First grade teacher vs science teacher

The differences between first grade teachers and science teachers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a science teacher has an average salary of $59,788, which is higher than the $49,757 average annual salary of a first grade teacher.

The top three skills for a first grade teacher include classroom management, math and social studies. The most important skills for a science teacher are classroom management, professional development, and student learning.

First grade teacher vs science teacher overview

	First Grade Teacher	Science Teacher
Yearly salary	$49,757	$59,788
Hourly rate	$23.92	$28.74
Growth rate	4%	5%
Number of jobs	70,517	71,133
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age	42	43
Years of experience	-	2

What does a first grade teacher do?

First-grade teachers are the first instructors of children after they finished the kindergarten level. They play an essential role as children aged six to seven move to more structured learning. Generally, they set an exciting tone of learning for the fundamental skills in writing, reading, and math. These teachers create and give effective learning activities to the children to enhance their physical, emotional, intellectual, and social development. They have to effectively manage the classroom and ensure that all students are safe. Also, they give regular assessments to children to evaluate if their teaching method is effective and to determine the learning style of each child. Additionally, they need to communicate with parents, guardians, and principals on the progress of the children.

What does a science teacher do?

A science teacher is responsible for teaching scientific concepts and disciplines, helping learners to understand systems, procedures, and generate ideas using scientific evidence and approaches. Science teachers create engaging lesson plans and activities for the learners, including laboratory works, group research, and field experiments. They also demonstrate methods and present scientific research to support their observations. A science teacher evaluates the students' learning by giving them written or practical exams, including problem-solving and scientific methods.

First grade teacher vs science teacher salary

First grade teachers and science teachers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	First Grade Teacher	Science Teacher
Average salary	$49,757	$59,788
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $65,000	Between $40,000 And $87,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	New York	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Shady Side Academy	Pace University
Best paying industry	Education	Education

Differences between first grade teacher and science teacher education

There are a few differences between a first grade teacher and a science teacher in terms of educational background:

	First Grade Teacher	Science Teacher
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common major	Elementary Education	Biology
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Harvard University

First grade teacher vs science teacher demographics

Here are the differences between first grade teachers' and science teachers' demographics:

	First Grade Teacher	Science Teacher
Average age	42	43
Gender ratio	Male, 7.5% Female, 92.5%	Male, 42.1% Female, 57.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.8% Asian, 3.7% White, 69.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 8.2% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.9% Asian, 3.6% White, 71.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	9%	12%

Differences between first grade teacher and science teacher duties and responsibilities

First grade teacher example responsibilities.

Used technology such as scanning documents, creating hyperlinks and PowerPoint to document student progress for student lead conferences.
Prepare and plan literacy and math centers daily to encourage student achievement and socialization skills.
Develop standards-based curricula including a balance literacy program, math and writers' workshops and after school intervention program.
Implement the PBIS social emotional development program.
Employ PBIS to reenforce positive behavior among students.
Focuse on ESL students using methodical scaffolding, with an emphasis on citizenship and literacy.

Science teacher example responsibilities.

Create single gender classes in 7th and 8th grade math and language classes to increase student achievement and decrease discipline referrals.
Prepare and instruct biology, botany, chemistry, genetics, microbiology and zoology laboratories.
Further students' education on math/science including general science and pre-algebra through curriculum development and hands on instruction.
Create and implement appropriate science education programs for k-12 youth.
Teach kids fun, invigorating science lessons in after school programming .!
Challenge and support urban youth and ESL students with hands on projects and activities.

First grade teacher vs science teacher skills

Common first grade teacher skills

Classroom Management, 29%
Math, 13%
Social Studies, 5%
Professional Development, 4%
Classroom Environment, 4%
Language Arts, 3%

Common science teacher skills

Classroom Management, 15%
Professional Development, 7%
Student Learning, 6%
Science Curriculum, 5%
Learning Environment, 4%
Public Schools, 4%

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First Grade Teacher vs Science Teacher

Updated January 8, 2025

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