The Teaching Profession is one of the most unique career fields in the United States. Most teachers typically work 50-60 hours a week from September to May. When not working during the school year, many teachers pick up Summer jobs or work for the Summer School program.

Also, getting a teaching career started involves taking a state-specific certification test along with other prerequisites depending on what school they work at and what level of education they are working as a teacher.

Researchers from the University of Technology Sydney Online gathered data from the National Center for Education Statistics, the National Council on Teacher Quality, and the National Education Association to find out what are the best states to be a teacher in America.

The team at UTS Online weighed the following factors when creating their rankings of the best and worst states to be a teacher:

-Teacher Compensation
-Education and School Statistics
-Student Performance and Attainment
-Teacher Employment and Preparation
-School Environment

Where Does New Jersey Rank on the List of Best States For Teachers

In a Press Release from UTS Online, their research team ranked New Jersey as the second-best state for Teaching Careers in America. New Jersey Schools rank as some of the Safest Education Environments in the United States and a high rate of New Teachers ( 56 percent ) qualify for Teacher Pensions in New Jersey.

New Jersey Students rank number two in the United States in the Student Performance and Attainment Category, meaning that many NJ Students have a clear path to attaining a High School Degree. This makes a New Jersey Teacher’s job more straightforward compared to other states.

One more area unique to The Garden State is 8th Grade Students in New Jersey average the highest NAEP reading scores in the United States (270.25). This is significantly higher than New Jersey’s neighboring states of Pennsylvania and Delaware.

According to the UTS Rankings, Pennsylvania is the 12th best state for Teaching Careers and Delaware is 31st overall. Pennsylvania received low scores for Teacher Employment and Preparation while Delaware got low scores for Teacher Compensation.

Here are the Top Ten Best States For Teachers:

1. Massachusetts
2. New Jersey
3. Connecticut
4. New York
5. North Dakota
6. Maryland
7. Illinois
8. Georgia
9. Colorado
10. Vermont
11. Virginia
12. Pennsylvania

Continuing the conversation about Education in New Jersey, here is a ranking of the Best Public Schools in The Garden State based on Average Academic Scores: