What State for a Full Time Music Teaching Job for Non Tenure Teacher During 2010-2011 School year? (career, hire)

[chris0681]

My girlfriend is looking for a full time music teaching position in either Illinois or Wisconsin for the 2010-2011 school year. We live in Michigan and just had her position cut to budget concerns, she is 24 years old and has experience teaching music part time at a couple of schools but is not under tenure yet... if not Illinois or southern Wisconsin, which are our priorities, what states have the best budgets for teachers right now? Texas has added the most people in recent years, I'm assuming Texas is the place to go, or Utah or Wyoming out west because it is growing there as well. We dont want to live anywhere but Illinois or Wisconsin in the midwest, and do not want to move to North or South Dakota, Kansas, or anyplace near those states.

[CaliTerp07]

Honestly, if you choose a career in a niche field, you have to be willing to follow the jobs where they are (even if it's ND...). Music Education is going to be really tough, because it's always the first to get cut.

Northern Virginia is still hiring, but the cost of living will be significantly higher than Illinois or Wisconsin, so be prepared. I have no idea if they are hiring music teachers.

[Eeyore1]

Music teaching jobs can be difficult to find. Heck, jobs of any kind can be hard to find. Regarding teaching jobs, even if some states claim to have reciprocity with Michigan, there are a thousand hoops that you need to jump through before you are "qualified" to teach in another state.

[Cigarboo]

Maybe your girlfriend can expand her search to include private instrument teaching. My son takes piano at an enrichment center. We pay $22 per 1/2 hr lesson, which I think is low. We would have had to pay $45 for 1/2 hr private lesson where we used to go. The place we go is pretty new, not music focus per se, but the owner told me that their private music lessons are really booming. They've had to hire 5 music/instrument teachers in the pass year. Not full time though. I think it's per diem.

Parents are always looking for music enrichment especially when music programs are dying in the public schools. It's not really what you're looking for, but it can bring in some money while your girlfriend is searching for a more permanent teaching position. Our music teacher does quite well. She teaches voice lessons also. She makes her own schedule and she just pays a portion of each lesson to the enrichment center. But she has very little openings in her schedule and she only started this past September.