High School Teacher vs Preschool Teacher: Which Field Is Better?

Dimension	High School Teacher	Preschool Teacher
Median pay	$64,580	$37,120
Projected growth (2024–34)	-1.6%	4.1%
Annual openings	66,200	65,500
2024 employment	1,094,500	555,100
2034 projected employment	1,076,700	578,100
Self-employed share	0%	0.6%
Typical entry education	Bachelor's degree	Associate's degree
Related work experience	None	None
On-the-job training	None	None

Dimension

High School Teacher

Preschool Teacher

Median pay

$64,580

$37,120

Projected growth (2024–34)

-1.6%

4.1%

Annual openings

66,200

65,500

2024 employment

1,094,500

555,100

2034 projected employment

1,076,700

578,100

Self-employed share

0.6%

Typical entry education

Bachelor's degree

Associate's degree

Related work experience

None

On-the-job training

None

High School Teacher: main tradeoff

Headline employment growth can look weak while replacement openings and real-world shortages remain large; turnover and working conditions are essential to the story.

Preschool Teacher: main tradeoff

Demand and openings are substantial, but pay is low relative to other education careers, making compensation and retention the defining tradeoffs.

Which should you choose?

High School Teacher has the higher national median pay in the BLS data. Preschool Teacher has the higher projected 2024–2034 growth rate. The larger decision is whether you prefer the training path, work style, and occupation-specific tradeoffs of High School Teacher or Preschool Teacher.