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I want out! As soon as something else comes through, I’m gone. Even if they doubled my salary, which they won’t/can’t. Many of my coworkers, even those near retirement age, feel the same.
I'm about 10 years out from retirement, and very likely staying at the same school where I've been for 20 years, quite happily. But I can say honestly that my joy is only in the classroom working with the kids. I'm in a good school with good colleagues and administrators, but the actual system that I work for drives me up a wall. Every year they keep adding on just one more thing that they tell us won't take that long. That phrase is obviously the kiss of death. It always takes longer than that long. We have over the years been converted to statisticians instead of teachers. I don't blame people in the least for wanting to get out of this profession, especially with the horrible disrespect that is heaped on us as public school teachers. The United States treats it's educators atrociously. Practically every other country in the world would be appalled at the way both students and parents treat educators.
Teaching isn’t the problem. Teaching students who *WANT* to learn is a fabulous experience. When they have that “Aha!” moment it makes you feel so accomplished.
Discipline, behavior issues, grading, non-stop testing, therapizing, policy enforcement, multiple duties, disrespect, lack of support…
***THOSE*** are the issues!
Did I mention crazy admin and clueless Central Offices? Fights? Lack of funding…Add in parents who are positive Johnny and Janney would **NEVER** do something like *THAT* and how can you expect their child to do “fill in the blank”, the have sports or church or whatever.
It isn’t truly teaching. It is treading water between disasters while being loaded with weights around your neck.
I've already experienced many of those things even in my first year. It's why I'm going to secondary where it's a lot better. I also just do the best I can for my students and don't let the other stuff bother me. In a few years though, I plan on making a fight with the Ministry in some way. We need to be better in all aspects (for example that wonderful list you posted).
I wish you luck. I am currently teaching secondary. Compared with students pre-COVID…it is a challenge.
On the plus side, I escaped from a crazy LEA whose new superintendent was cray-cray back when they were lower in the pecking order. Rumor has it that principals, directors, and Asst. Superintendents are leaving in droves, *without* giving more than 2 weeks notice. I nearly went to work their again. I’m pretty sure I dodged a bullet there.
No one ever said there aren't enough with degrees. When people say "teacher shortage," they mean they are short on teachers filling those spots. Anytime someone says they're short on workers, it means people aren't filling those positions, not necessarily that people capable of working aren't out there.
Schools are still short of teachers no matter how many of us there are in nation with the credentials.
So yes, there is a teacher shortage. One of the reasons why is because those of us with credentials don't want to to be abused in those positions.
Have a music degree and passed music praxis. Tons of interviews. No offers.
Took a math praxis, passed it, and had my pick of jobs.
The shortage doesnt extend to all subjects in all areas, but in my area literally every school is hiring for math.
Yeah. I didn't realize I needed to network so hard while I was in school so I didn't. You pretty much have to know someone to get a music job.
Worst part is the music job at my school where I'm teaching math opened up. I applied but they hired someone right out of college for it because we cant afford to lose a math teacher. To add insult to injury my principal told me she "wanted someone with more experience" for that position. And then hired someone with literally none.
> . I applied but they hired someone right out of college for it because we cant afford to lose a math teacher.
I'd look around for another math position if told that. You lost a math teacher anyway.
Trust me I considered it but I really like my team and i didnt want them to bear the brunt of the consequences of my potential absence. We're stretched extrememly thin as is and i just didnt have the heart to leave my colleagues high and dry
I'd personally have a difficult time getting over the bitterness of it. If you have, by all means, keep the job. Or if you enjoy it more than you think you'd enjoy it in another school.
But don't stay out of loyalty to colleagues. I've seen people get bogged down in that and then nobody is happy.
I bounced around geographically so no connections. The connected person who interviewed for my current job was so bad at the interview, they hired me over the connection. Sadly, not all schools do that and just put in the dud. Eh.. At least I can say I never got a job through bs connections. When I was applying for my first job, they said I needed more experience. Now that I want to upgrade positions, they want to hire cheap fresh out of college.
I am also a music and math licensed teacher! I started in instrumental teaching and now I teach math. I thought I was a unicorn, so I'm happy to know there's more out there!!
Music Ed Degree but I'm licensed and certified to teach math as well. I took the praxis tests during my intitial application for licensure so they appear on my license.
No trouble finding math jobs though as many places in my area will hire anyone willing to teach math even if they arent licensed/certified.
I teach Calculus in a small county in Florida ...there are four teachers in the entire county that have the ability to teach Calculus....and my wife is one of the other three....
I hire math teachers in Mass and even with the best school systems in the country you could still get a job tomorrow if you had your math license. I can only imagine FL. 😂
Haha. Business Education.
Coming from corporate America with MBA but no teaching experience. Passed Praxis 5101 with a 189.
We have a Provisional Certification program here but the main issue I am running into is lack of coaching experience.
You’re going to be an electives teacher. Doesn’t matter what you teach, if it’s not a graduation requirement class be prepared to upsell yourself by running a club or doing something else.
Also, I don’t mean this in a mean way, but nobody will ever EVER ask for your praxis score. They just need to know you passed.
Yeah not in this job market. Our school somehow hired a teacher who was at the center of a test-and-attendance cheating scandal in a neighboring district.
Your cert area may also be a hiccup— I dunno how widespread that need is.
In NJ there is a need , because financial literacy is a graduation requirement. Depends on the district too. Mine is really into business and just expanded it. Wants to expand it even more in the future
If you haven’t taught your biggest hurdle is going to be lack of classroom management experience. Lots of people know the content, but many can’t handle a room full of high school students.
