What is a History Teacher?

A history teacher teaches students at different levels history and how society has evolved over the years. As a history teacher, it is expected that you possess a wide knowledge of history and have an interest in passing them on to students. You will also assess students' knowledge through several methods. Your work as a history student is to help students understand human communities from the past to the present. You will also discuss with students how cultures have changed over time and their impact on present-day society.

The educational requirement to work as a history teacher is a bachelor's degree in history and completion of a teacher education program. You should also possess strong communication skills and good interpersonal skills. Good knowledge of various teaching methods and an ability to spike interest in students may also be necessary.

A history teacher is also expected to be organized and be excellent with time management. The average salary of a History teacher is about $61,660 per year.

What Does a History Teacher Do

When it comes to the most important skills required to be a history teacher, we found that a lot of resumes listed 15.3% of history teachers included classroom management, while 8.1% of resumes included instructional materials, and 6.8% of resumes included student learning. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.

Learn more about what a History Teacher does

How To Become a History Teacher

If you're interested in becoming a history teacher, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 68.5% of history teachers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 24.2% of history teachers have master's degrees. Even though most history teachers have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Top History Teacher Jobs Near You

History Teacher Career Paths

In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of social studies teacher you might progress to a role such as special education teacher eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title center director.

Top Careers Before History Teacher

Teacher (71,918 Jobs)

25.9 %

Substitute Teacher (69,292 Jobs)

14.1 %

Social Studies Teacher (94,087 Jobs)

9.7 %

Top Careers After History Teacher

Teacher (71,918 Jobs)

27.0 %

Social Studies Teacher (94,087 Jobs)

11.3 %

Substitute Teacher (69,292 Jobs)

9.5 %

Average Salary for a History Teacher

History Teachers in America make an average salary of $53,780 per year or $26 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $76,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $38,000 per year.

Average History Teacher Salary

$53,780 Yearly

$25.86 hourly

$38,00010%

$53,000Median

$76,00090%

See More Salary Information

What Am I Worth?

Roles and Types of History Teacher

There are several types of history 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 History Teacher Jobs

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

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of History Teacher Jobs By State

Rank	State	Number of Jobs	Average Salary
1	California	2,004	$68,636
2	Texas	1,774	$48,366
3	Illinois	1,602	$56,137
4	Florida	1,498	$47,686
5	New York	1,238	$79,540
6	New Jersey	1,187	$77,685
7	Pennsylvania	1,003	$67,438
8	Michigan	919	$53,207
9	Maryland	914	$81,755
10	North Carolina	887	$50,535
11	Georgia	821	$52,575
12	Massachusetts	802	$66,499
13	Arizona	792	$44,045
14	Virginia	760	$54,300
15	Colorado	750	$44,648
16	Ohio	737	$59,289
17	Minnesota	708	$55,211
18	Indiana	619	$45,976
19	Nevada	605	$60,921
20	Washington	491	$63,303
21	Missouri	480	$42,797
22	Tennessee	445	$41,520
23	Connecticut	442	$70,568
24	South Carolina	413	$47,975
25	Wisconsin	378	$48,653
26	Oklahoma	336	$39,831
27	Kansas	298	$44,894
28	Iowa	297	$47,134
29	Oregon	282	$62,715
30	New Mexico	281	$47,245
31	New Hampshire	258	$51,207
32	Louisiana	244	$44,920
33	Nebraska	232	$53,787
34	Alabama	213	$45,490
35	Kentucky	197	$48,553
36	Arkansas	187	$43,438
37	Montana	171	$41,106
38	Idaho	170	$54,724
39	Utah	170	$52,363
40	Mississippi	155	$42,468
41	Delaware	150	$70,370
42	Rhode Island	96	$73,688
43	Maine	94	$49,314
44	Vermont	91	$62,801
45	Wyoming	69	$61,324
46	West Virginia	61	$50,417
47	North Dakota	54	$53,382
48	South Dakota	54	$36,775
49	Alaska	46	$70,100
50	Hawaii	40	$87,418

History Teacher Education

History Teacher Majors

History

30.0 %

Education

13.4 %

Elementary Education

7.6 %

History Teacher Degrees

Admissions

Most Popular Majors

Business

Psychology

Political Science

Education

History

Top Skills For a History Teacher

Classroom Management, 15.3%

Instructional Materials, 8.1%

Student Learning, 6.8%

Professional Development, 6.7%

World History, 6.4%

Other Skills, 56.7%

Choose From 10+ Customizable History Teacher Resume templates

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

History Teacher Demographics

History Teacher Gender Distribution

Male

57%

Female

43%

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

Among history teachers, 42.8% of them are women, while 57.2% are men.

