Woodshop teachers are vocational teachers who teach middle and high school students valuable skills that they can use in the job market. These teachers show students how to get in touch with their creative side and build woodworking projects. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 115,100 of these vocational teachers employed in the United States in 2010. Salaries for woodshop and other vocational teachers tend to vary by state and by the education level of the teacher.
The salary for woodshop teachers tends to vary somewhat for high school and middle school teachers, with high school teachers earning slightly higher salaries, on average. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary for high school woodshop teachers was $56,010 per year, as of May 2010. Those working in middle school settings, however, tended to earn an average salary of $54,160 per year, according to the bureau.
The differing pay scales for high school and middle school woodshop teachers also provides an indication in the differential in pay. According to the BLS, the median salary for those in high schools was $54,310 per year, with the middle 50 percent of those working in this field making between $43,810 and $66,780 per year. The highest-paid high school teachers made $80,050 or more per year, while those at the bottom of the pay scale made up to $36,300 annually. Middle school shop teachers made a median salary of $51,470, with the middle 50 percent earning between $42,150 and $65,000. The highest-paid middle school shop teachers made $78,160 or more per year, while the lowest-paid teachers made $34,860 or less.
Location also has an influence on how much the shop teacher can expect to make. Each state and local government determines its own teacher salary schedule and this has an affect on average pay earned by teachers in all subjects. According to the BLS, Texas was the state with the largest number of high school shop teachers. These teachers made an average salary of $53,530 per year in 2010. New York had the highest number of middle school woodshop teachers. These teachers averaged $63,310, whereas middle school shop teachers in Texas only made $51,660, by comparison. Connecticut was the highest paying state for middle school shop teachers with a reported average salary of $68,910 per year. High school shop teachers in Alaska could expect to make the most money, on average, according to the bureau. These teachers made $72,760 per year in 2010.
The number of jobs for vocational teachers is expected to grow at a slightly slower rate than the rate of growth for other teachers. According to the BLS, the number of jobs for these teachers should increase by about 9 percent from 2008 to 2018, compared to the expected 13 percent growth for teachers who teach academic subjects. The bureau indicates that increased focus on more academic subjects will limit job growth for vocational teachers somewhat during this decade.
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