Walking across the stage to receive your college diploma is nothing short of an exhilarating experience. Some serious decision making is required after graduating. You need to decide on the kind of job that will be most fulfilling for you, in addition to choosing where you will live and work.
You can look forward to a fulfilling career, teaching the youth and enriching their lives if you have chosen to become a teacher. However, waiting for the administrator’s response after applying for an exciting position is only a small part of the process.
To have a chance at getting the position you desire, you will need to satisfy certification requirements specific to the state you plan to work in, and even then you will need to overcome stiff competition from other applicants; as you can see, the path to becoming a teacher is quite demanding. To help you jumpstart your teaching career, here’s a list of helpful tips:
1. Conduct Some Research
The possibilities are huge, so you need to take the time to answer a few questions about the type of teacher you want to be. What is early childhood education? Secondary, middle or elementary level teaching; is one of these a good fit? Possibly teaching English online?
To avoid sending thousands of dollars more on further education, choose the subject that best matches your undergraduate degree – art, science, social studies, English, math etc – if you want prefer to teach older students. To learn more about the day to day duties of the job, take the opportunity to talk to working teachers, where possible.
Where are the best opportunities? Social studies teachers are not as in demand as special education teachers for instance according to Tradewind International. Teachers in all areas of specialization are in high demand in larger cities than in other areas.
Teach.com, has all the information you need on in-demand areas and details on high demand occupations, be sure to check it out to get an idea of where demand is.
2. Familiarize Yourself With The Certification Requirements
You will need to satisfy the certification requirements for teachers in the specific region you intend to teach in. The specific mix of test and course requirements required for certification varies from state to state.
If you have not done so already, you might need to student-teach. For the specific details, use the Certification Map, a resource that provides a description of each state’s requirements as well as links to the applicable state department of education.
3. Consider Enrolling For A Master’s Degree
You can make yourself more desirable to potential employment opportunities, in addition to increasing your pedagogical knowledge by kick starting your journey towards a master’s degree.
To get your degree and attain certification at the same time, if you do not have a teaching certificate, there are numerous master’s degree programs available for you to consider.
4. Finding A Job
New graduates can secure teaching positions with the help of several organizations designed for this specific purpose. By committing to work in an under-served region, Teach for America will assist you to become a teacher.
In exchange for tutoring students with high-needs, Americorps offers loan forgiveness programs and stipends. To attain certification through flexible non-conventional ways, consider talking to the National Center for Alternative Certification.
Edutopia specializes in offering tips, such as hand delivering applications to your desired school, to help you secure the job you want, if you wish to secure employment in your locality after completing your certification program.
Furthermore, you can check out employment websites and local wanted ads as well. You can check school websites, where current openings are usually listed, or contact their HR departments for such information. Be sure to prepare error free and impeccable professional portfolio, application and resume documents.