Careers / Special Education Teachers, Secondary School
Special Education Teachers, Secondary School — Career Decision Dashboard
United States
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Report generated from official BLS OEWS and O*NET data — United States.
Median annual wage
$74,260
United States, 2025
Employment
163,930
United States, 2025
Typical education
Bachelor's Degree
Job Zone 4
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
Teach academic, social, and life skills to secondary school students with learning, emotional, or physical disabilities. Includes teachers who specialize and work with students who are blind or have visual impairments; students who are deaf or have hearing impairments; and students with intellectual disabilities.
- O*NET code
- 25-2058.00
- Job zone
- 4
- Experience required
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year
Typical tasks
- Maintain accurate and complete student records, and prepare reports on children and activities, as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
- Confer with parents, administrators, testing specialists, social workers, or other professionals to develop individual educational plans (IEPs) for students' educational, physical, and social development.
- Employ special educational strategies and techniques during instruction to improve the development of sensory- and perceptual-motor skills, language, cognition, and memory.
- Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects, and communicate those objectives to students.
- Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
- Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification and positive reinforcement.
- Confer with parents or guardians, other teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students' behavioral and academic problems.
- Develop and implement strategies to meet the needs of students with a variety of handicapping conditions.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$49,800
25th percentile
$60,180
75th percentile
$93,730
90th percentile
$109,100
Most important skills
- Instructing4.1
- Learning Strategies4.1
- Reading Comprehension4.0
- Speaking4.0
- Service Orientation3.9
- Active Listening3.9
- Writing3.9
- Monitoring3.9
- Social Perceptiveness3.9
- Coordination3.9
- Complex Problem Solving3.8
- Critical Thinking3.8
What skills do you need?
Select the skills you already have
Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.
Skill coverage
0%
0 of 19 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
19
Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.
Skills to develop
| Skill | Importance | Required level | Your level | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Learning Strategies | 4.1 | 4.8 | Not selected | 4.8 |
| Instructing | 4.1 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Reading Comprehension | 4.0 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Speaking | 4.0 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Active Listening | 3.9 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Writing | 3.9 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Monitoring | 3.9 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.9 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Service Orientation | 3.9 | 3.9 | Not selected | 3.9 |
| Coordination | 3.9 | 3.9 | Not selected | 3.9 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.8 | 3.9 | Not selected | 3.9 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.6 | 3.8 | Not selected | 3.8 |
| Active Learning | 3.4 | 3.9 | Not selected | 3.9 |
| Time Management | 3.8 | 3.4 | Not selected | 3.4 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.8 | 3.3 | Not selected | 3.3 |
| Negotiation | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Persuasion | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Systems Evaluation | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Systems Analysis | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
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Compare with Special Education Teachers, Secondary SchoolHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | $117,640 | 400 | 2025 |
| San Diego, CA | $115,160 | 1,220 | 2025 |
| San Francisco, CA | $105,160 | 1,260 | 2025 |
| Oxnard, CA | $104,090 | 290 | 2025 |
| Riverside, CA | $103,730 | 1,630 | 2025 |
| Mount Vernon, WA | $103,420 | 60 | 2025 |
| Bremerton, WA | $102,890 | 80 | 2025 |
| Seattle, WA | $102,290 | 1,270 | 2025 |
| Baltimore, MD | $101,700 | 760 | 2025 |
| WA | $101,120 | 2,510 | 2025 |
| Olympia, WA | $101,060 | 90 | 2025 |
| CA | $101,060 | 12,100 | 2025 |
| Santa Cruz, CA | $101,060 | 70 | 2025 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $100,900 | 3,920 | 2025 |
| Santa Rosa, CA | $100,880 | 150 | 2025 |
| Salinas, CA | $100,450 | 150 | 2025 |
| New York, NY | $100,430 | 14,700 | 2025 |
| Vallejo, CA | $99,930 | 110 | 2025 |
| Sacramento, CA | $99,900 | 700 | 2025 |
| DC | $99,670 | 440 | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Special Education Teachers, Secondary School to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.
Build a transition comparisonCareer and skills data: O*NET 31.0.
Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).
Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.