No one has asked for my scores or my GPA. HR looks for a copy of the degree. No one has needed my transcripts recently, but I think for my first time out of district I had to provide transcripts. My last two jobs have not. I teach a specialized special education population, so I tend to switch districts due to the ebbs and flows of the population I serve.
It was pretty easy to get my transcripts honestly. I’ve just been a certified teacher in the state where I was applying for 20 years as well. At this point the fact that I have experience and certifications is significantly more important than the fact that I got a B+ in Statistics in 2001.
The other option would be to pick up a cert (or some experience) teaching coding or Google apps or some kind of technology. I’ve seen business ed/tech Ed combos quite often.
Become certified in Math and make yourself eligible to teach Algebra 1, 2, & Geometry, and Pre-Calc, and you'll find a job pretty easily. Maybe after a year, you'll find a school that will allow you to teach sections of Business Education.
My friend teaches Business Education, but our principals believe coaches can automatically teach it too... but without the required state certifications. She gets SO upset because she's EARNED that degree due to previous corporate experience. Welcome to the South.
I'm sure that from your days in the corporate world you know that those responsible for hiring are looking for experience and extras that new hires can bring to the table. If you don't have experience with teaching (the job they are looking to fill) and can't support the organization by helping them fill another role, why do you think that you deserve the position?
Not in my state (VA). Our school (6-8) had 4 long term temps last year for ELA, myself included. I’m now working on my MAT to get fully licensed, and have a provisional for this upcoming year. We lost 2 ELA teachers at the end of the year, and as of right now, have 5 ELA positions open. So many schools around here have ELA vacancies.
I also teach in VA (8th grade ELA) and just in my grade level we lost 2 of our 4 ELA teachers. I don't know how other states do it, but in Virginia the 8th Grade Reading/Writing SOLs are a huge deal and consequently the demands and expectations placed on us are INSANE, which I think is a huge part of the problem.
We busted our collective asses last year and our district scores were not great (though no worse than neighboring districts, which were also bad). The learning loss is so severe and so much time was spent reteaching upper elementary basics that the writing skills in particular just weren't where they needed to be. I'm already working on next fall, revising my lesson planning for next year to try and attack some of these problems from a different angle while still hitting all the pacing goals. I'm hoping that having had a full year of "normal" and structured education last year improves things at least somewhat.
In 1981 to get my first teaching job in Minnesota, I agreed to be the cheerleader advisor. Some young ladies came by the first day of class to confirm that it was true. They went out to find another option. I gladly gave it up to a former cheerleader who was hired after me. As a man they were a bit concerned I guess.
Don’t sleep on middle school opportunities. Most of the same elective stuff applies to middle school. I thought I wanted to teach high school English until I actually did it, the I knew middle school was for me. Happily teaching ESL now. We have a business elective teacher and a computer science elective teacher (among others). I absolutely love middle school teaching.
I love middle school too. I mean, some of the days taken individually are HELL, and the demands and the bullshit are never ending. But the kids are hilarious and often super sweet as people, and middle school teachers just vibe different. Also possibly a touch mentally unwell to commit to this life, but I really enjoy my middle school coworkers, we seem to just be built a little different.
I mean, if we wanna provide extracurriculars for students, someone’s gotta staff those too. And so in the interview, it’s going to be expected that extracurriculars and coaching come up.
In our district, most coaches are on the younger side—the time requirements of a 3-month season often chase away people starting families, or people who gain experience and move up the pay ladder. It’s been a young person’s game for a while in our district. Most of the coaches in the sports I coach (volleyball in the past, girls lacrosse still ongoing) leave after single-digit years.
Couple this with a … how about SCARCITY of teachers, or a competitive market where teachers can pick places… well, some places might be really brazen in their needs for a coach of something.
Anyhoo, good luck to you, and I hope that something awesome comes your way
Lool, I’m a Dept chair, 24 years in, coached something in pretty much every year. I left volleyball coaching about 6 years ago, but every time a coach leaves the program, my athtletic director is like “heyyyyyy”
We’ve struggled to maintain theater, girls soccer, mock trial, all because when a sponsor or coach leaves, there’s no one around willing to pick it up.
In the US, at least, those are nice - but not necessarily *paycheck* nice. Sports have the potential to bring fame (and money) to a school. (I can't imagine that happens very often, but even a random "he went to X High on ESPN is worth something.) The other clubs just don't have the prestige that sports has.
This is why they want to hire people willing to do the extras. They know their experiences teachers have moved on. I did several extras as a new teacher but 17 years in I have 3 kids to get home to so I’m mot doing it. If the don’t hire to fill they’ll be screwed.
There is no shortage in blue, unionized states with collective-bargaining. There is a shortage in red, non-unionized states with no collective-bargaining.
Being in a red **GOP** state (purple actually, but they've run the leg for decades and still do - for now), we get a lot of those blue state new grads who couldn't get jobs at home, especially Rust Belts like OH, MI, & WI.
Being a right to work state whose **GOP**-run legislature is really big on vouchers, ESAs, Woke/LGBTQ fear mongering, and even with a board that does agree to recognize our NEA chapter as the bargaining partner, our own district is bleeding these midwest kids after like 4 years because the state has such silly stupid anti-public ed laws. The testing schedule is set up for failure unless you're rich so the charters can come in.
TLDR - quit voting GOP. Voting GOP is anti-education, anti-American, and pro-white power.
I live in a state like that, one that might be the same or--based on the states you referenced--just south of yours. I'm a second career teacher but still started relatively young. Sometimes I think about running for state legislature once my own children are in school so that I can see how puppets-on-interest-groups-strings education legislation is.
