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ESL Teachers vs Secondary School Teachers

Median pay is about $10k higher for Secondary School Teachers. The usual entry education is bachelor's plus cert for ESL Teachers and bachelor's plus license for Secondary School Teachers.

marks the higher pay or growth. Education, difficulty and the AI rows depend on what you want, so they are not marked.

ESL Teachers compared with Secondary School Teachers: pay, outlook, entry and AI exposure
MeasureESL TeachersSecondary School Teachers
Pay
Median pay$61,540$72,040, higher
Entry pay 25th percentile$49,100$59,980, higher
Experienced pay 75th percentile$77,690$92,570, higher
Outlook, 2025 to 2035
Projected growth-14% Declining-0.2% Declining, higher
Openings a year3,80063,500
Getting in
Typical educationBachelor's plus certBachelor's plus license
Difficulty modeled2.8 / 52.8 / 5
AI
Displacement risk modeledModerateModerate
AI exposure modeled, percentile87th pct81st pct

Where the skills differ

Only ESL Teachers

  • Writing

Only Secondary School Teachers

  • Critical Thinking

Both lean on reading comprehension, active listening, speaking, learning strategies, monitoring.

More comparisons

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Pay and outlook: BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills: O*NET 30.3. Difficulty, displacement risk and AI exposure are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.