Teacher Certification

There's quite a bit of money being tossed in the direction I am heading...

I don't think it's tantamount to keeping my head in the sand. I have nursing as a fall back plan.

-Steve King

 

Going into the education field right this second might not be a good idea, but I wouldn't say to avoid it all together. While states might be in a budget crunch right now, it will get better. Furthermore, turnover for teachers is so high, there will be positions in the future. (Approximately half of new teachers leave the profession within 5 years.)

Something else to consider is the large amount of teachers who are nearing retirement. When they start retiring, they'll leave a hole open for new teachers, which will actually be a cost savings for school divisions. My division alone has over one third of our staff within 5 years of retirement. We're going to have a bunch of openings in the next few years, regardless of budget status.

-Matt

 

Michael:

This thread has been dusted off and recycled. If you will look at the date of the post you quoted you will notice that I wrote it in 2002 and it was valid at the time.

That being said, Florida passed a class size ammendment a few years back and in this coming year high school classes are limited to 25 students. That is at the "class" level. The schools can't get away with averaging a class with 30 students with a class with 20 students and say we're even.

The Superintendent of this district says that he may have to hire 200 new teachers or an average of 4 per school.

Here's hoping that the person that started this thread has accomplished his goal he set 8 years ago.

Ted N.

 

Oh my gosh, Ted. I didn't even look at the date. I just assumed that it was current. LOL! Sorry about that.

I'm glad to hear that they are hiring teachers somewhere. Yes, in 2002 it was better that it is now, but it was still a pretty bad climate in California. It was pretty good through the late '90's until 2001 then bam!

 

I teach in Tennessee (6-8th Resource) and the job outlook for non-critical positions is not good. Special Ed, Math, and Science are still highly sought in most districts (in that order).

If you do receive a K-12 endorsement you should definitely look at taking as many 9-12 Praxis area tests (sociology, marketing, technology, etc) and become as flexible / invaluable as possible. Those areas, at least in the state of Tennessee, do not require additional coursework to become highly qualified.

 

Teachers of Math orr Science have some hope

I will be completing my BA this month and am hoping to get into alternate route teaching here in NJ. The outlook is not great, but math & science teachers are second only to special ed teachers when it comes to need. I have learned that substitute teaching although a low paying often thankless job can lead to better standing when a position does open up.

Here in NJ the budget cuts are causing serious teacher cutbacks, but the untenured teachers and paraprofessionals are the worst hit. My district is cutting cost by not renewing full time contracts. That way they can hire 2 part time workers and save on benefits. The fact that this is not in the best interest of the students does not seem to be a concern.

 

Yes it can help, but be very diligent in networking with the principal at each school. Having the principal know you is very helpful in getting a job. The problem is, at least when I used to sub, that the principals usually don't want to talk to you or don't have the time. People are always trying to talk to them and they are often bombarded. But I at least tried to introduce myself and hoped for the best. I finally landed a job at a school I never subbed for, go figure.

 

There are so many openings in special ed because it is a really heart breaking and difficult job. Some people are cut out for it, but I know that I am not. However, I have a couple of friends who are special ed teachers and they have grown to like it.

 

Nursing is one career that will always give you job security and an OK income, but it's a really tough job. My mother-in-law is a retired head RN for a hospital and the horror stories she tells of amazingly jerky doctors and 16 hour shifts would scare all but the toughest individuals away.

Teaching is a really great job. I totally love it. I hope those on this board who are looking can find something even though that's a slim chance right now. I'm sure as the economy improves that the teaching job outlook will improve. At least I hope so because my daughter is studying to be a teacher too.

 

Outlook for teachers here is awful. As a matter of fact, in the school district I live in they declared a financial emergency and announced this year that they plan to cut 63 MILLION dollars out of the budget over the next three years. They announced that they will be laying off teachers, support staff and office staff. In addition to this, they are freezing the teacher salaries. It was already next to impossible to get into the school system if you did not know someone. Even people who sign up to substitute, do not always get called b/c there are so many overqualified people signing up to sub. Long time teachers with Masters degrees subbing. It's really sad. I wonder if the government will bail out the schools the way it did Wall Street. Even private schools don't have very many openings around here because they have plenty of people to choose from! I don't even work in the field of Education anymore. I lucked into another job that is in the Social Services field but I still use a lot of what I learned with my teaching degree. I love my job now . I get paid more than I made at the private school but slightly less than I would have made at public school. However, my job has flexible hours and less stress. I don't regret getting my teaching degree at all but then again, I'm not paying a student loan every month while getting rejection letters for jobs in the mail. If that were the case, I might feel differently.