Secondary school teachers prepare and teach academic, technical, vocational or specialized subjects at public and private secondary schools. Secondary school teachers who are heads of departments are included in this group. Secondary teachers may specialize in areas such as mathematics, English, French, special education, or second language instruction. Secondary school teachers of vocational and trades subjects may specialize in areas such as hairdressing or auto mechanics.

• adult education teacher, secondary school
• cooperative education teacher
• English as a second language teacher, high school
• high school teacher
• private teacher - secondary school
• secondary school department head
• secondary school teacher
• special needs teacher - secondary school
• substitute teacher - secondary school

To work in this field, you should be patient, imaginative, objective, and resourceful. Leadership skills and the ability to motivate students are important. You must be able to communicate ideas in a clear, concise, and interesting way. Planning and organizational skills are also necessary. Energy and stamina are often needed, as a teacher's workday involves more than just school hours. Teachers must be knowledgeable about their subjects and keep informed of new material and methods of teaching.

• Teachers of academic subjects require a bachelor's degree in education which is often preceded by a bachelor's degree in the arts or sciences.
• Teachers of vocational or technical subjects require a bachelor's degree in education which is usually preceded by specialized training or experience in the subject.
• Department heads usually require several years of teaching experience.
• To specialize in special education or English or French as a second language, additional training is required.
• A provincial teaching certificate is required.
• Membership in a provincial or territorial teachers' association or federation may be required.

Progression to vice-principal or other administrative positions in the education system is possible with experience.

The employment outlook over the next few years for this occupational group is “average”, which indicates the chances of a qualified individual finding work is comparable to the average for all occupations in Nova Scotia. This is a fairly large occupation in Nova Scotia so job opportunities occur fairly regularly. The number employed in this occupation is expected to remain largely the same over the next few years. With a large percent of workers being 55 years of age and older, retirements are expected to be a key contributor to employment opportunities over the coming years. Secondary School Teachers most commonly work full-time hours. Furthermore, the jobs are typically permanent positions.

The median employment income for 67% of Secondary School Teachers who worked full-time, year-round in 2015 was $74,127. Across all occupations in Nova Scotia, 59% of those who worked full-time year round had a median employment income of $43,600.
(Source: 2016 Census)

Occupation	Estimated employment in 2018	Estimated change in employment between 2017 and 2019	Estimated openings due to growth and retirements, 2017-2019	Estimated rate of unemployment in 2018	Estimated hourly earnings in 2015 (learn more)	Estimated annual earnings in 2015
Secondary School Teachers	3,825	stable	180	Low	Minimum: $21.63 Median: $38.66 Maximum: $45.64	Minimum: $12,906 Median: $70,443 Maximum: $86,277
Occupations in Education, Law, Government, Social and Community Services	55,420	Moderate growth	4,880	Low	Minimum: $14.00 Median: $26.88 Maximum: $46.15	Minimum: $5,616 Median: $44,335 Maximum: $92,599

	Secondary School Teachers	Compared to: Occupations in Education, Law, Government, Social and Community Services
Percent employed full-time	85%	79%
Percent self-employed	2%	6%

Area of Employment	Secondary School Teachers		Compared to: All NS Occupations
	% Employed	Median Annual Income	% Employed	Median Annual Income
Southern	13%	x	12%	$30,581
Northern	17%	x	16%	$33,660
Cape Breton	16%	x	13%	$32,974
Halifax	41%	x	47%	$41,209
Annapolis Valley	13%	x	13%	$32,958

Age	Secondary School Teachers	Compared to: All Education, Law, Government, Social and Community Services
	% Employed	% Employed
15-24	3%	N/A
25-34	25%	5%
35-44	23%	37%
45-54	36%	29%
55-64	10%	24%
65+	3%	5%
Median Age	44	44

Gender	Secondary School Teachers	Compared to: Occupations in Education, Law, Government, Social and Community Services
	% Employed	% Employed
Female	59%	64%
Male	41%	36%

Education	Secondary School Teachers		Compared to: All Education, Law, Government, Social and Community Services
	% Employed	Median Annual Income	% Employed	Median Annual Income
Less than high school	N/A	x	2.8%	$11,346
High school	0.6%	$11,687	14.3%	$25,801
Trades certificate	N/A	x	4.2%	$35,678
College certificate or diploma	3.0%	$28,074	21.5%	$28,183
University certificate or diploma	1.4%	$40,048	2.6%	$35,967
Bachelor's degree	43.2%	$51,170	29.2%	$43,533
University advanced certificate or diploma	10.1%	$67,022	3.4%	$47,801
Master's degree	0.2%	$80,178	17.2%	$35,978
Doctorate	41.4%	$73,756	4.6%	$60,991
Medicine, dentistry, veterinary, optometry	0.5%	x	0.2%	$83,456
Total	100%		100%

Hourly earnings data are from the Labour Force Survey by Statistics Canada. Data are not available for all occupations. Hourly earnings are calculated based on usual hours worked per week. This is how an annual salary, for instance, gets converted to an hourly rate. The data include full and part-time workers along with new and experienced workers. Self-employed workers are excluded.

Annual employment income data reported in the Work Prospects section, are from the 2011 National Household Survey by Statistics Canada. Much of the data (around 70%) came directly from tax records. The data relates to the year 2010 and includes total wages and salaries and net income from self-employment.

Sources