There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a chemistry teacher. For example, did you know that they make an average of $25.31 an hour? That's $52,651 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 38,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

What Does a Chemistry Teacher Do

When it comes to the most important skills required to be a chemistry teacher, we found that a lot of resumes listed 12.7% of chemistry teachers included classroom management, while 10.8% of resumes included lab experiments, and 9.0% of resumes included learning environment. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.

Learn more about what a Chemistry Teacher does

How To Become a Chemistry Teacher

If you're interested in becoming a chemistry teacher, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 68.7% of chemistry teachers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 21.5% of chemistry teachers have master's degrees. Even though most chemistry teachers have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Chemistry Teacher

Chemistry Teacher Career Paths

Average Salary for a Chemistry Teacher

Chemistry Teachers in America make an average salary of $52,651 per year or $25 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $80,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $34,000 per year.
Average Chemistry Teacher Salary
$52,651 Yearly
$25.31 hourly

What Am I Worth?

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Roles and Types of Chemistry Teacher

There are several types of chemistry teacher, including:

Teacher

Role:

A teacher isn't just someone you realize you look up to later in life. A teacher is someone who teaches important life lessons while making sure to include academic lessons along the way.

Typically, a teacher only works during school hours, which means they get to beat rush hour traffic. Although, it's not uncommon for teachers to spend their nights and weekends preparing lessons and grading papers. An added bonus of being a teacher is getting to enjoy summer vacation.
  • Average Salary: $47,989
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Student Teacher

Role:

Any teacher that has a student teacher is relieved they have them. As a student teacher, you get to go through school again, but this time you get to help others with the assignment rather than actually complete the assignment yourself.

Most student teachers are learning to become teachers themselves and generally shadow a classroom in an elementary or secondary school. But don't limit yourself. While much more rare, there are student teachers that work at universities or colleges. So it comes down to whether you'd rather assist dependent or independent students.

Generally, your student teaching experience will only last a semester or two. So make sure you're writing down good notes! At the end of being a student teacher, you'll have the opportunity to take over the class on your own. From preparing the lesson to correcting homework, you'll be doing it all by yourself in no time.
  • Average Salary: $59,035
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Math Teacher

Role:

Lots of people know that 1+1=2. You know why they know that? Because of math teachers. From kindergarten to senior year of high school, math teachers prepare important lessons for students to get them ready for the next phase in their life. Whether their dream career takes them to college or straight to work after receiving that diploma.

Math teachers work in schools with their students and generally work during school hours. But sometimes grading assignments and tests can make them work in the evenings and weekends. They also devote certain times to prepare lessons for each day. The best thing about being a math teacher is that there is no school during the summer, which means math teachers get a summer break as well.

  • Average Salary: $51,088
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

States With The Most Chemistry Teacher Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active chemistry teacher jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where chemistry teachers earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Chemistry Teacher Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California1,840$53,047
2Texas1,707$44,183
3Illinois1,413$60,775
4Florida1,322$55,263
5New Jersey1,009$72,132
6New York980$73,409
7Pennsylvania937$66,024
8North Carolina822$56,147
9Georgia752$53,250
10Maryland726$85,442
11Massachusetts705$75,524
12Ohio696$61,697
13Virginia692$60,810
14Michigan686$64,188
15Colorado622$41,250
16Minnesota607$54,148
17Indiana541$46,275
18Washington442$46,899
19Missouri429$38,053
20Tennessee399$42,171
21South Carolina389$52,741
22Wisconsin340$47,757
23Arizona332$35,263
24Oklahoma295$33,497
25Iowa249$45,053
26Oregon246$43,365
27Kansas243$41,018
28Nevada239$47,370
29New Mexico221$39,391
30Louisiana187$41,690
31New Hampshire182$59,036
32Nebraska182$48,872
33Alabama166$45,710
34Connecticut145$70,960
35Kentucky144$52,532
36Arkansas142$38,758
37Utah133$41,545
38Montana115$34,180
39Mississippi109$41,546
40Delaware102$71,856
41Idaho98$32,221
42Rhode Island61$78,430
43Maine53$60,059
44Vermont51$75,283
45Wyoming44$51,134
46West Virginia34$54,806
47Alaska26$57,960
48North Dakota26$49,467
49South Dakota24$33,129
50Hawaii16$54,405

