a secondary education teacher in most states is a bachelor's degree. You might consider earning a bachelor's degree in business or education.
</p><p>Degree programs in education often help you meet additional licensing requirements, such as student teaching, during your course of study. If you earn a degree in business instead of education, you may have to complete an alternative licensing program in order to gain student teaching experience. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), some states may expect you to earn a master's degree in education once you've been hired as a teacher (<i>www.bls.gov</i>).
</p><p>In bachelor's degree programs in education, you can often specialize in business education. Some programs may offer specializations in business-related fields, like economics. You could learn about curriculum development, theories of learning, American education systems, student diversity and emergent literacy. Other areas of study could include diagnostic teaching, reading instruction, student assessment and educational leadership.
</p><p>Master's degree programs in education could expand on these areas of study with advanced training in pedagogy and research techniques. Master's programs usually take two years to complete and culminate in a thesis - a substantial work of original research.
</p><h3 id="section---WhatAreTheResponsibilities">What Are the Responsibilities?</h3><p>You could teach high school students about the basic principles of business, including business law, cost-benefit analysis, supply and demand, entrepreneurship and bookkeeping. You might also provide career counseling for students, hold parent-teacher conferences and facilitate educational workshops. In some cases, high school teachers provide athletic coaching or supervise extracurricular activities.
</p><h3 id="section---WillIBeAbleToGetAJob">Will I Be Able to Get a Job?</h3><p>The BLS reported that the number of employed high school teachers would increase by 8% between 2020 and 2030. Job prospects for high school teachers during this time were often best in metropolitan and rural areas. According to the BLS, job growth will also vary by region.
</p><h3 id="section---WhatAboutTheMoney">What About the Money?</h3><p>According to the BLS, the median annual salary for high school teachers was $62,870 as of May 2020. The top ten percent of teachers made $102,130 or more during this time, while the lowest ten percent earned $41,330 or less per year.
</p><h3 id="section---WhatAreSomeRelatedAlternativeCareers">What Are Some Related Alternative Careers?</h3><p>Individuals who want to pursue jobs in education may also be interested in jobs as elementary school or middle school teachers. They may also want to advance to administrative positions as school principals or directors, but it is important to note that these professionals must have a master's degree in addition to the bachelor's degree and teaching license that teachers require. Alternatively, individuals interested in business may want to become budget analysts who offer financial advice to private businesses as well as other institutions, such as government agencies or universities. For this job, it is necessary to hold a bachelor's or master's degree in business or a closely related field.</p>