As a national board-certified teacher, one can relocate to any state and not need to transfer his or her teaching license. Also, because of its status, this qualification would almost guarantee a teacher a good job. In the past, most high school teachers did have only Bachelor's degrees, but this is changing. I, myself, have a Master's degree. The National Center for Education Statistics reports that 47.3 percent of teachers today have a Master's degree or higher.
Many scientists do choose to go into industry because it usually pays more than academics.
However, salaries at the secondary level are not as low as one might expect. This can make teaching at the secondary level attractive for a Ph.D. scientist, at least compared to postdoctoral positions or working outside of his or her field. Many scientists have chosen secondary education as a career. However, there is still a growing need for more science teachers at this level, mainly because of retirements. The National Center for Education Statistics has found that 35.2 percent of high school teachers have been teaching for nine years or less.