How to Become a Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education

Where Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Educations have the most money left over after rent

Median pay minus estimated federal + state + FICA taxes, minus 12 months of rent at HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent. Darker green means more money left over each year. Hover any state for the breakdown.

Education and training

Elementary teachers need a bachelor's degree in elementary education or a bachelor's in any field plus a teacher preparation program. Student teaching (one to two semesters of supervised classroom experience) is a mandatory component of all preparation programs.

Alternative certification pathways (Teach for America, state-specific residency programs) allow career changers to enter the classroom while completing education coursework concurrently. These programs typically require a bachelor's degree and passing content-area exams before starting.

Licensing and certification

State licensure is required for all public school teachers. Requirements vary but generally include: graduating from an approved teacher preparation program, passing the Praxis or state-specific content exam, passing a basic skills test, and clearing background checks. Licenses are not automatically transferable between states, moving often requires additional exams or coursework.

Most states require a master's degree within 5-10 years of initial licensure. It doubles as a professional development requirement and a salary lever (master's degree = higher lane on the pay scale, typically $3,000-$8,000/year more).

What the day-to-day looks like

You teach reading, math, science, social studies, and sometimes art, music, and PE to 20-30 students aged 5-11. The visible teaching day runs 7:30am-3:00pm, but the actual workday extends well beyond: lesson planning (5-10 hours/week), grading (3-5 hours/week), parent communication, IEP meetings, staff meetings, professional development, and setting up/cleaning the classroom.

Beyond academics, you manage behavior, mediate conflicts, monitor social-emotional development, identify students who may need special education services, and sometimes serve as the first adult to notice signs of abuse or neglect. The emotional labor is significant and largely invisible to people outside the profession.

Differentiation is the daily reality. In any given class, you have students reading two grade levels above, two grade levels below, and everywhere in between. English language learners, students with IEPs, gifted students, and students dealing with trauma or instability at home, all in the same room, all needing something different from you. The best elementary teachers are master jugglers who make it look effortless while running 15 mental sub-processes simultaneously.

Career progression

Teacher → mentor teacher → department/grade-level lead → instructional coach → assistant principal → principal → district administration. Each step beyond the classroom requires additional credentials (typically an EdS or EdD for principal certification). Salary bumps at each step: $5,000-$20,000 depending on the district.

National Board Certification (NBPTS) is the highest voluntary credential for teachers and adds $2,000-$10,000/year in most states. The certification process takes 1-3 years and involves extensive portfolio documentation and video-recorded teaching evidence.

Salary progression

Highest paying states

Where the jobs are

Salary negotiation

Public school teacher salaries are non-negotiable, they're set by the district's step-and-lane schedule. Your levers: choosing a higher-paying district (bordering districts can vary by $5,000-$15,000 for the same position), pursuing the master's degree to move up lanes, adding endorsements in shortage areas (ESL, special education, STEM) that carry stipends, and coaching or club sponsorships ($2,000-$8,000/year supplemental pay).

What the data doesn't tell you

Teacher compensation is consistently undercounted by BLS because the data captures the 10-month salary but not the summer income many teachers earn through summer school, tutoring, curriculum writing, or secondary employment. A teacher reported at $53,000 who teaches summer school ($5,000) and tutors ($4,000) actually earns $62,000. The profession's public perception as "low-paid" is partly real and partly a measurement artifact.

Frequently asked questions