UCCS' Alternative Teacher Licensure (Boulder: job market, school district, college)

[ColoradoGirl1]

I'm looking for some opinions/advice on the UCCS ALP program for those that are familiar.

I hold a BA from CU (graduated in '09) but no teacher's license. I LOVED CU- will I like UCCS?I'm currently working as a paraprofressional for a school district in ND, so I'm working with students. I figure instead of wasting my BA and working as a para (which doesn't require a BA), I may as well be working as a teacher!

Will pursuing an alternative license get me a job? I keep reading how 100 applicants apply for every teaching job.

I only ask because I'm getting ready to send off all of my forms and the whole thing (testing, license, grad school app, etc) costs so much $ I don't have. If my chances of getting hired on by a school district are slim I don't want to spend all that money this summer.

I'm happy with and would probably prefer working for Title 1 schools.
My content/endorsement area is secondary Social Studies. What are the prospects for ALP jobs in the field?

Also, do ALP teachers recieve benefits? I know they get salary but I would really need benefits as well.

Thanks for your help!

[otowi]

A lot of teachers today become one through alternative licensure and the UCCS program is very good.
The job market is competitive but what will you be teaching? - that can make a huge difference.

It definitely makes more sense in the long run than working as a para. I think anyone working full time gets benefits, ALP or not. But the catch about ALP is you have to get someone to hire you before they will admit you into some programs.

If you are getting a master's degree in education, you wouldn't be doing alternative licensure, you can get a straight-up license. You could work as a para in the mean time and scout out schools.

[ColoradoGirl1]

Thanks otowi. My degree is in International Affairs so I would be looking for secondary social studies jobs.

I think your latter idea will be my fall back plan if I don't get an ALP job- at least as a para I'm staying in the field. I'm happy to hear the UCCS program is good. I kind of get a weird vibe from UCCS. It doesn't 'feel' like a college to me the way CU boulder did. But their program does seem to make the most sense (CU Boulder 's involves 2 years of full time education before teaching).

[otowi]

You would have a hard time finding a social studies job. That is a field in which not many teachers are required in comparison to how many are potentially qualified and looking for the jobs. UCCS feels different because Boulder is a larger school where most students move to the area and live on campus or nearby, etc., while UCCS is a commuter school and more people live off campus and may be a wider variety of ages, proportionately speaking, as well.

[ColoradoGirl1]

Darn. I wonder why they even offer secondary alternative licensing through UCCS if it's so hard to find jobs. :/ I have no doubt they'll give the jobs to the traditional, experienced teachers if there are so few jobs for so many applicants. It's frustrating!

[otowi]

It's hard in general, not just for ALP. ALP is a respectable program and lots of people get jobs that way. But experienced teachers are getting jobs before the newbies right now as long as they're good teachers, then newbies next. Newbies are getting jobs, too - I just said that in social studies there has long (as in for decades) been more people with the qualifications than there are jobs. You could still get a job, you just might have to be flexible and patient.