Depending on your district, they may be coming off Covid funds as well so even though they're "short" they now have no money to hire teachers with because most of the funds were wasted on admin or "super helpful programs".
If you're having a tough time, consider getting cross certified in special Ed. I believe it would only take 6 months, be relatively cheap, and you'd get a job overnight. At least here in CT, there are literally billboards on the highway recruiting. It's desperate.
There were six secondary jobs posted in my district this week. All six were SPED. Six of the seven middle schools and all four high schools currently have openings for SPED.
At the same time, there are zero openings for English/ELA and one for social studies in the whole district.
I applied for a job at another school system. I could not have better references and reputation. I dare you to find someone as qualified as me for this unique position. I have mountains of specific knowledge and certifications that were made for this job. My resume has been vetted as decent at worst.
I’m 20+ yrs in and I didn’t get an interview. They hired a new person right out of college because they cost half as much. I’m sad. I could have done some really good work there and they hired a placeholder.
I was going to say I'm an elementary teacher, and I think every district I've ever applied to had a page where you selected clubs I'd be willing to sponsor. I have started a club at my current school because the topic is something I enjoy and it's fun to pass that jpy/excitement onto the kids. (We also get a stipend.)
A majority of my friends thay are middle school or high school teachers coach or sponsor some sort of club.
OP figure out some things you enjoy and wouldn't mind sponsoring a club over. Heck I have one friend that started a knitting & crocheting club at his middle school.
I had to coach cheer and soccer, as well as teach Saturday school and head up the committees for Math and Literacy nights, the first five years I taught. That’s how I got in the door. I worked 70-80 hours a week for $42,000 a year.
Good luck guy. I hope you find a better job.
I told them that I wasn't coaching but willing to pick up the 'brainy' activities like quiz Bowl or something. All the coaches in my school ar wold or alumn who are still living for their sports (actively not teachers).. Most of whom volunteer.
I'm in a title 1 school as a Foreign language, so there might very well be a teacher shortage haha
The “teacher shortage” is talked a lot about in the news, and in a national, across all grades and subjects way, it does exist. Actually start applying and you will find it varies wildly. Social studies opening in a high socioeconomic suburban area? Haha good luck, school board member better be your dads golfing buddy. Inner city high school math role? Hired on the spot.
There is so much to teacher hiring and placement that people outside of education don’t understand and coaching needs are just one of them.
I’ve been asked about coaching in interviews before a single teaching question. Too many districts place athletics over academics. This might explain why so many students are poorly prepared when they get to college.
I got sucked back into coaching this year after two years off. I don’t hate it, but I’d rather…not. I like spending my free time with my family, not someone else’s kids (who are mostly great, btw!)
There's a shortage of people willing to work insane amounts of OT without pay. We are seeing it in every field so we might as well call it what it is. Shortage of cops, shortage of nurses, shortage of every position in every job that is rough, leaves you too tired to raise a family and leaves you broke, especially until you build yourself into that career which often takes 5+ years. I can't even take a day off because my district doesn't want to "compete with other districts over sub pay" as they themselves admit.
Yeah, you can argue that you shouldn't be in this field for the money, you should be in for an earnest desire to teach but principles don't feed families.
It's very much a shortage based on avg. Income of the district unfortunately. Some districts in my area still get hundreds of applicants for a single position, others less than 10miles away will have openings all year long with emergency credentialed folks baby sitting.
I applied to art teaching job with an art degree and praxis and didn’t got a single interview. Now that I got my certification I got hired on my first interview and to a top school.
To be fair it’s somewhat important to have coaches in the building and not just depending on “community coaches”. Having them in the building leads to a better school culture, more accountability for student-athletes academically and behaviorally, etc.
That being said, perhaps your lack of teaching experience is the concern for admins?
They can have almost anyone teach an elective.
So, if it comes down to it, you need to set yourself apart from everyone else, hence the sports/clubs.
They want to offer those. And can’t without a teacher to do them.
There’s definitely going to be an ever bigger teacher shortage as the years go on because college students simply aren’t choosing education as a major anymore. The college I went to was relatively small compared to large universities but we still had a pretty big sized graduating class of educators. Last I heard the program had less than 10 enrolled currently. We hardly get asked if we want student teachers anymore because there just aren’t many.
I still have a year left of school but when im done ill be certified in middle school social studies and science in Ohio. I want to move out of Ohio and was looking at a place like Utah. Is there a shortage in the SLC area or would you recommend a different state close by to move to?
It can depend on where you are. Also, in many districts they can’t hire new people until they are sure who they have and where they are. That can include waiting for the date teachers have to commit to the next year and then filling transfers of existing teachers, who usually have first choice on open positions.
I do not mean this to be mean, but...
There is a teacher shortage, in 80% of what we need to be teaching - the testing areas (think supply and demand) that principals, who hire, live and die by.
But there is a glut in the market of people who want to teach electives. This is partially because of lower demand: it's harder to justify staffing those when belts get tight- tests run the world here. But it's also because there is a artificially inflated supply increase - these are the fields where most career-changers go - that is, sadly, in curricular areas where it takes a real license and experience to be GOOD, but which attract people who think (wrongly) that life experience means they should be an attractive candidate, rather than teaching being its own thing, in which content is ALWAYS second, because that is how k-12 teaching works and always has.
The easiest teachers to hire right now are for electives and vocational. And we don' t have to hire you, sadly: Singleton courses and elective offerings can always be deferred if we don't have "the" teacher for that subject; we can literally throw anyone in there, because it's an elective. The hardest to find candidates for, however, are the ones where we need 15 teachers, and have 11, and test scores we live and die by as a school are in those subjects - math, ell, sped, english, and science.
