How To Become A High School Special Education Teacher: What It Is and Career Path

What is a high school special education 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 special education teacher. For example, did you know that they make an average of $26.49 an hour? That's $55,103 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 13,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a high school special education 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 Special Education TeacherUS Average

Salary

4.3

Avg. Salary $55,103

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.9

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.37%

Asian 3.61%

Black or African American 9.33%

Hispanic or Latino 11.53%

Unknown 3.96%

White 71.20%

Gender

female 57.52%

male 42.48%

Age - 42

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 - 42

Stress level

8.9

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.6

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.3

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a high school special education teacher

Explore high school special education teacher education requirements

Most common high school special education teacher degrees

Bachelor's

70.4 %

Master's

19.4 %

Associate

5.1 %

Start to develop specific high school special education teacher skills

Skills	Percentages
Curriculum Development	22.84%
IEP	12.91%
Student Learning	11.69%
Mathematics	9.72%
Chemistry	9.22%

Complete relevant high school special education teacher training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New high school special education 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 special education teacher based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real high school special education teacher resumes.

Research high school special education teacher duties and responsibilities

Manage FBLA, assist with meeting notes, financial records, and agendas for meetings, events, and fundraisers.
Tutor students at home that are unable to attend school in economics, language arts and math.
Design and implement online systems for communicating student IEP information to classroom teachers through convenient and effective formats.
Determine the appropriate levels of language and math skills of individual students by administering achievement appropriate assessments and interpreting/evaluating results.

Apply for high school special education teacher jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a high school special education teacher job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do high school special education teachers rate their job?

-/5

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1 star

High school special education teacher reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2023

Cons

The demand and low pay. Teachers have families, too.

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2022

Pros

You got to work with learners who will love you unconditionally. It gives a great satisfaction to be able to help them. I love learners with Special Needs and I am a Mom of one.