Chemistry Teacher Education

Chemistry Teacher Majors

44.3 %
13.3 %

Chemistry Teacher Degrees

Bachelors

68.7 %

Masters

21.5 %

Doctorate

4.2 %

Top Colleges for Chemistry Teachers

1. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Education
Business
Biology
Environmental Science
Chemistry

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Education
Biology
Chemistry
Educational Leadership
Elementary Education

3. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-State Tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Biology
Business
Education
Chemical Engineering
Chemistry

4. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$59,430

Enrollment

8,216

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Biology
Chemistry
Mathematics
Chemical Engineering

5. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Biology
Education
Mathematics
Chemistry

6. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,987

Enrollment

18,946

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Biology
Chemistry
Education
Mathematics

7. University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$14,184

Enrollment

30,845

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Biology
Business
Mathematics
Education
Chemistry

8. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Biology
Education
Chemistry
Mathematics
Elementary Education

9. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-State Tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Biology
Education
Chemistry
Biochemistry, Biophysics, Molecular Biology

10. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$13,226

Enrollment

31,568

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Biology
Business
Education
Mathematics
Biochemistry, Biophysics, Molecular Biology

Top Skills For a Chemistry Teacher

  • Classroom Management, 12.7%
  • Lab Experiments, 10.8%
  • Learning Environment, 9.0%
  • Professional Development, 8.2%
  • Student Learning, 5.2%
  • Other Skills, 54.1%

Choose From 10+ Customizable Chemistry Teacher Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Chemistry Teacher templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Chemistry Teacher resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Chemistry Teacher Demographics

Chemistry Teacher Gender Distribution

Female
Female
52%
Male
Male
48%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among chemistry teachers, 51.7% of them are women, while 48.3% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among chemistry teachers is White, which makes up 72.5% of all chemistry teachers.

  • The most common foreign language among chemistry teachers is Spanish at 41.6%.

Online Courses For Chemistry Teacher That You May Like

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1. Introduction to Chemistry: Structures and Solutions

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This is an introductory course for students with limited background in chemistry; basic concepts such as atomic and molecular structure, solutions, phases of matter, and quantitative problem solving will be emphasized with the goal of preparing students for further study in chemistry...

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2. Introduction to Chemistry: Reactions and Ratios

coursera

This is an introductory course for students with limited background in chemistry; basic concepts involved in chemical reactions, stoichiometry, the periodic table, periodic trends, nomenclature, and chemical problem solving will be emphasized with the goal of preparing students for further study in chemistry as needed for many science, health, and policy professions...

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3. Introduction to Physical Chemistry

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Chemical reactions underpin the production of pretty much everything in our modern world. But, what is the driving force behind reactions? Why do some reactions occur over geological time scales whilst others are so fast that we need femtosecond-pulsed lasers to study them? Ultimately, what is going on at the atomic level? Discover the answers to such fundamental questions and more on this course in introductory physical chemistry. The course covers the key concepts of three of the principal...

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Best States For a Chemistry Teacher

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a chemistry teacher. The best states for people in this position are Maryland, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Chemistry teachers make the most in Maryland with an average salary of $85,442. Whereas in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, they would average $78,430 and $75,524, respectively. While chemistry teachers would only make an average of $75,283 in Vermont, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. Maryland

Total Chemistry Teacher Jobs: 726
Highest 10% Earn:
$132,000
Location Quotient:
1.48

2. New Jersey

Total Chemistry Teacher Jobs: 1,009
Highest 10% Earn:
$110,000
Location Quotient:
1.65

3. Massachusetts

Total Chemistry Teacher Jobs: 705
Highest 10% Earn:
$112,000
Location Quotient:
0.99
Full List Of Best States For Chemistry Teachers

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