What is a health teacher and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted Expert
Dr. Diana Jones

The job of a health teacher is to educate students about topics related to health and wellness. These subject areas encompass topics like nutrition, first aid, exercise, basic illnesses, sex education, and personal safety.

The typical duties of a health teacher are planning and teaching lessons, conducting research about the topics they plan to teach, assessing students' learning through tests and practical exams, and providing advice for students who have specific questions about health and wellness--either inside or outside of the classroom. Moreover, just like other teachers, a health teacher also does tasks like maintaining student records and coordinating with other educational staff.

To become a health teacher, one must have a bachelor's degree in education, health education, kinesiology, or a similar field. A teacher license is also a major requirement. Moreover, a health teacher must be able to deliver health topics appropriately according to the age and demographics of their students. Other soft skills that they should have are communication, classroom management, and organization.

The average salary of a health teacher is around $54,000 a year. When it comes to demographics, there are more female health teachers than male, but the difference is not far off.

What general advice would you give to a Health Teacher?

D

Dr. Diana JonesDr. Diana Jones LinkedIn Profile

Chair, Department of Kinesiology, Anderson University

General advice: I would encourage graduates to find a mentor who can guide them in their careers, stay on top of the latest technology, not be too hard on themselves, be flexible, be team players, be present, and care about their students.
ScoreHealth TeacherUS Average
Salary
8.0

Avg. Salary $115,558

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level
8.4

Growth Rate 5%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity
4.7
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.45%

Asian 3.59%

Black or African American 8.03%

Hispanic or Latino 11.70%

Unknown 3.97%

White 72.26%

Gender

female 58.50%

male 41.50%

Age - 43
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43
Stress Level
8.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level
8.3

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance
5.9

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Health Teacher career paths

Key steps to become a health teacher

  1. Explore health teacher education requirements

    Most common health teacher degrees

    Bachelor's

    72.8 %

    Master's

    17.4 %

    Associate

    5.6 %
  2. Start to develop specific health teacher skills

    Skills
    ascdesc
    Percentages
    ascdesc
    Classroom Management20.13%
    Student Learning8.33%
    Professional Development7.79%
    K-126.00%
    Public Schools4.75%
  3. Complete relevant health teacher training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New health teachers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a health teacher based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real health teacher resumes.
  4. Research health teacher duties and responsibilities

    • Lead professional development for colleagues on integrating graphing calculators into the curriculum.
    • Coach varsity and junior varsity basketball, softball, volleyball, soccer, and baseball teams.
    • Coach cross country and volleyball teams.
    • Progress notes, IEP updates complete on NYS electronic medical records system.
  5. Prepare your health teacher resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your health teacher resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a health teacher resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose From 10+ Customizable Health Teacher Resume templates

    Build a professional Health Teacher resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Health Teacher resume.
    Health Teacher Resume
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    Health Teacher Resume
  6. Apply for health teacher jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a health teacher job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How Did You Land Your First Health Teacher Job

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Average health teacher salary

The average Health Teacher salary in the United States is $115,558 per year or $56 per hour. Health teacher salaries range between $61,000 and $216,000 per year.

Average Health Teacher Salary
$115,558 Yearly
$55.56 hourly

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How do health teachers rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

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Health Teacher reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2022
Pros

Kids, teaching lessons, co-teachers, hours, weekends off, salary, holidays off, summers off, paid sick and personal days

Cons

Administration, observations, being told what to teach and HOW to teach it, expecting us to participate in things we might not want to or have the time for, staff meetings with no substance


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2020
Pros

Ability to share knowledge and guide students in learning new things.

Cons

Some students' non-challant attitude towards learning.


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2020
Pros

The pedagogical autonomy. Teaching is an art and every year is (and should be) different. I recreate goals, programs and targets according to the needs of the students each year. Maine is an incredible place to teach as it doesn't require 3 page (or more lesson plans for each day. The admins are supportive and teachers are encouraged to improve and change their craft as needed.

Cons

The stress and absence of financial support are hard. I spend far too much of my own money buying notebooks because the families think I should. The lack of community support wears you down. The inflexible expectations of upper admin. The endless testing and the unrealistic demands and canned programs that do NOTHING to help students from financial and socio-economically challenged areas succeed.


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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