How Do I Become A Teacher
How Do I Become A Teacher
To become a Teacher, a person should check with their States licensing board. Many times this is the Board of Education in each state. In some states it will be a different agency that handles the licensing of Teachers.
There are some general guidelines for becoming a Teacher. Some of these guidelines are:
- Many States require some type of College degree
- Other States require a Teaching Certificate
- Some States may require both
- A background check is also routine with many States these days
How Do I Prepare To Become A Teacher
Before going into the Teaching field, you should sit down and have a good long soul search. The reason behind this is too determine what area of Teaching you want to teach in. Some teachers just go blindly into teaching and the first thing you know, they’re teaching a High School English class wishing they were teaching Kindergarteners! Learning how to become a teacher is the easy part, actually doing it is the hard part.
This is really one of those career fields you enter because you love the work, not because of the money. To be enjoyable, you need to decide early on which field you want to enter and work at becoming proficient in that field.
If you want to teach Speech classes, then find out which certificates the top Speech Teachers in your area obtain and work toward that. If you enjoy working with older Kids, for goodness sakes don’t take on a Kindergarten class!
Now I Have My Degree or Certificate, What Next?
Once you’ve received your education, and sometimes you can do this while you’re in College, you’ll be required to spend some time training with experienced Teachers. You may also be required to take advanced courses depending on what you want to teach, Special Ed for example.
In some instance such as VoTech fields, you may not be required to have a College degree. Even at some VoTech schools, the instructors may only be required to have a Teaching Certificate which can be easily obtained in most circumstances.
Each State has their own requirements. For example, if you want to learn how to become a teacher in Texas, then there are are more guidelines than other States.
Teachers should have good communication skills as this will be the deciding factor on whether or not you’re a good Teacher. Obviously Teacher’s must interact with their Students. Be it a class of 1st Graders or a class of soon-to-be mechanics, you must have the ability to interact and communicate effectively with your Students.
How Much Does A Teacher Make
Once again, this varies with the State you’re teaching in as well as the District. The type of teaching you do may also play a role in the wages you earn.
Salaries vary greatly. According to the U.S. Government, the lowest paid Teachers in 2004 started at less than $25,000 while the upper 10% made over $65,000. A huge difference in anyones book! It’s not uncommon for Teachers to have side jobs during the School Year and full time jobs during the Summer when School is out.
From what I’ve been told, expect to start out around $25 to $30 thousand per year as a Teacher. Of course, if your specialty is something like teaching a foreign language, Math or Science, you can expect to boost that starting pay on up.
What Is The Job Outlook For Becoming A Teacher
Partly due to low starting wages and partly due to a booming population, Teachers are in high demand and a Teacher with good credentials should not have a problem finding work. The problem may be finding a salary you can live on!
The long term outlook also looks good to excellent for anyone with a teaching degree. Schools from the lowest Public schools to the high end Private schools are having a hard time attracting and keeping qualified Teachers.
Teachers are in short demand in the Math and Science fields. Should you go into either one of those fields, you just may find yourself being the object of a bidding war! The cities are especially hard at finding and recruiting good teachers in these areas.
Probably the brightest teaching futures are those of the Teachers who speak a foreign language. Here in the U.S., teachers who speak Spanish and can Teach English as a 2nd language are always in a very high demand! As the Spanish population in the U.S. Increases, this demand will only grow by leaps and bounds.
Teaching kids today that will become tomorrow’s leaders is an honorable task. Sadly, our society does not pay these great people the money that they should be getting. If you go into the Teaching field, it will be because you have a passion for it, not that you’ll be getting rich!