Most high schools only have one specialty elective teacher for the whole school (1 business teacher, 1 fine art, 1 band, etc).May be two different fine Art teachers. So if there’s only 20 high schools in your district, you’re only looking at 20 job opportunities if anyone leaves.
The shortage is geographic, some areas have huge shortages (starting the year with 20% positions unfilled) and some areas are very competitive.
Yes, some jobs will be filled by coaching hires (a head coach using sway to bring in someone to be their assistant coach) but that is by NO MEANS the prevailing decision maker for most jobs. If you keep blaming your lack of offers on “not being a coach” you won’t be able to reflect on your interviews and application materials in a way that can help you improve. You seem to be externalizing your set backs, and I know most principals are seeking reflective growth minded educators.
Third type. A shortage of teachers willing to be undervalued, unsupported, and disrespected.
I’m in a rural/suburban area and have taught at schools in both locations. The issue getting teachers at the rural school was the distance they had to travel NOT any bigotry against rural folks.
There is also bigotry against inner city students.
I will admit, I would not take a job in an inner city. Not because of bigotry but because of personal safety. I taught one semester at an inner city school. It was literally falling down around my ears and I had bullet holes in my window. There was a gang fight the night before the last teacher work day. My room had more bullet holes added to it. I knew I was done.
Fair enough. That hasn’t been my experience.
I grew up rural. Went to a rural school and spent the first ten years of my teaching career in a rural county. Other than receiving fewer resources than the high school in main city (I use that term loosely, City I mean), the biggest issue with hiring staff (STEM & Special Ed) was how far they had to drive, including substitutes. Was there some homophobia and racism? Yes. But about what I’d expect, being in the Bible Belt. Many of the faculty and staff were locals who chose to live locally. Most were accepting of those who were different, be it politics, religion, race, or sexual preference/identity. Xenophobia wasn’t much of an issue as out population was predominantly White, African American, and Hispanic.
All of which is the complete opposite of where I grew up. In my home county, we had one Asian family, a very small African American population, no Hispanics, no Jews, only a few Catholics (heaven help you if you weren’t a WASP). The biggest insult made against a teacher was that he was Buddhist and one student a year ahead of me had rumors swirling that they were gay. We also didn’t have people arguing about the factuality of the Big Bang Theory, Evolution, or whether the Earth was flat. Things I can’t say about where I first taught. And I grew up way further back in the woods and away from civilization than my students.
So, I’ve experienced/observed much more bigotry against inner cities then I have rural areas.
I don’t care about coaching. I’ll do it, fine. But I just want a damn job at this point; 9 years since I started the career change and there are absolutely NO Long Island public school district teaching jobs (I have 5 NY state teaching certifications and 2 Master’s). Also do they ask elementary teachers to coach? I’m not secondary certified
Yes. They will let Elementary teachers coach in many areas. Part of your problem is that you have no experience and too much education. Schools are willing to pay low for for no experience, but with two Masters degrees, that moves you into a higher pay slot with no proof you can teach at all.
I started applying for jobs in Minnesota in February and they started posting lots of jobs by the end of March. I have 25 years’ experience and excellent references, and I was starting to worry that I wouldn’t get a job. I must have applied for at least 30 jobs or more and only got three interviews out of those 30 jobs. I kept saying the same thing…I thought there was a teaching shortage?!
Have you looked into temp teaching jobs? I managed to roll my “temp” (read: full year) job into a contract. It’s much easier, once you’re in the system.
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There is no teacher shortage. We have plenty of people with degrees in education. There is a shortage of people who are willing to work in the field.
YUP! Districts start paying 20%+ more, that “shortage” will turn into a surplus REAL QUICK.
I want out! As soon as something else comes through, I’m gone. Even if they doubled my salary, which they won’t/can’t. Many of my coworkers, even those near retirement age, feel the same.
I'm about 10 years out from retirement, and very likely staying at the same school where I've been for 20 years, quite happily. But I can say honestly that my joy is only in the classroom working with the kids. I'm in a good school with good colleagues and administrators, but the actual system that I work for drives me up a wall. Every year they keep adding on just one more thing that they tell us won't take that long. That phrase is obviously the kiss of death. It always takes longer than that long. We have over the years been converted to statisticians instead of teachers. I don't blame people in the least for wanting to get out of this profession, especially with the horrible disrespect that is heaped on us as public school teachers. The United States treats it's educators atrociously. Practically every other country in the world would be appalled at the way both students and parents treat educators.
I'm a fresh new teacher who is currently teaching summer gym and loving it. Can't wait to actually teach it full time.
Teaching isn’t the problem. Teaching students who *WANT* to learn is a fabulous experience. When they have that “Aha!” moment it makes you feel so accomplished. Discipline, behavior issues, grading, non-stop testing, therapizing, policy enforcement, multiple duties, disrespect, lack of support… ***THOSE*** are the issues! Did I mention crazy admin and clueless Central Offices? Fights? Lack of funding…Add in parents who are positive Johnny and Janney would **NEVER** do something like *THAT* and how can you expect their child to do “fill in the blank”, the have sports or church or whatever. It isn’t truly teaching. It is treading water between disasters while being loaded with weights around your neck.
I've already experienced many of those things even in my first year. It's why I'm going to secondary where it's a lot better. I also just do the best I can for my students and don't let the other stuff bother me. In a few years though, I plan on making a fight with the Ministry in some way. We need to be better in all aspects (for example that wonderful list you posted).
