I am new to online teaching (and also to this forum). I recently applied to UOP. My plan is to transition out of elementary classroom teaching into online teaching. I have been a classroom teacher for 12 years along with various other positions in my state related to education. I have a Bachelors, and 2 Masters degrees in Education. I am currently pursuing a Masters in Educational Leadership online. <<My plan was to pay for this degree with online teaching money>> So, I applied to UOP. The recruiter emailed me and asked for transcripts, teaching license, and resume. I promptly sent those. Three days later, I get an email (I have not talked to anyone at this point) that says that they have reviewed my credentials and they can't use me but will keep me in the file.....Now, what gives? If they didnt hire Masters people I could understand...or if I had applied blindly - but this job was posted (?) I was wondering if my field was harder to get into? Is this standard - should I keep trying? All opinions would help....Thanks!
Please do not take this as a slam on you, but you must realize from reading this forum that there are TONS of people for every position out there. With the economy what it is, that number will only increase. Education is one of the harder fields to get into online adjuncting from what I have been told as there are a lot of working teachers out there looking to supplement their incomes. Unless your resume' and credentials are extraordinary, you will not get a second glance. Look for areas to improve your resume' - course development, curriculum review, administrative experience, etc. are good additions to set you apart from all those others out there with classroom time. This "Dear John" is a common response. Most people I know who adjunct applied to numerous schools before getting their first gig. At least you received a response - many schools will not even bother to take that step if they decide they are not interested in you. Keep trying and you will eventually land your first gig. Another option you might want to consider is applying to an onground UOP campus if there is one near you. Once you are in the system, it becomes easier to transition to online.
A few thoughts for you... I am going through the training process with UoP right now. You stated that you want to get out of the elementary classroom and teach online. Keep in mind that UoP wants its facutly to be working in the field while they're teaching online. Unless I'm mistaken, if you were to get an online adjunct position with UoP, they wouldn't want you to quit your day job. Plus, you wouldn't make enough income with UoP alone to make up for your teacher's salary. As I stated, I'm going through UoP's training process. I applied one for Education - Curriculum and Instruction. I got the same "Dear John" email you did. A few months later they posted positions for Education - History & Social Studies. I applied for this as well, and this is the position I am being "hired" for. As Truckie said, the more generic positions have tons of people competing for them. History Education was more specific, and I think that's why they gave me a shot this time. Keep trying! -Matt
I just comnpleted their training an am in the mentorship phase. I applied twice before I actually got an offer. I've heard similar stories. My advice is to keep applying - not only with UOP but other schools as well. If you look through some of the previous posts, you will find lists of schools to apply to. Don't be discouraged by others bad experiences either. Make your own experiences. Good luck!
Thank you for your insight Matt. This helps me alot. I guess I didnt realize how competitive it was. I don't know anyone else who adjuncts online so I just assumed I'd found a well kept secret --- LOL. After getting over the initial OH WELL feeling...I have renewed resolve to keep trying. I (unfortunately) am not qualified to teach any specific subjects. One Masters is in Curriculum & Instruction and one is in Special Ed. I have taught elementary the entire time that I have been working so no secondary endorsements.....I do have two questions for you...Do you feel that continually applying for online openings is worthwhile? (and) Is obtaining another qualified area just a matter of taking 18 hours in a subject area or is a masters a necessity? Thank you for your answers, they have been REALLY helpful!!
Thank you Truckie, Matt, and Bplyer. I didnt see all of the answers until after I'd posted the other message! I plan to keep trying to teach --- LOL. I will be applying to other schools and I have been reading a lot of the posts on this forum....It does seem to take a while to get hired. Ah well.....
My MS is in Curriculum and Instruction as well, but I was able to apply for the History and Social Studies spot because that's what I teach. They weren't necessarily concerned with how many grad credits I had in social studies. While I am working on a History & Political Science MA with WNMU, that didn't matter to them, though it may have given me a heads up. I'm not sure. They did require I send my undergraduate transcript though to prove I had a major in history. As for the 18 hours thing, I would say it's worthwhile. People have mentioned repeatedly that havine only 18 hours is the bare minimum, so you could potentially be competing with people who have a full masters or even a doctorate. For me, I only need the 18 hours because I'm teaching the courses as the high school where I work. I have a captive market. I'm hoping that after getting experience with them, I'll be able to get into adjuncting online for history and political science or even at the local community college. -Matt
I'm in a totally different field but have a few ideas. UoP is probably a harder place to start as a first online position, as someone else said. Try a local college or community college that has an online program and try to get hired to teach at night or online. If you are looking to quit your "day job" then UoP isn't going to want you anyway. There are lots of schools that would be good places to work that don't expect you to have a day job. I am teaching at UoP for the extra experience but they were not my first job. If you have two masters already, why are you getting another? I am not sure how much demand there is for Educ Leadership online teaching positions if you haven't actually been in a position of management. If you keep at it, you'll get hired. I love teaching online- it is challenging and rewarding.
Thank you for your help mbaonline. I am pursuing another masters degree in Ed Leadership because moving up within my school system currently requires the degree first - promotion later ...LOL. Interestingly enough, in this system, they would rather hire an inexperienced manager with teaching experience and a degree in administration. (I know...?) So, I think I have something to give in the upper levels of the elementary education world and my desire to transistion out of the classroom comes from that place. I would like to choose a path but they all seem to be laced with requirements (smile). Online teaching would be my top pick but in the interim preparing to become an administrator is the plan. I have been thinking however, about a doctorate instead. Does anyone think that makes the process of teaching that much easier? Or is there enough work for masters degree holders?
Please do not take this as a slam on you, but you must realize from reading this forum that there are TONS of people for every position out there.
Thanks for responding rajagiri. I am finally over feeling slammed. Thanks to this forum and the responses I received....I am still trying!
I teach for UOP/Axia and it took me a few tries as well. I don't have a terminal degree but I do have online and brick/mortar teaching experience.
