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What is a junior teacher and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted expert
Dr. Diana Jones
The average junior teacher salary is $51,024. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an elementary education major. It usually takes 1-2 years of experience to become a junior teacher. Junior teachers with a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 25,000 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a junior teacher?

Dr. Diana JonesDr. Diana Jones LinkedIn profile

Chair, Department of Kinesiology, Anderson University

General advice: I would encourage graduates to find a mentor who can guide them in their careers, stay on top of the latest technology, not be too hard on themselves, be flexible, be team players, be present, and care about their students.
ScoreJunior TeacherUS Average
Salary
4.0

Avg. Salary $51,024

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
8.1

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
5.7
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.52%

Asian 3.69%

Black or African American 9.99%

Hispanic or Latino 12.81%

Unknown 3.92%

White 69.07%

Gender

female 68.39%

male 31.61%

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
8.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
8.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance
6.0

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Junior teacher career paths

Key steps to become a junior teacher

  1. Explore junior teacher education requirements

    Most common junior teacher degrees

    Bachelor's

    72.6 %

    Master's

    15.9 %

    Associate

    6.3 %
  2. Start to develop specific junior teacher skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Classroom Management14.21%
    Instructional Materials13.71%
    Professional Development12.47%
    Role Model10.70%
    Math8.66%
  3. Research junior teacher duties and responsibilities

    • Lead debates with advance students on topics including globalization, economics, and political history.
    • Assist with interactive computer program to enhance math and economics curriculum utilizing technology competently and comfortably.
    • Display excellent technical skills in preparing several creative and educational PowerPoint presentations per week to facilitate student learning.
    • Tutor biology, pre-calculus, and calculus
  4. Prepare your junior teacher resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your junior 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 junior 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 junior teacher resume templates

    Build a professional junior teacher resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your junior teacher resume.
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    Junior Teacher Resume
  5. Apply for junior teacher jobs

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

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

How did you land your first junior teacher job

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Average junior teacher salary

The average junior teacher salary in the United States is $51,024 per year or $25 per hour. Junior teacher salaries range between $38,000 and $67,000 per year.

Average junior teacher salary
$51,024 Yearly
$24.53 hourly

What am I worth?

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How do junior teachers rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

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Junior teacher reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2022
Pros

Kids, teaching lessons, co-teachers, hours, weekends off, salary, holidays off, summers off, paid sick and personal days

Cons

Administration, observations, being told what to teach and HOW to teach it, expecting us to participate in things we might not want to or have the time for, staff meetings with no substance


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2022
Pros

I would like to work. I do not like not working. I love being around people and still have a lot to offer.


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2020
Cons

Some students' non-challant attitude towards learning.

Pros

Ability to share knowledge and guide students in learning new things.


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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