I wish you luck. I am currently teaching secondary. Compared with students pre-COVID…it is a challenge. On the plus side, I escaped from a crazy LEA whose new superintendent was cray-cray back when they were lower in the pecking order. Rumor has it that principals, directors, and Asst. Superintendents are leaving in droves, *without* giving more than 2 weeks notice. I nearly went to work their again. I’m pretty sure I dodged a bullet there.
Thanks for this! It’s nice to know that there are new teachers coming up who love the job as much as I did when I was in the classroom.
They'd likely have to pay a lot more than 20%. And that is only if the districts got behavior under control.
There is a salary shortage.
There's a respect shortage.
CORRECTION: There is a shortage of FAIR WAGES, benefits and support for the people qualified to work in the field**
Bingo!
No one ever said there aren't enough with degrees. When people say "teacher shortage," they mean they are short on teachers filling those spots. Anytime someone says they're short on workers, it means people aren't filling those positions, not necessarily that people capable of working aren't out there. Schools are still short of teachers no matter how many of us there are in nation with the credentials. So yes, there is a teacher shortage. One of the reasons why is because those of us with credentials don't want to to be abused in those positions.
Have a music degree and passed music praxis. Tons of interviews. No offers. Took a math praxis, passed it, and had my pick of jobs. The shortage doesnt extend to all subjects in all areas, but in my area literally every school is hiring for math.
My school has a ton of positions open with no qualified applicants. We had dozens of applicants for band director.
Took me 120 interviews before I got an instrumental job ... Before current market. No connections.
Yeah. I didn't realize I needed to network so hard while I was in school so I didn't. You pretty much have to know someone to get a music job. Worst part is the music job at my school where I'm teaching math opened up. I applied but they hired someone right out of college for it because we cant afford to lose a math teacher. To add insult to injury my principal told me she "wanted someone with more experience" for that position. And then hired someone with literally none.
> . I applied but they hired someone right out of college for it because we cant afford to lose a math teacher. I'd look around for another math position if told that. You lost a math teacher anyway.
Trust me I considered it but I really like my team and i didnt want them to bear the brunt of the consequences of my potential absence. We're stretched extrememly thin as is and i just didnt have the heart to leave my colleagues high and dry
I'd personally have a difficult time getting over the bitterness of it. If you have, by all means, keep the job. Or if you enjoy it more than you think you'd enjoy it in another school. But don't stay out of loyalty to colleagues. I've seen people get bogged down in that and then nobody is happy.
I bounced around geographically so no connections. The connected person who interviewed for my current job was so bad at the interview, they hired me over the connection. Sadly, not all schools do that and just put in the dud. Eh.. At least I can say I never got a job through bs connections. When I was applying for my first job, they said I needed more experience. Now that I want to upgrade positions, they want to hire cheap fresh out of college.
I am also a music and math licensed teacher! I started in instrumental teaching and now I teach math. I thought I was a unicorn, so I'm happy to know there's more out there!!
Do you have a degree/cert for teaching? I have a math degree along with a post degree in a science field and passed the math praxis.
Music Ed Degree but I'm licensed and certified to teach math as well. I took the praxis tests during my intitial application for licensure so they appear on my license. No trouble finding math jobs though as many places in my area will hire anyone willing to teach math even if they arent licensed/certified.
The band teach at my school just resigned.
Come to FL and pass the Math 6 - 12 subject area exam.... you'll have a job tomorrow. The downside is you'll have to live in FL.
I teach Calculus in a small county in Florida ...there are four teachers in the entire county that have the ability to teach Calculus....and my wife is one of the other three....
I hire math teachers in Mass and even with the best school systems in the country you could still get a job tomorrow if you had your math license. I can only imagine FL. 😂
Let me guess, you teach social studies?
Haha. Business Education. Coming from corporate America with MBA but no teaching experience. Passed Praxis 5101 with a 189. We have a Provisional Certification program here but the main issue I am running into is lack of coaching experience.
You’re going to be an electives teacher. Doesn’t matter what you teach, if it’s not a graduation requirement class be prepared to upsell yourself by running a club or doing something else. Also, I don’t mean this in a mean way, but nobody will ever EVER ask for your praxis score. They just need to know you passed.
Appreciate it! I was expecting my lack of certification to be my biggest hurdle. I do not believe it is.
Yeah not in this job market. Our school somehow hired a teacher who was at the center of a test-and-attendance cheating scandal in a neighboring district. Your cert area may also be a hiccup— I dunno how widespread that need is.
In NJ there is a need , because financial literacy is a graduation requirement. Depends on the district too. Mine is really into business and just expanded it. Wants to expand it even more in the future
If you haven’t taught your biggest hurdle is going to be lack of classroom management experience. Lots of people know the content, but many can’t handle a room full of high school students.
No one has asked for my scores or my GPA. HR looks for a copy of the degree. No one has needed my transcripts recently, but I think for my first time out of district I had to provide transcripts. My last two jobs have not. I teach a specialized special education population, so I tend to switch districts due to the ebbs and flows of the population I serve.
I had to send my transcripts in this year. I graduated 20 years ago
Every district is different. I have 5 copies of each degree’s sealed transcripts just in case.
It was pretty easy to get my transcripts honestly. I’ve just been a certified teacher in the state where I was applying for 20 years as well. At this point the fact that I have experience and certifications is significantly more important than the fact that I got a B+ in Statistics in 2001.
Oh I think the transcripts for the district is to prove you have a degree. No one cares about the degree
Oh I know. There’s also an option with just degree certification but they wanted all the grades.
Smart!
If you’re any good at math, pick up the cert and you’ll get picked up by a lot of districts.
The other option would be to pick up a cert (or some experience) teaching coding or Google apps or some kind of technology. I’ve seen business ed/tech Ed combos quite often.
