Teachers - Question for you...
I've been thinking about a career change into teaching for a while now. I really wanted to be a SAHM but we can't financially afford it until we sell our house and let's face it the market stinks so at this rate that'll be in another year or two. So, I was thinking of finally taking the move and becoming a teacher. Would any of you mind being a mentor to me while I go through the cert process? Should I apply now if I want to work in the 09-10 school year?
My questions are, what are your usual work hours? And how do they handle maternity leave? For instance, if you give birth in September and want to take 6 months or year off with baby? Is that possible? Do they hold your position? And I am assuming it is unpaid?
Sorry, lots of questions. I hate being away from Olivia and would like to spend as much time with her as possible.
Thanks!!
Re: Teachers - Question for you...
i am also in the process of doing the same.
i'm currently now trying to take the FTCE (the certification exam)..for K-6 grades. I have taken it twice and both times missed it by a couple of points. It's not that easy being that it is ALL subjects from k-6 grades in one exam. after i take the exam i have to apply with the state, after i get approved then i can start applying at schools. everyone has different steps on how to do it. i'm still getting steps thrown at me left and right.
i currently have my degree in business mgmt, so technically i can start subbing high school if i wanted to. the question is do i want to...and the answer is no...if all else fails it would be my last choice.
good luck, if i can help in any way please let me know.
I actually just took the Subject exam for Social Science 6-12 yesterday and I passed so I'm pretty sure that I am eligible for a temp certificate which is good for 3 years. I have a bachelor's in Political Science so I need to take some education courses that are required.
If you have a degree in the subject you want to teach, you can start teaching as soon as you get your Statement of Eligibility from the state. It can take more than a month depending on how busy they are downtown so I would say the sooner the better when it comes to applying. I got my statement of eligibility a few months ago and am now taking the classes necessary to get full certification. You don't need it to start teaching though. To apply for a job you need the Eligibility. Once you get the job the state gives you a temporary certificate that lasts for three years. In that time you have to take all your classes (which is why I'm taking them now cause I'd rather take them before I start working). There's only six of them though, not a big deal. What is a big deal is that FIU is where you can take them but since you will be considered a non-degree seeking student you are not allowed to register until everyone else does, which means you don't get to take classes whenever you want to. It might take a while to take them all.
You don't need a degree in education to teach elementary, but I'm not quite sure what you have to do since I'm going for high school English. But I think you can take the test if you don't have the degree. Here's the site with more info: https://www.fldoe.org/edcert/sub_exams.asp
Best of luck!
Hi,
I am a 5th grade elementary school teacher, with a degree in Elementary Ed. The other ladies have answered your questions regarding the certification process and they are correct. However, being in the school system I can tell you that right now they have a hiring freeze that is indefinite. Although they are technically hiring teachers, if you don't have a connection in any school and are just going through downtown you most likely will not land a job for next school year. They are currently restructuring the downtown offices and eliminating 400+ positions that are ALL going back into the classrooms (should be a NICE wake-up call for many of them who've been working in offices) LOL. They have also surplused many teachers who are now permanent substitutes (for teachers on mat. leave etc) who are also looking for a permanent job. Because there are so many, they are not hiring any **new** teachers (recently certified/graduated).
I don't know if that is the case in Broward (not sure where you are looking) but unfortch that is the case in M-DCPS. I believe the only thing they are still hiring are substitutes (and not really the permanent kind just ones that float around in different schools in the area). If you are considering a career change, I would honestly tell you to try substituting first and see if you like it. People think that teaching is a walk in the park because of the time off/hours etc and I can tell you that I leave work daily around 4, getting in at around 7:45 am. This is not counting the countless hours that I've spent running around getting materials for a project (not provided by the school), grading papers, or having parent/teacher conferences, which sometimes go WAY past our contracted 3:20 leave time. Even summers we do attend professional development workshops which are 1-2 weeks long or tutor to earn extra money, b/c honestly the salary just doesn't cut it sometimes.
That being said, I LOVE my job. It was what I wanted to do since I was little. It is very fulfilling for me personally, but I see new teachers who come into it b/c of other circumstances (career change/having a family/etc) and those are the ones who get burned out very quickly. Since they have not taken any coursework, many don't know how to manage a classroom, especially for older kids (and sometimes younger too!!)
If you have any questions about anything else for certification or any questions about teaching in general, I'd be happy to help you, just wanted to give you a clearer picture of how things are going right now. HTH!!