What are the pros and cons of being a middle school teacher?

There are several pros and cons related to being a middle school teacher; the pros include paid time off and work suited to your personal interests, while the cons include salary and work environment.

How To Become A Middle School Teacher: What It Is and Career Path

What is a middle school teacher and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Diana Jones

As a middle school teacher, you will be charged with teaching a curriculum provided by the school. You'll assign and grade homework, including tests and essays. You'll engage your class with lectures, classroom discussions, relevant activities, and demonstrations. Furthermore, you'll assess, evaluate, and record the results of the various tests and assignments. Additionally, you'll provide the students with information about societal expectations, civic responsibilities, and policies. Asides from that, you'll communicate and interact with other subject teachers and staff members to understand the mentalities and attitudes of the students. Also, you'll identify students with unique needs and requirements.

The educational requirements vary by the areas of specialization and fields of knowledge. Most middle school teachers hold a bachelor's degree in education or a related field. Candidates must have a state-issued license. You must possess analytical, organization, time management, communication, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills. These teachers make an average salary of $52,889 per annum. This varies between $38,000 and $74,000.

What general advice would you give to a middle school teacher?

Dr. Diana Jones

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.

ScoreMiddle School TeacherUS Average

Salary

4.2

Avg. Salary $53,363

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 3.67%

Black or African American 9.83%

Hispanic or Latino 12.65%

Unknown 3.91%

White 69.42%

Gender

female 64.59%

male 35.41%

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

Key steps to become a middle school teacher

Explore middle school teacher education requirements

Most common middle school teacher degrees

Bachelor's

68.7 %

Master's

22.6 %

Associate

4.5 %

Start to develop specific middle school teacher skills

Skills	Percentages
Classroom Management	12.38%
Professional Development	10.05%
Math	7.79%
Curriculum Development	6.12%
Student Learning	5.44%

Research middle school teacher duties and responsibilities

Develop and implement inquiry-based/hands-on curriculum: physical science, earth science, chemistry, and life science.
Teach students about the structure and content of the English language, including proper grammar, spelling, and sentence structure.
Assist the ELA teacher with writing charts that reinforce her teaching concepts.
Plan, deliver & evaluate instruction in history, geography, science & English

Prepare your middle school teacher resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your middle school teacher resume.

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Apply for middle school teacher jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a middle school 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 middle school teachers rate their job?

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Middle school teacher reviews

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

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.

A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2021