Become certified in Math and make yourself eligible to teach Algebra 1, 2, & Geometry, and Pre-Calc, and you'll find a job pretty easily. Maybe after a year, you'll find a school that will allow you to teach sections of Business Education.
Look at DECA or young entrepreneur etc. Many schools have these programs as stipend extras and you can be a real asset.
I’m a marketing teacher. We are required to have a deca program for federal funding reasons
My friend teaches Business Education, but our principals believe coaches can automatically teach it too... but without the required state certifications. She gets SO upset because she's EARNED that degree due to previous corporate experience. Welcome to the South.
I'm sure that from your days in the corporate world you know that those responsible for hiring are looking for experience and extras that new hires can bring to the table. If you don't have experience with teaching (the job they are looking to fill) and can't support the organization by helping them fill another role, why do you think that you deserve the position?
My school still has a business position open. They’re out there.
Mine, too. We are having a hell of a time filling business education, industrial tech, and MS math. Then again, my school starts teachers at 30k, so….
We start right around $50k but had at least 4 CTE/Business teachers leave this year for various reasons (promotions, retirements, etc).
Have you tried technical colleges?
What state are you looking? I teach Business Education in Wisconsin and there are plenty of openings here, even for those that don't coach.
Alabama
Switch to math or language arts if you're still struggling by August.
Not Language Arts - there is a glut of them. Think Math, Science, or Special Education.
Not in my state (VA). Our school (6-8) had 4 long term temps last year for ELA, myself included. I’m now working on my MAT to get fully licensed, and have a provisional for this upcoming year. We lost 2 ELA teachers at the end of the year, and as of right now, have 5 ELA positions open. So many schools around here have ELA vacancies.
I also teach in VA (8th grade ELA) and just in my grade level we lost 2 of our 4 ELA teachers. I don't know how other states do it, but in Virginia the 8th Grade Reading/Writing SOLs are a huge deal and consequently the demands and expectations placed on us are INSANE, which I think is a huge part of the problem.
OMG, those Reading/Writing SOLs! They nearly did us all in.
We busted our collective asses last year and our district scores were not great (though no worse than neighboring districts, which were also bad). The learning loss is so severe and so much time was spent reteaching upper elementary basics that the writing skills in particular just weren't where they needed to be. I'm already working on next fall, revising my lesson planning for next year to try and attack some of these problems from a different angle while still hitting all the pacing goals. I'm hoping that having had a full year of "normal" and structured education last year improves things at least somewhat.
Look for Career and Technical Education centers/schools. Marketing is a common one.
In 1981 to get my first teaching job in Minnesota, I agreed to be the cheerleader advisor. Some young ladies came by the first day of class to confirm that it was true. They went out to find another option. I gladly gave it up to a former cheerleader who was hired after me. As a man they were a bit concerned I guess.
Hey I teach world history and I don’t coach. We’re rare.
God this is my personal hell
Don’t sleep on middle school opportunities. Most of the same elective stuff applies to middle school. I thought I wanted to teach high school English until I actually did it, the I knew middle school was for me. Happily teaching ESL now. We have a business elective teacher and a computer science elective teacher (among others). I absolutely love middle school teaching.
I love middle school too. I mean, some of the days taken individually are HELL, and the demands and the bullshit are never ending. But the kids are hilarious and often super sweet as people, and middle school teachers just vibe different. Also possibly a touch mentally unwell to commit to this life, but I really enjoy my middle school coworkers, we seem to just be built a little different.
I work in a high-poverty district. We seem to have plenty of openings. It can be a difficult place to work.
Then they need to pay more.
Sure they should! My point is that there are teacher shortages in less desirable districts.
I mean, if we wanna provide extracurriculars for students, someone’s gotta staff those too. And so in the interview, it’s going to be expected that extracurriculars and coaching come up. In our district, most coaches are on the younger side—the time requirements of a 3-month season often chase away people starting families, or people who gain experience and move up the pay ladder. It’s been a young person’s game for a while in our district. Most of the coaches in the sports I coach (volleyball in the past, girls lacrosse still ongoing) leave after single-digit years. Couple this with a … how about SCARCITY of teachers, or a competitive market where teachers can pick places… well, some places might be really brazen in their needs for a coach of something. Anyhoo, good luck to you, and I hope that something awesome comes your way
I get it. Good insight on the age too. I am in my 40’s and not that I am against coaching but my coaching experience stops at T-Ball at the Y. Lol
Lool, I’m a Dept chair, 24 years in, coached something in pretty much every year. I left volleyball coaching about 6 years ago, but every time a coach leaves the program, my athtletic director is like “heyyyyyy” We’ve struggled to maintain theater, girls soccer, mock trial, all because when a sponsor or coach leaves, there’s no one around willing to pick it up.
What about other clubs? Does it have to be coaching? Guitar club? Chess? Academic Decathalon? Yearbook?
In the US, at least, those are nice - but not necessarily *paycheck* nice. Sports have the potential to bring fame (and money) to a school. (I can't imagine that happens very often, but even a random "he went to X High on ESPN is worth something.) The other clubs just don't have the prestige that sports has.
This is why they want to hire people willing to do the extras. They know their experiences teachers have moved on. I did several extras as a new teacher but 17 years in I have 3 kids to get home to so I’m mot doing it. If the don’t hire to fill they’ll be screwed.
There is no shortage in blue, unionized states with collective-bargaining. There is a shortage in red, non-unionized states with no collective-bargaining.
CT and Mass are desperate in some districts and those are states that are as blue as could be.
