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If you love English, you probably enjoy it because you enjoy literature and the language.
Have you thought about teaching a foreign language?
I am planning to get certified in teaching Spanish and French. (French is my first love, but Spanish is in much greater demand.)
I took required spanish classes and struggled to get decent grades. English comes naturally to me; I haven't gotten a single grade below a 96 since gradeschool in English/Language Arts. Same with History/Government ect.
Also, my aunt is a teacher and is on the school board in PA so I figure she could help me worst case. I'm going to pursue it; I still think something is fishy here with all these teachers allegedly not finding jobs with 4-year teaching degrees. I'm thinking if anything, it's because of the recession. Lots of graduates can't find jobs; not just teachers. It will most likely be better by 2015. I certainly can't see it getting any worse; not at this point at least.
And the stupidity of our officials. They should be cutting welfare, not education. Holy crap, that's so messed up... I and other students/teachers ect. are being punished for studying hard, working hard, keeping our lives in order, and wanting an education and good-paying jobs, and yet I am being told that if I do work hard and get that degree I may end up flipping burgers at McDonalds right smack dab next to a strung-out convict who couldn't pass a class to save his life and spent half of his life in prison. Thats the reward I'll get for choosing to study instead of going off to that party? That's the reward I get for going in debt to work my ass off? That's what I'm going to receive in the end for valuing my life and putting myself up to high moral standards? The end result is making exactly the same as a gang member and criminal does. Gee, I sure am motivated.
Well, that's my little rant against society for today.
Life's too short to not pursue what you love: and I'm going to major in this and market myself and hell even sub for a few years if I must. But no way will I give up and become a boring old accountant.
Last edited by UntamedOhioan; 03-04-2010 at 04:11 PM..
It's always been difficult to find jobs in good school districts. The difference is now it's also hard to find teaching jobs all over. If you think about it, it makes sense. In our small school district maybe 6 teachers retire a year. Meanwhile the nearby colleges graduate a couple of hundred teachers every year. Only the best people are going to be hired the first year out of college.
Teaching jobs in the bigger cities of South Dakota like Sioux Falls and Rapid City are very hard to come by. It seems like everyone from all the outlying smaller districts are trying to get in.
Job openings for teachers on the SD reservations are quite numerous. The problem as you might suspect is that you will be constantly frustrated with students who don't care, families who don't care, and in many instances, administration that don't care. These kids have been taught from an early age that they're just wasting there time getting an education. In some measure this is true unless these students leave the reservation after graduation.
The pay on reservation land is actually better than anywhere else in SD. It has to be or they wouldn't get anybody to go there. What does a teacher do after the school day is done? If you're not indian, it's not very safe to just drive around during your off hours. In the winter time it's especially dangerous due to the remoteness of the area. The nearest town with anything to do is usually 50 to 100 miles away. Your living situation if you're lucky is government housing. Quality rentable properties usually don't exist.
In a nutshell, teaching jobs in the Dakotas are there. However, the pay is awful unless you can get into the larger cities. (I believe SD ranks 51st in average teacher pay now, even below Puerto Rico). Outside of the larger cities the only decent paying jobs are on the reservations where a plethora of problems await you.
To get a job in the better areas, you will need either contacts or nepotism.
Teaching jobs in the bigger cities of South Dakota like Sioux Falls and Rapid City are very hard to come by. It seems like everyone from all the outlying smaller districts are trying to get in.
Job openings for teachers on the SD reservations are quite numerous. The problem as you might suspect is that you will be constantly frustrated with students who don't care, families who don't care, and in many instances, administration that don't care. These kids have been taught from an early age that they're just wasting there time getting an education. In some measure this is true unless these students leave the reservation after graduation.
The pay on reservation land is actually better than anywhere else in SD. It has to be or they wouldn't get anybody to go there. What does a teacher do after the school day is done? If you're not indian, it's not very safe to just drive around during your off hours. In the winter time it's especially dangerous due to the remoteness of the area. The nearest town with anything to do is usually 50 to 100 miles away. Your living situation if you're lucky is government housing. Quality rentable properties usually don't exist.
In a nutshell, teaching jobs in the Dakotas are there. However, the pay is awful unless you can get into the larger cities. (I believe SD ranks 51st in average teacher pay now, even below Puerto Rico). Outside of the larger cities the only decent paying jobs are on the reservations where a plethora of problems await you.
To get a job in the better areas, you will need either contacts or nepotism.
Are the SD reservation schools still BIA or, like on the Navajo reservation in my state of NM, are they going contract school?
The colleges are pumping out teachers by the boat load and it never stops year in year out. Many teachers are not ever going to retire they have no cash to retire with. Lots of smaller school systems are getting rid of retiree medical coverage. So dose not matter if your 54 years and got your 30 years in when you leave you lose your medical. Or like the state were I grow up teachers pay a large amount every month just to keep their medical coverage. Thus most of the time they keep right on working. Teacher pension funds are way unfunded they will never be able to cover what they owe. Thus do not count on any mass retirement to open up alot of jobs. And state budgets will be bad for many years to come.
