An official website of the United States government
As students return to school, let’s take a look at job requirements for different types of teachers. In 2017, 96.2 percent of elementary school teachers and 97.6 percent of secondary school teachers had to have at least a bachelor’s degree. Teachers often also must have some pre-employment training, typically earning a teaching license or certification from a governing body. Most teaching jobs do not require prior job-related work experience; less than 10 percent of elementary and secondary school teachers had to have work experience before they could begin their jobs.
Type of school | Bachelor's degree required | License required | Certification required | Prior job-related work experience required |
---|---|---|---|---|
Elementary school teachers |
96.2% | 67.2% | 21.0% | 8.8% |
Secondary school teachers |
97.6 | 91.0 | 9.9 | 6.3 |
Elementary, middle, and secondary school teachers are on their feet, either standing or walking, around 70 percent of the day. Although all teachers must verbally communicate, 72.2 percent of elementary, 72.1 percent of middle school, and 62.7 percent of secondary school teachers must do so nearly constantly (that is, over two-thirds of the work day). Most teachers are exposed to moderate noise intensity level (over 90 percent for the three types of teachers).
Type of school | Percent of day spent standing or walking |
Percent of teachers with constant verbal communication |
Percent of teachers exposed to moderate noise intensity |
---|---|---|---|
Elementary school teachers |
72.2% | 72.2% | 96.7% |
Middle school teachers |
69.3 | 72.1 | 94.2 |
Secondary school teachers |
72.8 | 62.7 | 96.8 |
These data are from the Occupational Requirements Survey. To learn more, see the occupational profiles.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Job requirements for teachers in 2017 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2018/job-requirements-for-teachers-in-2017.htm (visited December 09, 2024).