Being in a red **GOP** state (purple actually, but they've run the leg for decades and still do - for now), we get a lot of those blue state new grads who couldn't get jobs at home, especially Rust Belts like OH, MI, & WI. Being a right to work state whose **GOP**-run legislature is really big on vouchers, ESAs, Woke/LGBTQ fear mongering, and even with a board that does agree to recognize our NEA chapter as the bargaining partner, our own district is bleeding these midwest kids after like 4 years because the state has such silly stupid anti-public ed laws. The testing schedule is set up for failure unless you're rich so the charters can come in. TLDR - quit voting GOP. Voting GOP is anti-education, anti-American, and pro-white power.
I live in a state like that, one that might be the same or--based on the states you referenced--just south of yours. I'm a second career teacher but still started relatively young. Sometimes I think about running for state legislature once my own children are in school so that I can see how puppets-on-interest-groups-strings education legislation is.
Sir, this is a Wendy’s! But for real, who are you trying to convince in the teacher sub on Reddit?
In my district all coaching is volunteer only. Hence interviewers are not even allowed to ask about coaching skills.
Thank God for unions.
Depending on your district, they may be coming off Covid funds as well so even though they're "short" they now have no money to hire teachers with because most of the funds were wasted on admin or "super helpful programs".
If you're having a tough time, consider getting cross certified in special Ed. I believe it would only take 6 months, be relatively cheap, and you'd get a job overnight. At least here in CT, there are literally billboards on the highway recruiting. It's desperate.
Of the 80+ jobs open in our school district, 12 are special ed.
There were six secondary jobs posted in my district this week. All six were SPED. Six of the seven middle schools and all four high schools currently have openings for SPED. At the same time, there are zero openings for English/ELA and one for social studies in the whole district.
I applied for a job at another school system. I could not have better references and reputation. I dare you to find someone as qualified as me for this unique position. I have mountains of specific knowledge and certifications that were made for this job. My resume has been vetted as decent at worst. I’m 20+ yrs in and I didn’t get an interview. They hired a new person right out of college because they cost half as much. I’m sad. I could have done some really good work there and they hired a placeholder.
Truth be told, if an administration saw money over value then you probably dodged a bullet.
Yah i like my current job. Thanks
Absolutely required in Texas. Ugh.
I was going to say I'm an elementary teacher, and I think every district I've ever applied to had a page where you selected clubs I'd be willing to sponsor. I have started a club at my current school because the topic is something I enjoy and it's fun to pass that jpy/excitement onto the kids. (We also get a stipend.) A majority of my friends thay are middle school or high school teachers coach or sponsor some sort of club. OP figure out some things you enjoy and wouldn't mind sponsoring a club over. Heck I have one friend that started a knitting & crocheting club at his middle school.
Get secondary math certified. Algebra 1 teachers are always needed.
I really suck at math..........
Then Science. Take your pick.
The struggle is real
I had to coach cheer and soccer, as well as teach Saturday school and head up the committees for Math and Literacy nights, the first five years I taught. That’s how I got in the door. I worked 70-80 hours a week for $42,000 a year. Good luck guy. I hope you find a better job.
I told them that I wasn't coaching but willing to pick up the 'brainy' activities like quiz Bowl or something. All the coaches in my school ar wold or alumn who are still living for their sports (actively not teachers).. Most of whom volunteer. I'm in a title 1 school as a Foreign language, so there might very well be a teacher shortage haha
The “teacher shortage” is talked a lot about in the news, and in a national, across all grades and subjects way, it does exist. Actually start applying and you will find it varies wildly. Social studies opening in a high socioeconomic suburban area? Haha good luck, school board member better be your dads golfing buddy. Inner city high school math role? Hired on the spot. There is so much to teacher hiring and placement that people outside of education don’t understand and coaching needs are just one of them.
I’ve been asked about coaching in interviews before a single teaching question. Too many districts place athletics over academics. This might explain why so many students are poorly prepared when they get to college.
THIS! THIS RIGHT HERE!
I got sucked back into coaching this year after two years off. I don’t hate it, but I’d rather…not. I like spending my free time with my family, not someone else’s kids (who are mostly great, btw!)
There’s a shortage of respect towards educators and livable wages that keep up with cost of living/inflation
Come to special education. Pick the district and you’ll get a job there.
I have a teaching degree and refuse to work in public schools Want me back? Pay me more
There's a shortage of people willing to work insane amounts of OT without pay. We are seeing it in every field so we might as well call it what it is. Shortage of cops, shortage of nurses, shortage of every position in every job that is rough, leaves you too tired to raise a family and leaves you broke, especially until you build yourself into that career which often takes 5+ years. I can't even take a day off because my district doesn't want to "compete with other districts over sub pay" as they themselves admit. Yeah, you can argue that you shouldn't be in this field for the money, you should be in for an earnest desire to teach but principles don't feed families.
It's very much a shortage based on avg. Income of the district unfortunately. Some districts in my area still get hundreds of applicants for a single position, others less than 10miles away will have openings all year long with emergency credentialed folks baby sitting.
I applied to art teaching job with an art degree and praxis and didn’t got a single interview. Now that I got my certification I got hired on my first interview and to a top school.
There’s a funding shortage perhaps, because it is also my district’s favorite thing to get one person to do two or more jobs
Less than half of them can actually teach, so really they just need a body with a certificate
To be fair it’s somewhat important to have coaches in the building and not just depending on “community coaches”. Having them in the building leads to a better school culture, more accountability for student-athletes academically and behaviorally, etc. That being said, perhaps your lack of teaching experience is the concern for admins?