The most common race/ethnicity among history teachers is White, which makes up 72.2% of all history teachers.

The most common foreign language among history teachers is Spanish at 50.8%.

Online Courses For History Teacher That You May Like

Advertising Disclosure

1. Applied Public History: Places, People, Stories

This course introduces learners to applied public history: understanding and interpreting the past today, and engaging diverse communities in the practice of making and sharing histories. The course draws on project case studies, expert insights and diverse perspectives to model exciting approaches to researching and sharing the history of places and people. Learners will develop a toolkit to apply in their own practice, by participating in discussion, quizzes, creative activities and mini...

See More on Coursera

2. History of Mental Illness

Our lexicon of mental illness is immense: There currently are hundreds of classified disorders and an extensive assortment of medications and therapies. This course explores the history of this productive science -- its discoveries, classifications, and treatments of psychiatric distress. The excursion begins with a general introduction and proceeds to explore 4 kinds of mental illness: neurasthenia, depression, attention deficits (ADD/ADHD), and narcissism. Each kind is examined in terms of...

See More on Coursera

3. History of Rock, Part One

This course, part 1 of a 2-course sequence, examines the history of rock, primarily as it unfolded in the United States, from the days before rock (pre-1955) to the end of the 1960s. This course covers the music of Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Phil Spector, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, and many more artists, with an emphasis both on cultural context and on the music itself. We will also explore how developments in the music business and in technology helped...

See More on Coursera

Show More History Teacher Courses

Job type you want

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Part Time

Internship

Temporary

Best States For a History Teacher

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a history teacher. The best states for people in this position are Hawaii, Maryland, New York, and New Jersey. History teachers make the most in Hawaii with an average salary of $87,418. Whereas in Maryland and New York, they would average $81,755 and $79,540, respectively. While history teachers would only make an average of $77,685 in New Jersey, 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 History Teacher Jobs: 914

Highest 10% Earn:

$121,000

Location Quotient:

1.54

$81,755

Avg. Salary

View 914 History Teacher Jobs In MD

2. New Jersey

Total History Teacher Jobs: 1,187

Highest 10% Earn:

$114,000

Location Quotient:

1.6

$77,685

Avg. Salary

View 1,187 History Teacher Jobs In NJ

3. New York

Total History Teacher Jobs: 1,238

Highest 10% Earn:

$117,000

Location Quotient:

1.03

$79,540

Avg. Salary

View 1,238 History Teacher Jobs In NY

Full List Of Best States For History Teachers

How Do History Teacher Rate Their Jobs?

Top History Teacher Employers

Most Common Employers For History Teacher

Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
1	University of California-Berkeley	$85,242	$40.98	4
2	Yale University	$81,478	$39.17	4
3	Columbia University in the City of New York	$80,389	$38.65	4
4	University of Southern California	$79,541	$38.24	4
5	IDEA Public Charter School	$68,657	$33.01	5
6	Mastery Charter Schools	$64,979	$31.24	7
7	Fairfax County Public Schools	$59,106	$28.42	6
8	Clark County School District	$55,595	$26.73	4
9	Chicago Public Schools	$55,220	$26.55	7
10	Los Angeles Unified School District	$52,871	$25.42	6

History Teacher Videos

Career Advice on becoming an Art Teacher by Carolyn O (Full Version)

Some Advice About Becoming a Philosophy Professor

Updated February 6, 2023

What is a History Teacher?

What Does a History Teacher Do

How To Become a History Teacher

History Teacher Career Paths

Top Careers Before History Teacher

Top Careers After History Teacher

Recent Job Searches

Average Salary for a History Teacher

Roles and Types of History Teacher

Teacher

Student Teacher

Math Teacher

States With The Most History Teacher Jobs

Number Of History Teacher Jobs By State

History Teacher Education

History Teacher Majors

History Teacher Degrees

Top Colleges for History Teachers

1. Harvard University

2. University of Pennsylvania

3. Northwestern University

4. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

5. Columbia University in the City of New York

6. University of California, Berkeley

7. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

8. Stanford University

9. New York University

10. University of California - Los Angeles

Top Skills For a History Teacher

Choose From 10+ Customizable History Teacher Resume templates

History Teacher Demographics

History Teacher Gender Distribution

Online Courses For History Teacher That You May Like

Best States For a History Teacher

How Do History Teacher Rate Their Jobs?

Top History Teacher Employers

Most Common Employers For History Teacher

History Teacher Videos

History Teacher Related Careers

History Teacher Related Jobs

What Similar Roles Do

Resume For Related Jobs