Secondary School Teacher
Structural exposure score derived from 2 independent sources (OpenAI "GPTs are GPTs" (human_rating_beta) + AIOE (Felten, Raj & Seamans)), each normalized against its own full reference population and combined by simple average, then converted to a percentile.
We have not ingested real-world usage data for this occupation yet. We show a band only where genuine data exists, rather than estimate one.
What a secondary school teacher actually does
Secondary school teachers instruct students in grades 9 through 12 in one or more subjects, English, math, science, social studies, and beyond, through lectures, discussions, demonstrations, and hands-on activities suited to a specific curriculum and state standards. The job means preparing lesson plans and materials, delivering instruction to a room full of teenagers with genuinely different learning needs, and preparing, administering, and grading tests and assignments to track how well that instruction is landing.
Beyond direct instruction, secondary teachers manage classroom behavior in real time, adapt on the fly when a lesson isn't working, and provide extra support to students who need it.
The role also carries a real coordination and advocacy dimension: conferring with parents, counselors, and administrators about a student's academic or behavioral challenges, collaborating with other teachers on curriculum and school programs, and often sponsoring extracurricular clubs, contests, or activities outside regular class time, on top of the required paperwork tracking each student's ongoing progress.
Why it reads this way
Secondary School Teacher scores 25/100 on this site's structural exposure measure, reflecting real overlap between AI capability and the preparation and grading side of teaching. Real, current AI tools already handle a meaningful share of that work: MagicSchool AI, the category-leading teacher toolbox in 2026, includes writing-feedback and grading-assistance tools that districts report saving teachers 60-80% of grading time on rubric-based assignments, genuinely useful given K-12 teachers spend 10-15 hours a week on grading.
But every credible account is explicit that this works as assisted feedback reviewed by the teacher one piece at a time, not autonomous grading, and none of it touches the live classroom work that makes up the core of the job.
That live classroom work is exactly what current AI can't do: managing a room full of teenagers in real time, reading which specific student needs a different explanation right now, defusing a behavioral incident before it escalates, and adapting a lesson mid-class when the plan isn't landing. Most states also require a teaching credential or license to teach in a public secondary school, a real, if variably enforced, professional wall.
BLS projects a declining outlook for this specific occupation (-1% or lower, 2024-2034), a real, disclosed headwind reflecting demographic and enrollment trends rather than an AI-driven cut, a distinction this site draws honestly rather than treating a declining growth number as automation evidence by itself.
Skills this role draws on
We don't yet have task-by-task time-share data for this occupation, so we can't show which specific tasks carry the exposure score above. This is the real skill set instead.
Typical salary range (USD)
$48,780–$107,600
Average: $72,040/yr
Range source: O*NET OnLine, 2025 wage data via BLS OEWS, SOC 25-2031.00 'Secondary School Teachers'
Average source: O*NET OnLine 2025 wage data (Annual Median Wage) for Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education (25-2031.00)
Head-to-head comparisons
Secondary School Teacher scores 25/100, reflecting real overlap between AI capability and teaching's preparation and grading side. Real 2026 AI tools (MagicSchool AI) genuinely handle grading assistance, saving teachers 60-80% of grading time on rubric-based work, but every credible account describes this as reviewed feedback, not autonomous grading, and none of it touches live classroom management, real-time behavioral judgment, or mid-lesson adaptation, the core of the job. Most states require a teaching credential/license, a real professional wall. BLS projects a declining outlook (-1% or lower, 2024-2034) reflecting demographic and enrollment trends rather than AI displacement, a distinction disclosed honestly rather than treated as automation evidence on its own, as of 2026-09-21.
This is a researched judgment (checklist v1.2), not a statistical measurement — it sits alongside, not instead of, the structural exposure signal above. Next scheduled review: 2027-03-21.
Sources (5)
- https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/25-2031.00
- https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/25-2031.00
- https://www.kuraplan.com/blog/best-ai-grading-tools-2026
- https://cograder.com/content/magicschool-ai-alternatives/
- https://www.gradingpal.com/blog/top-5-ai-grading-tools-for-k-12-teachers-and-schools-in-2026
Data sources & methodology
Salary data: O*NET OnLine, 2025 wage data via BLS OEWS, SOC 25-2031.00 'Secondary School Teachers'. Min/max figures represent the 10th–90th percentile annual wage range across the United States. Average figure sourced separately: O*NET OnLine 2025 wage data (Annual Median Wage) for Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education (25-2031.00).
Automation Risk Score: Based on O*NET occupational analysis (25-2031.00) evaluating task complexity, physical requirements, social intelligence, and environmental variability. Methodology based on research from Frey & Osborne (Oxford, 2017).
Growth projections: -1% or lower (2024-2034), reflecting demographic and enrollment trends rather than a disclosed AI-driven headwind, distinct from a booming or declining automation story (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook), based on BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.