help with teaching career (Vancouver, Bellingham: rental car, sales, rentals)

[cyb419]

I was wondering if anyone can help me? We are going to be locating to WA state or maybe oregon...we are not set in stone yet. I will only have a residency certification for teaching elentary school and will there for have to get a job and go the route of getitng a professional certification in WA because I will only have a NY teaching certification. the troble is if we are moving cross country I will need to get a job ASAP. Where am i likely to find one easily. Also, my husband is a manufacturing manager/cnc machine programmer...we would like to be somewhere where he could easily find employment as well. any advise is greatly appreciated. what is the salary for teachers there?
Thanks

[StealthRabbit]

There's high growth in both states, gonna be pretty easy to find work for both of you. If I were to teach, I would feel better about WA funding. If you like the rain and moderate temps (more crowds, tho places to escape) you can do west side of mountains. If you need to be dry for more than 3 months / yr, go east. (or south, like Roseburg.OR and points south) The climate is quite varied in both states, and certainly @ some point to your liking. (from rain forests to mtns with highest snowfall in US) and high desert and beaches too!

There are quite a few jobs in Portland,OR paper for machinist / CNC, but... OR has an income tax. There are plenty of places in Vancouver, WA (just across the river from Portland), for teaching and CNC. This area offers employment on both sides + high growth and lots of manufacturing. It is getting a bit crowded and expensive.

Each state has a good Worksource website and help when you get here. There are still some major manuf. in Portland area, (Boeing, SAPA, Freightliner) tho work is waining (going to China). Columbia Machine in Vancouver hires pretty often, and I have a few friends who work there. Evergreen, Hockinson and Camas School districts have a good reputation.

Wages will be less, but overall it will probably be a good move for you. Our neighbors are NY natives, and glad the came! Fares are pretty cheap to east coast at the moment, but not sure coming from your way. Portland is a very handy airport destination, tho car rentals have a pretty big tax in the 3 counties surrounding the airport (and WA charges DOUBLE tax for rental cars, statewide...) Check with Enterprise, they often have thurs-tue specials for $20/day!!

Spend some time searching the posts, and offer some more info of your requirements. (BTW, I used to be a Tool and Die Maker, and Manf eng. (30+yrs) so have connections for CNC type folks. I got 'outsourced' last yr some I'm a student now, at a teachers college...)

[cyb419]

thank you so much for the info. Do you anything of the Bellingam area???

[StealthRabbit]

a little... had a kid in college there till last yr (yippee - graduated and gone...to work; heh, heh...)

It is a pretty good choice, but getting spendy (housing), and work is more limited. (not much industry). I'm of the conservative bent, so I like Lynden, (probably a great place to teach!, if you fit their conservative profile...terrible if not) and I really like BC for outdoor activities. I would consider it a good choice, but limited on employment. (not impossible, as it is growing, it's just more limited than another 'semi-metro' area may be) Bellingham was timber / ag based, not manf., tho I know of a few Manf there, and with NAFTA things are growing since it is so close to Canada, and they can spend $$$ down here much easier now!!! (favorable exchange rate). But... you can't escape to OR to avoid sales tax on major purchases. (short of a 6 hr drive). The waterfront and access to BC would be main points + University, Community College + it is pretty liberal, but not obnoxiously so. (like Eugene, OR); downside = cost of housing, limited jobs, (no where to commute to, either) and it rains...

[diggitydot]

Originally Posted by cyb419

I was wondering if anyone can help me? We are going to be locating to WA state or maybe oregon...we are not set in stone yet. I will only have a residency certification for teaching elentary school and will there for have to get a job and go the route of getitng a professional certification in WA because I will only have a NY teaching certification. the troble is if we are moving cross country I will need to get a job ASAP. Where am i likely to find one easily. Also, my husband is a manufacturing manager/cnc machine programmer...we would like to be somewhere where he could easily find employment as well. any advise is greatly appreciated. what is the salary for teachers there?
Thanks

Contact a few districts, (or the WA Education Association), and find out what hoops you'll need to jump through to get your certification from out-of-state. You'd be surprised what a pain it is and how time consuming it can be, depending on which state you're from and your education. But you might be able to get a job at a private school until you're able to get this sorted out. Teachers at private schools are not required to have the same stringent educational credentials as those teaching in public schools.

But I'm absolutely with janb with the opinion of Oregon's schools. From a funding standpoint, they're a total mess. Programs and schools are closing left and right for lack of money. Kids are having to pay considerable sums just to participate in each extracirricular activity.

As for teacher pay, each district sets their own payscale based on education level and years in the district. You'd have to research it by each district.

[SaraBeth]

Hi,

I'm thinking that those who have responded above are perhaps not teachers. It is NOT easy to get a teaching job in the Portland/Vancouver area. In fact, there are many folks who have been subbing for years trying to get an in.
Portland teachers are routinely laid off due to budget issues. Jobs in this market are extremely competitive.

Bellingham is worse because all of the Western Washington grads who stay in town are looking to teach there.

Having said that, I moved here from NY a few years ago and landed on my feet. However, I had done my student teaching out here and still had contacts. Those contacts landed me the job, not my resume.

ProCert is an unavoidable hassle. Almost every college offers a way for out-of-state folks to "fast-track" things though.

I would attend job fairs, hire someone to professionally write your resume, research districts in-depth, and practice your interviewing skills.

Good luck.

[rrb]

Hi,
I agree with SaraBeth. It is NOT easy to get a teaching job in Bellingham. In fact, it is very hard to get a teaching job anywhere in Whatcom or Skagit County unless you have some great connections. There are just too many teachers up there, and not enough jobs. After a few years of subbing in Bellingham, I had no choice but to return to L.A. to take a full-time teaching position. Teachers are in high demand here. It is torture living in L.A. though! LOL