Geez, and I thought my post was pessimistic! Just like any profession, people will retire and schools will always need teachers. I think it's just plain common sense to have a few different careers in mind while going to college but I don't think the picture is quite as bleak as collegeguy is painting it. The teachers in my area start their jobs making over $40,000 a year and pay very little in health insurance and their retirement fund is quite good. Who knows what the economy will look like in 6 years.
I am just telling it like it is. I was working on a degree in social studies it is 200 to 300 an opening. Colleges are doing dual social studies and English degree just to give kids a shot at the job. This is because both areas are so bad. They are laying off young teachers they have to find jobs. There will be retirements. However this will be over a number of years. There are 3000 colleges pumping out teachers year in year out. Education degrees are big makers for college. They are going to tell you those retirements are right around bend. They want to their own jobs. My buddy worked at a bar for a year and half this was 2003 never found anything. He works at At&T last I heard. This is has been going on for years. The colleges are pumping out way too many teachers for years. Lots of these kids never find a job. My college roommate is a math teacher it took him awhile to find a job in 2004. He made 25k that year smaller out of the way public school in a small town. Class size will be going up the states the states are broke. In the last few years 100000 teachers have been laid off. The numbers would have been even higher but the states got money from the Feds. Bluebelt1234 is telling you like it is. When teachers retire they often do not replace them this has been going for years. There are a few openings in math that is about it. Otherwise I would not waste my time.
I am just telling it like it is. I was working on a degree in social studies it is 200 to 300 an opening. Colleges are doing dual social studies and English degree just to give kids a shot at the job. This is because both areas are so bad. They are laying off young teachers they have to find jobs. There will be retirements. However this will be over a number of years. There are 3000 colleges pumping out teachers year in year out. Education degrees are big makers for college. They are going to tell you those retirements are right around bend. They want to their own jobs. My buddy worked at a bar for a year and half this was 2003 never found anything. He works at At&T last I heard. This is has been going on for years. The colleges are pumping out way too many teachers for years. Lots of these kids never find a job. My college roommate is a math teacher it took him awhile to find a job in 2004. He made 25k that year smaller out of the way public school in a small town. Class size will be going up the states the states are broke. In the last few years 100000 teachers have been laid off. The numbers would have been even higher but the states got money from the Feds. Bluebelt1234 is telling you like it is. When teachers retire they often do not replace them this has been going for years. There are a few openings in math that is about it. Otherwise I would not waste my time.
This is exactly what I have been trying to say. People want to say well, it will be better by 2015, but I don't want to be on unemployment until 2015. Some of us needed jobs like yesterday.
Colleges keep trying to sell education degrees to students by saying there will be retirements. Well, baby boomers have lost their entire pensions in some states. Unfortunately, we will have to wait until they start to die before there will be job openings. Considering the life expectancy in this country that could be 20-30 years. Of course, colleges will continue to give students false hopes that they will have jobs waiting on them after graduation. Colleges will continue to pump out thousands of graduates each year. Many will enter the unemployment lines. The smart ones will switch careers and consider other majors.
Some of my classmates who graduated in 2004 never found teaching jobs. One is still subbing and another just decided to take a waitressing job. She has been waitressing ever since she graduated. I remember when I graduated in 2004, I put in 300 applications. The only offer I got was at a small, in the middle of nowhere town in Arizona. Keep in mind, back in 2004, the economy was decent.
The colleges are pumping out teachers by the boat load and it never stops year in year out. Many teachers are not ever going to retire they have no cash to retire with. Lots of smaller school systems are getting rid of retiree medical coverage. So dose not matter if your 54 years and got your 30 years in when you leave you lose your medical. Or like the state were I grow up teachers pay a large amount every month just to keep their medical coverage. Thus most of the time they keep right on working. Teacher pension funds are way unfunded they will never be able to cover what they owe. Thus do not count on any mass retirement to open up alot of jobs. And state budgets will be bad for many years to come.
Back when I was student teaching in 2004, I worked with a teacher who was refusing to retire. Maybe he couldn't retire for whatever reason. He got to the point that he couldn't control his class at all. He came to school sick one day and died that night. It was very sad for the entire school.
I have one one better then that this teacher had already retired. Was gone a few years came back. He drawing 2 checks one retirement and a paycheck. He been back 15 years the second go around. When I was doing hours out in the schools. Then teachers who could have retire years ago still there. They been layoff the last 3 or 4 years. The new young teacher like you are gone. Another teacher has been in the system for 40 years and only 62 years. The old timers are going to work till they are dead. It really that simple. If their is an opening It will be 1 job 400 would be teachers going for it. Your odds are better playing blackjack you at least you have some hope of winning. Always enjoy your posts by the way. You tell it like it is.
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Some of us needed jobs like yesterday. 
