Experience
Research-Science teacher
Career 1: General Science Teacher
- Description of the Career:
- What is the job description? "Science teachers instruct students in subject-specific classrooms. They create lesson plans; evaluate student performances; and teach using lectures, technology and hands-on learning experiences. They also model expected behavior to establish and maintain an orderly, disciplined classroom."
- School days plus many additional hours outside of school time for lesson plans, grading, etc
- Classroom!
- Daily duties include teaching classes and curriculum to several classes throughout the day. Labs and hands on class work is frequent.
- Teaching career opportunities are widely available in Ohio.
- Skill Set & Personality Traits:
- The required skills of any science teacher are mostly the same. It is important for teachers to have great communication skills in order to get their message across.
- To excel in this career, ones skills must be deeper than their understanding of science. The ability to connect with students is crucial. Being able to form a relationship with students in the classroom is important for the success of an academic teacher.
- As with any teaching career, organization and productivity skills are very important. Teaching requires a lot of work and teacher who are willing to put in the time and effort will succeed.
- Salary & Benefits:
- The annual average salary for a general science teacher is $72,410.
- As a public employee, pay can fluctuate quite a bit. The level of ones education will also effect their salary.
- According to Naviance, the least teachers made was $32,540. The average is $72,410 and the most is $122,340.
- Teachers with Bachelors degrees tend to make less money than teachers with Masters degrees. However, a draw back of achieving a higher degree in seeking a larger salary is that it can be harder to get hired.
- The benefits of teaching are countless-and no teacher is in it for the money. Teaching is a career that is fulfilling beyond the money and long hours.
- As stated above, the money certainly does not equate to the hours and hard work teacher put in.
- Employability/Occupational Outlook:
- Teaching is a wide open field that is growing. The demand or great teachers is high.
- As a general science teacher, there are many advancement opportunities. Teachers can go into higher education or administration.
- The demand for great teachers in growing as society places a high value on quality education
- Technology:
- It is difficult to say what kind of technology is required for this career. Technology not only changes so rapidly over time, but also throughout school districts.
- Teachers have had to adapt to new forms of technology and learn with their students in this way. New technology is always being introduced into schools and requires teachers that can adapt to these changes.
- The way teachers teach has certainly changed due to technology, and will continue to change. In recent times, teaching online has changed significantly as teachers find ways to educate successfully during the pandemic.
- Related Occupations:
- A more specialized teaching career is related to this career, but very different in terms of pathway and goals-as explained below.
- Personal Career Plan:
- Provide a summary of the career and how it fits into your life goals. What steps will you take to achieve this goal? Are you taking or have you taken courses here in high school that have helped prepare you for this career? How has the research you’ve done helped you plan for your future?
- Works Cited - “Science Teacher Job Description Template.” LiveCareer, 9 Apr. 2020, www.livecareer.com/job- description/examples/teaching/science-teacher.
Research-Biology/specialized science teacher
- Biology/Environmental Sciences Teacher
- Description of the Career:
- What is the job description?- "The Biology Teacher’s responsibilities include preparing lesson plans, tests and assignments, supervising students during investigations and experiments, and acting as a field trip chaperone. You should be able to teach students from different backgrounds, with varying aptitudes and interests."
- School days plus many additional hours outside of school time for lesson plans, grading, etc.
- Classroom!
- Daily duties include teaching classes and curriculum to several classes throughout the day. Labs and hands on class work is frequent.
- Teaching career opportunities are widely available in Ohio. However, with a more specialized teaching degree, a job can be harder to find
- Skill Set & Personality Traits:
- What skills does the career require? Are these skills you already have or need to add to your skillset? - "To be successful as a Biology Teacher, you should be culturally sensitive, well-organized, and demonstrate insatiable curiosity. Outstanding candidates are not squeamish and can confidently explain bodily functions to teenagers."
- Organization- Keeping an organized plan and schedule is important for any career, but especially a specialized science teacher. A teacher teaching specialized science may teach several classes and need to plan time for extra student help.
- The required skills of any science teacher are mostly the same. It is important for teachers to have great communication skills in order to get their message across.
- To excel in this career, ones skills must be deeper than their understanding of science. The ability to connect with students is crucial. Being able to form a relationship with students in the classroom is important for the success of an academic teacher.
- As with any teaching career, organization and productivity skills are very important. Teaching requires a lot of work and teacher who are willing to put in the time and effort will succeed.
- Salary & Benefits:
- According to Naviance, the national average annual salary is $93,010
- Salary can change based on a lot of different factors, of those being years worked and education.
- The national average salary is $93,010. The national minimum salary is $43,160 and the national top 10% is $162,470.
- Typically a masters degree will earn more money in this career. but can make it harder to be hired.
- A major benefit of this career is that a specialized teacher gets to teach exactly what kind of science they want, instead of having to teach whatever science subject is in need.
- Teachers that are only able to teach one science subject may find it harder to be hired because of the possibility of lack of positions.
- Employability/Occupational Outlook:
- As technology advances and education becomes more valued in American society, the need for dedicated educators is on the rise. There is no doubt that teaching is a growing field.
- Depending on what the teacher wants, there are several opportunities or growth. One can go into administration positions, or stay in the classroom if they prefer.
- The main difference between being a specialized teacher and a more general teacher is the employability. Teachers that can only teach one subject have a lesser chance of being hired because demand of science teachers can be very broad.
- Technology:
- Teachers need to be able to use all the recent technology, like tablets, laptops, and the new collaborative technologies like canvas, zoom, and more.
- Just in the past few years, technology in the classroom has changed significantly. Instead of textbooks and pencils students now use all digital forms of learning.
- It can be expected that the technology in classrooms will continue to change exponentially as we have already seen in the past years. Teachers must be able to adapt to this new way of teaching.
- Related Occupations:
- The career most similar to this is a general science teacher who can teach multiple science fields.
- Personal Career Plan:
- Going into college, I can study to be a biology teacher. However, it could be better for me to study as an integrated science teacher because of the greater employment opportunities.
- Works Cited -
Naviance. “Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary.” Naviance Student, student.naviance.com/careers/view/25- 1042.00/wages.
education needed-science teacher
I have already applied to college, so the SuperMatch function doesn't help me. Instead, I compared the two colleges I am most interested in in Naviance.
My criteria is:
My criteria is:
- in Ohio
- Test Optional
- Cost effective and offers merit scholarships
- Has the two majors I am most interested in