Young girl from Canada wanting to move to LA

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by nmnita

i did, I said as clearly as I could: you can not come to this country expecting to be a substitute teacher. You would have to have a school district recruit you and they do not recruit sumbstitute teachers as a rule. What more would you like someone to tell you? You also asked about searching for cars and a place to live; you have to have the job and the visa before you can even consider any of this. You also said, "in a few months" my comment was, you can't even think about doing anything like this in a few months. Not a one of us can give you any answers. You need to talk to autorities. If you were moving from one state to another that would be different, but one country to another isn't the same.

Exactly, to not discuss the issue of being able to work in the US isn't possible.

If you need to take the CBEST, you have to pass and wait for your results(that could take a few weeks), than you need to arrange to be interviewed by LAUSD.

If they hire you to sub you will be assigned to an area close to where you live for obvious reasons. You need to say yes the first few times they call, otherwise you drop to the bottom of the list. And the calls come in very early in the morning(5/6am) and you need to be ready to go.

At least this is how was several years ago, I can't imagine it has changed much.

[MordinSolus]

Originally Posted by AlanisJane

I am only just trying to get an idea about those 3 things. There's absolutely nothing wrong with doing so and multiple people usually ask such questions before opting to move.

So far every response has been about the visa yet not one person says anything about the job market for the field I asked about. Unless I have a better idea of that I am not going to bother applying for anything. I said I am thinking about it. I am in no rush to pick up and leave right now. If you or anyone can help answer those questions great if not that's ok too I'll ask around elsewhere. Thanks for your time.

Hey, I didn't say anything about the visa.
You need to figure out some things on your own before we can help you. You really need to start looking into jobs now to get an idea of where you'll be in demand and how much you could expect to make. Once you have a rough idea of that then you can start looking into where you want to live and what you'll need to get around. If you end up living close to work then you could buy a cheap car and drive it until it dies. If you'll have a long commute then you'll want to get a good car. Being a substitute you may end up driving a lot for work so a good car will probably be a necessity.

[nmnita]

she has mentioned she is a musician, so I wonder, down deep if she really wants to persue her chance at making it in Hollywood? I notice she hasn't come back: As I have said, she can not come without a job and sponsor and she needs to talk to the embassy, plus fill us in on what she really wants before anyone can help her. I wonder where in Canada she lives and if she has any idea how big the Los Angeles area is.

[AlanisJane]

Originally Posted by MordinSolus

Hey, I didn't say anything about the visa.
You need to figure out some things on your own before we can help you. You really need to start looking into jobs now to get an idea of where you'll be in demand and how much you could expect to make. Once you have a rough idea of that then you can start looking into where you want to live and what you'll need to get around. If you end up living close to work then you could buy a cheap car and drive it until it dies. If you'll have a long commute then you'll want to get a good car. Being a substitute you may end up driving a lot for work so a good car will probably be a necessity.

Thank you! My timeline is pretty flexible as I said I'm in no rush but I will start checking things out soon.

[AlanisJane]

Originally Posted by seain dublin

Exactly, to not discuss the issue of being able to work in the US isn't possible.

If you need to take the CBEST, you have to pass and wait for your results(that could take a few weeks), than you need to arrange to be interviewed by LAUSD.

If they hire you to sub you will be assigned to an area close to where you live for obvious reasons. You need to say yes the first few times they call, otherwise you drop to the bottom of the list. And the calls come in very early in the morning(5/6am) and you need to be ready to go.

At least this is how was several years ago, I can't imagine it has changed much.

I've been a sub for a year now. I am more than aware of how it works. The person who is in charge of phoning subs is the least forgiving person everyone who works in town knows better than to say no to those calls if they still want to hold a job so I know better. Don't think the calls stop in the morning because I've been phoned in to fill in towards the end of the day as well. Thank you for the other extra information though.

[Big-Bucks]

Originally Posted by AlanisJane

I am thinking of moving to LA in the next few months. I am an educator and a musician. My plan for money is to work as a substitute teacher. I am wondering what is this like in LA and how is the market for it? I am quite familiar with a chunk of the city as I've visited a few times. I am wondering where is a good place to search for housing? Cars? Jobs? What are somethings I should possibly know before I go and any other advice tips would be greatly appreciated. If possible I would like to secure something before my arrival.

I moved to LA to do music back in 1987. Back then there was no internet. You HAD to be in LA if you did music. LA was THE place! Today things have changed. You can be discovered on YouTube from wherever you are. If you have the musicians around you that you need then you don't need to move to LA. LA is a struggle with pay to play, etc. A lot of musicians get swallowed up by LA. In LA it helps if money is no obstacle.

[Cinema Cat]

I had a friend (as aspiring actress) who was a Los Angeles substitute teacher in the late 1990s. She hated it. Low pay. Duties included changing diapers.

Teachers in L.A. have a seniority system. New teachers are assigned to the least desirable school districts. Dangerous neighborhoods with troubled students. This also applies to substitute teachers. Seniority determines who gets hired first, and which school districts they are assigned.

After several years, my friend was still assigned to the crappiest schools and neighborhoods. It takes a while to move up the seniority list.

It doesn't matter if you were a substitute teacher elsewhere. You'd be new to L.A., so you'd start at the bottom of the seniority list.

Teachers are unionized, but as best I know, substitute teachers are not. No union. No job protection.

My friend said she was a glorified babysitter. Didn't really do much teaching. She hated the low pay and the job itself.