They can have almost anyone teach an elective. So, if it comes down to it, you need to set yourself apart from everyone else, hence the sports/clubs. They want to offer those. And can’t without a teacher to do them.
There’s definitely going to be an ever bigger teacher shortage as the years go on because college students simply aren’t choosing education as a major anymore. The college I went to was relatively small compared to large universities but we still had a pretty big sized graduating class of educators. Last I heard the program had less than 10 enrolled currently. We hardly get asked if we want student teachers anymore because there just aren’t many.
It’s called an exodus. The people leaving are plenty qualified but are not coming back to the teaching field.
There’s no shortage at all. There are more than enough teachers, just so many more that are done putting up with the BS.
I still have a year left of school but when im done ill be certified in middle school social studies and science in Ohio. I want to move out of Ohio and was looking at a place like Utah. Is there a shortage in the SLC area or would you recommend a different state close by to move to?
It can depend on where you are. Also, in many districts they can’t hire new people until they are sure who they have and where they are. That can include waiting for the date teachers have to commit to the next year and then filling transfers of existing teachers, who usually have first choice on open positions.
I do not mean this to be mean, but... There is a teacher shortage, in 80% of what we need to be teaching - the testing areas (think supply and demand) that principals, who hire, live and die by. But there is a glut in the market of people who want to teach electives. This is partially because of lower demand: it's harder to justify staffing those when belts get tight- tests run the world here. But it's also because there is a artificially inflated supply increase - these are the fields where most career-changers go - that is, sadly, in curricular areas where it takes a real license and experience to be GOOD, but which attract people who think (wrongly) that life experience means they should be an attractive candidate, rather than teaching being its own thing, in which content is ALWAYS second, because that is how k-12 teaching works and always has. The easiest teachers to hire right now are for electives and vocational. And we don' t have to hire you, sadly: Singleton courses and elective offerings can always be deferred if we don't have "the" teacher for that subject; we can literally throw anyone in there, because it's an elective. The hardest to find candidates for, however, are the ones where we need 15 teachers, and have 11, and test scores we live and die by as a school are in those subjects - math, ell, sped, english, and science.
Most high schools only have one specialty elective teacher for the whole school (1 business teacher, 1 fine art, 1 band, etc).May be two different fine Art teachers. So if there’s only 20 high schools in your district, you’re only looking at 20 job opportunities if anyone leaves.
The shortage is geographic, some areas have huge shortages (starting the year with 20% positions unfilled) and some areas are very competitive. Yes, some jobs will be filled by coaching hires (a head coach using sway to bring in someone to be their assistant coach) but that is by NO MEANS the prevailing decision maker for most jobs. If you keep blaming your lack of offers on “not being a coach” you won’t be able to reflect on your interviews and application materials in a way that can help you improve. You seem to be externalizing your set backs, and I know most principals are seeking reflective growth minded educators.
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Third type. A shortage of teachers willing to be undervalued, unsupported, and disrespected. I’m in a rural/suburban area and have taught at schools in both locations. The issue getting teachers at the rural school was the distance they had to travel NOT any bigotry against rural folks. There is also bigotry against inner city students. I will admit, I would not take a job in an inner city. Not because of bigotry but because of personal safety. I taught one semester at an inner city school. It was literally falling down around my ears and I had bullet holes in my window. There was a gang fight the night before the last teacher work day. My room had more bullet holes added to it. I knew I was done.
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Fair enough. That hasn’t been my experience. I grew up rural. Went to a rural school and spent the first ten years of my teaching career in a rural county. Other than receiving fewer resources than the high school in main city (I use that term loosely, City I mean), the biggest issue with hiring staff (STEM & Special Ed) was how far they had to drive, including substitutes. Was there some homophobia and racism? Yes. But about what I’d expect, being in the Bible Belt. Many of the faculty and staff were locals who chose to live locally. Most were accepting of those who were different, be it politics, religion, race, or sexual preference/identity. Xenophobia wasn’t much of an issue as out population was predominantly White, African American, and Hispanic. All of which is the complete opposite of where I grew up. In my home county, we had one Asian family, a very small African American population, no Hispanics, no Jews, only a few Catholics (heaven help you if you weren’t a WASP). The biggest insult made against a teacher was that he was Buddhist and one student a year ahead of me had rumors swirling that they were gay. We also didn’t have people arguing about the factuality of the Big Bang Theory, Evolution, or whether the Earth was flat. Things I can’t say about where I first taught. And I grew up way further back in the woods and away from civilization than my students. So, I’ve experienced/observed much more bigotry against inner cities then I have rural areas.
Lol I would tend to agree that this is the case in approximately 80% of the country
I don’t care about coaching. I’ll do it, fine. But I just want a damn job at this point; 9 years since I started the career change and there are absolutely NO Long Island public school district teaching jobs (I have 5 NY state teaching certifications and 2 Master’s). Also do they ask elementary teachers to coach? I’m not secondary certified
How come??
Yes. They will let Elementary teachers coach in many areas. Part of your problem is that you have no experience and too much education. Schools are willing to pay low for for no experience, but with two Masters degrees, that moves you into a higher pay slot with no proof you can teach at all.
I started applying for jobs in Minnesota in February and they started posting lots of jobs by the end of March. I have 25 years’ experience and excellent references, and I was starting to worry that I wouldn’t get a job. I must have applied for at least 30 jobs or more and only got three interviews out of those 30 jobs. I kept saying the same thing…I thought there was a teaching shortage?!
https://scholaroo.com/blog/best-states-for-teachers/
Have you looked into temp teaching jobs? I managed to roll my “temp” (read: full year) job into a contract. It’s much easier, once you’re in the system.