How To Become A High School Social Studies Teacher: What It Is and Career Path

What is a high school social studies teacher and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Maggie Beeber

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a high school social studies teacher. For example, did you know that they make an average of $23.92 an hour? That's $49,763 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 5% and produce 48,700 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a high school social studies teacher?

Maggie Beeber

Undergraduate Advising Coordinator & Teacher Certification Officer, University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point

Be flexible when searching for that first job. Spread your wings and be willing to live in a new community. You may find that it changes your whole life and is the perfect fit. Remember how hard you have worked to earn this degree. You are strong and can succeed in anything you put work into. We also want you to remember we are here if you need us.

ScoreHigh School Social Studies TeacherUS Average

Salary

3.9

Avg. Salary $49,763

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.4

Growth rate 5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.46%

Asian 3.60%

Black or African American 8.10%

Hispanic or Latino 11.78%

Unknown 3.97%

White 72.10%

Gender

female 51.15%

male 48.85%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

8.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a high school social studies teacher

Explore high school social studies teacher education requirements

Most common high school social studies teacher degrees

Bachelor's

70.3 %

Master's

22.9 %

Associate

2.5 %

Start to develop specific high school social studies teacher skills

Skills	Percentages
Classroom Management	14.45%
Learning Strategies	9.91%
Learning Process	9.87%
Administrative Regulations	8.04%
Classroom Environment	7.87%

Complete relevant high school social studies teacher training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New high school social studies teachers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a high school social studies teacher based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real high school social studies teacher resumes.

Research high school social studies teacher duties and responsibilities

Develop and continue to manage a collaborative after-school tutoring program for middle school mathematics students.
Plan and implement lessons for students' studying for AP economics, history, and government exams.
Work cooperatively with special education teachers to modify curricula as needed for special education students according to guidelines establish in IEP.
Create and facilitate whole staff professional development sessions on SMARTboard and Google drive technologies.

Prepare your high school social studies teacher resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your high school social studies teacher resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a high school social studies teacher resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable high school social studies teacher resume templates

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