Why be a Middle School STEM Teacher

“Teaching science to middle schoolers is challenging, joyful and intense work. I love sharing the feeling of discovery when my students have some experience that helps them explain a phenomenon that we are investigating. I love when they have wrestled with a tough idea and come out the other side feeling exhausted but proud of their thinking. It isn’t always like this, but when we are learning the room sort of hums.” - Malia McDowell, Science/Robotics/Computer Science Teacher, Horizon Middle School, WWU MIT Graduate

Read more quotes from local teachers

How much does a teacher earn?

Is there a need for teachers?

Projections show a rising demand for teachers and a shrinking supply.

Graph showing teacher supply projections higher than teacher demand projections through 2025

From: A Coming Crisis in Teaching? Teacher Supply, Demand, and Shortages in the U.S.

Learn more about the need for teachers 

Can I get Student Loan Forgiveness?

Why teach STEM at the Middle School Level?

  • Middle schoolers are amazing!  They have a lot of humor, creativity, compassion and independence. They are curious about the world and more aware of things outside themselves. It’s a fun age group- not scary like so many people think.
  • It feels like an opportunity to grab students before science becomes specialized and really focus on hooking them in and helping everyone see themselves as a scientist.  Because science is more integrated in middle school, you can more easily point out connections and interweave different sciences.
  • You get to dive into science content in ways you can’t in Elementary School, while not getting too specialized like high school. Teaching a broad variety is always interesting! You can catch the interest of more individual students throughout the year.

Want to see what being a teacher would be like?

SCED 481 is a two credit course designed to give you an introduction to being a science teacher.  Learn more about SCED 481.

There are two routes you can take to become a Middle School STEM Teacher

Venn Diagram showing the overlap of Elementary, Middle, and High School teachers with the K-8 certificationa nd the 6-12 certification.  Middle school teachers can choose either path