Special education teachers, secondary school
SOC Code: 25-2058
Special education teachers, secondary school carries a 36% AI exposure score (Medium automation risk), with a median annual wage of $69,590 and -1.6% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 164,200 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 36% AI exposure, Special education teachers, secondary school sits 1 points below the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 58% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
44/100
Special education teachers, secondary school, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage B- $69,590
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth F -1.6%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) D 36% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Special education teachers, secondary school in the Medium band.
Credential × growth standing
Bachelor's band with mid-pack BLS pace
Special education teachers, secondary school shares the Bachelor's gate with 178 peer occupations and lands in Slow growth (245 of 832). Neither the rarest nor the most crowded growth shelf - use wage and AI desks on this page for the differentiator.
Where Special education teachers, secondary school sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Special education teachers, secondary school sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
36% Around the middle lower than 42% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Special education teachers, secondary school vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Special education teachers, secondary school is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Special education teachers, secondary school's Medium automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score below 40% reflects tasks anchored in physical dexterity, unstructured environments, or high-touch human interaction that current AI cannot reliably replicate.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 25-2058) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Special education teachers, secondary school be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Special education teachers, secondary school. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Establish and enforce rules for behavior and policies and procedures to maintain order among students.
- 2. Maintain accurate and complete student records, and prepare reports on children and activities, as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
- 3. Confer with parents, administrators, testing specialists, social workers, or other professionals to develop individual educational plans (IEPs) for students' educational, physical, and social development.
- 4. Employ special educational strategies and techniques during instruction to improve the development of sensory- and perceptual-motor skills, language, cognition, and memory.
- 5. Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects, and communicate those objectives to students.
- 6. Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
- 7. Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification and positive reinforcement.
- 8. Confer with parents or guardians, other teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students' behavioral and academic problems.
- 9. Develop and implement strategies to meet the needs of students with a variety of handicapping conditions.
- 10. Teach personal development skills, such as goal setting, independence, and self-advocacy.
Key Skills Required
- Learning Strategies
- Instructing
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Monitoring
- Social Perceptiveness
- Coordination
- Service Orientation
Knowledge Areas
- Education and Training
- English Language
- Psychology
- Customer and Personal Service
- Therapy and Counseling
- Administrative
- Computers and Electronics
- Mathematics
- Public Safety and Security
- Administration and Management
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Special education teachers, secondary school?
Special education teachers, secondary school has an AI exposure score of 36%, indicating a medium level of automation risk. The majority of tasks in this role require human judgment, creativity, or physical presence that AI cannot easily replicate.
What is the job outlook for Special education teachers, secondary school?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Special education teachers, secondary school is projected to decline by 1.6% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 164,200 workers.
What skills are needed for Special education teachers, secondary school?
Key skills for Special education teachers, secondary school include Learning Strategies, Instructing, Reading Comprehension, and others. Typical entry-level education is Bachelor's degree.
How much do Special education teachers, secondary school earn?
The median annual wage for Special education teachers, secondary school is $69,590, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Special education teachers, secondary school?
The typical entry-level education for Special education teachers, secondary school is Bachelor's degree. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves None. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Special education teachers, secondary school?
Special education teachers, secondary school roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
Medium automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. Most tasks require human judgment and are resistant to automation.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Special education teachers, secondary school: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (36% here).
- Agricultural technicians · AI exposure 36%
- Aircraft structure, surfaces, rigging, and systems assemblers · AI exposure 36%
- Bioengineers and biomedical engineers · AI exposure 36%
- Cardiologists · AI exposure 36%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (-1.6% here).
- Baggage porters and bellhops · growth -1.6%
- Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters · growth -1.6%
- Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants · growth -1.6%
- Kindergarten teachers, except special education · growth -1.6%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 57 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Special education teachers, secondary school's numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Special education teachers, secondary school side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).