Also called: Middle School Teachers
Middle School Teachers build instructing, social perceptiveness and coordination skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors (94%).
Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers
Sorted by skill match.
| # | Career | Skill match | Median pay | Pay change | Extra education |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors | 94% | $61,540 | −4% | None |
| 2 | English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary | 80% | $78,760 | +22% | Graduate degree |
| 3 | Instructional Coordinators | 79% | $77,440 | +20% | Graduate degree |
| 4 | Education Teachers, Postsecondary | 79% | $75,350 | +17% | Graduate degree |
| 5 | Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary | 76% | $80,260 | +25% | Graduate degree |
| 6 | Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary | 75% | $75,870 | +18% | Graduate degree |
| 7 | Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary | 75% | $78,620 | +22% | Graduate degree |
| 8 | Training and Development Specialists | 75% | $69,280 | +8% | None |
| 9 | Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary | 74% | $84,290 | +31% | Graduate degree |
| 10 | Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary | 74% | $80,340 | +25% | Graduate degree |
Compared with Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education, median $64,370. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.
How important each skill is in work as middle school teachers (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).
The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.
Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.
A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.
94% skill match · $61,540 · −4% pay
No work-context factor stands out as unusually hard in O*NET data.
80% skill match · $78,760 · +22% pay
Operations Analysis · Instructing
79% skill match · $77,440 · +20% pay
Operations Analysis · Troubleshooting · Management of Material Resources
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors (94% skill match, median $61,540), English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary (80% skill match, median $78,760) and Instructional Coordinators (79% skill match, median $77,440), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
Among the 25 matches, 18 pay more than middle school teachers at the median. The biggest increases: Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary (+52%, $98,070), Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary (+32%, $85,020) and Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary (+31%, $84,290).
7 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones. 18 usually need a graduate degree: English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary, Instructional Coordinators and Education Teachers, Postsecondary.
We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.