Teachers (or people who know about the teaching profession) of SD and LA, I am in need of your advice

[RosieSD]

Originally Posted by d_vader123

Oh man. Sounds like San Diego may be a rough place for teachers.

A quick search of EdJoin shows 23 current listings for high school math teachers in San Diego County. In Los Angeles County, there are 10 currently listed. I didn't check Orange County or Riverside County. But that's just one job hunting site. And, if your wife was doing an EdJoin search, she'd be able to do a much more detailed search based on her experience and credentials than I can do. However, EdJoin doesn't show ALL of the jobs available in any of these counties so consider it just a sampling, and not the entire job market.

I wouldn't immediately jump to the conclusion that your wife won't find a job in California based on a few anecdotal stories. True, the California job market for teachers can be competitive, but "competitive" is not necessarily the same as impossible.

Aside from the teaching market, is either of the jobs you're considering going to be a career maker for you? Are either going to be once in a lifetime opportunities, or at least lead to better opportunities down the road than you have now? Will either job allow you to live comfortably in California on just your salary for a while if it takes your wife a while to find a job? In short, do the potential rewards of either job balance out the potential risks for you and your wife?

As an aside, if I was trying to decide between a job in LA and a job in SD, two things that I would weigh are housing prices and traffic/commute times. Although San Diego housing is not cheap by most of the rest of the country's standards, in general, it's a bit less expensive than LA. And, while we definitely have rush hour traffic, it's still possible to drive from one end of the county to the other in about an hour during rush hour. In LA, it can take an hour to go 10 miles.

But, again, start with the decision about whether moving cross country for either of the two jobs you're considering offers something that counters the inherent risks in such a move, including the possibility that it may take one spouse a little longer to land a new position in the new location.

Good luck with your decision!

[RosieSD]

Originally Posted by d_vader123

Oh man. Sounds like San Diego may be a rough place for teachers.

A quick search of EdJoin shows 23 current listings for high school math teachers in San Diego County. In Los Angeles County, there are 10 currently listed. I didn't check Orange County or Riverside County. But that's just one job hunting site. However, EdJoin doesn't show ALL of the jobs available in any of these counties so consider it just a sampling, and not the entire job market.

I wouldn't immediately jump to the conclusion that your wife won't find a job in California based on a few anecdotal stories. True, the California job market for teachers can be competitive, but "competitive" is not necessarily the same as impossible.

Aside from the teaching market, is either of the jobs you're considering going to be a career maker for you? Are either going to be once in a lifetime opportunities, or at least lead to better opportunities down the road than you have now? Will either job allow you to live comfortably in California on just your salary for a while if it takes your wife a while to find a job? In short, do the potential rewards of either job balance out the potential risks for you and your wife? Only you and your wife can decide that, of course.

As an aside, if I was trying to decide between a job in LA and a job in SD, two things that I would weigh are housing prices and traffic/commute times. Although San Diego housing is not cheap by most of the rest of the country's standards, in general, it's a bit less expensive than LA. And, while we definitely have rush hour traffic, it's still possible to drive from one end of the county to the other in about an hour during rush hour. In LA, it can take an hour to go 10 miles.

But, again, start with the decision about whether moving cross country for either of the two jobs you're considering offers something that counters the inherent risks in such a move, including the possibility that it may take one spouse a little longer to land a new position in the new location.

Good luck with your decision!

[njterp902]

The teaching market in SD (and California) is beginning to open up--big time. For so long, people were told there are no teaching jobs, so now the pipeline is pretty dry. I would say this is true even for elementary teachers, who come to the table with any experience.

I went to a career fair hosted by SDCOE about a week ago, and one high school district (Sweetwater, south of the SD Bay) was actually pulling people out of lines to get them to visit their table. I firmly believe that this will be the new normal...maybe not in San Dieguito or Poway, but in some places.

Know that some high schools are in their own district, like Sweetwater, San Dieugito, Grossmont), and other districts are K-12 (SDUSD, Poway, Carlsbad, etc). That was very confusing when I first got out here, and might be helpful when you're searching. And SDUSD and Poway don't use EdJoin--she would need to visit their individual websites for job postings.

[d_vader123]

Originally Posted by njterp902

The teaching market in SD (and California) is beginning to open up--big time. For so long, people were told there are no teaching jobs, so now the pipeline is pretty dry. I would say this is true even for elementary teachers, who come to the table with any experience.

I went to a career fair hosted by SDCOE about a week ago, and one high school district (Sweetwater, south of the SD Bay) was actually pulling people out of lines to get them to visit their table. I firmly believe that this will be the new normal...maybe not in San Dieguito or Poway, but in some places.

Know that some high schools are in their own district, like Sweetwater, San Dieugito, Grossmont), and other districts are K-12 (SDUSD, Poway, Carlsbad, etc). That was very confusing when I first got out here, and might be helpful when you're searching. And SDUSD and Poway don't use EdJoin--she would need to visit their individual websites for job postings.

Wow...thanks. This is encouraging. I also agree with the previous poster. There's so much I have to consider if I receive any offer.

In the end, the best situation is for my wife and I to both have jobs out in CA while someone rents out our home.

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by sfosyd

Across almost every industry, including teaching, the LA area will have more jobs and better pay with a similar cost of living. LA is just a hard place to live and not a "paradise" destination like San Diego. 90% of folks in the USA will name San Diego as a dream destination and would move if money was no object. Competition for jobs is fierce and employers can, and will be picky.

Well now, that's debatable RE paradise being within the exclusive jurisdiction of SD.

I don't know about teaching, but in general, do you have any idea just how insanely competitive it is here in "LA"?