What's the job market like for teachers? (St. Louis, Hazelwood: crime, credit)

[stepka]

I'm trying to get into teaching without a certificate, though will be starting back to school soon. I have a bachelor's but no teaching classes at all--one year of experience subbing, and lots of experience working with kids. Anyone have any idea how hard it will be to get a teaching job in St. Louis?

[anr_black]

Once you get your license, you shouldn't have any problem finding a job, especially if you earn a certificate in special ed, math or science, the areas that are always in high demand. Most public schools will not hire a teacher, however, without a current state certificate, unless it's a district that just can't find teachers. Parochial schools are not subject to state licensing standards, and may hire you if you were enrolled in a certificate program, although most emply only certified teachers.

[stepka]

Yes that is the impression I'm getting too. I will probably try to work as an aide while getting my Master's.

[jearleal]

I am not sure why the difference in perception, possibly just my limited knowledge on the schools in the St. Louis area.

However, here goes ........ my daughter recently moved from Alabama to St. Louis (late June 2008). She has a bachelors degree in education K-12 and a valid teaching certificate. She also has a masters in special ed, and has taught for two years in the Alabama system. She has numerous recommendations, all with stellar comments.

She has applied to a variety of schools, public and private, but has received only rejection letters and a few offers to be an aide. Many openings are advertised on school system sites, but she has had no success.

I do not understand the difficulty she has had to date, but perhaps the market has many more applicants than jobs ??

I would be interested in discussing the difficulty she has had as she is very frustrated, and obviously needs to land a job soon.

[aragx6]

I am sorry your daughter has had trouble. Sadly when it comes to schools, it's so often all about who you know. She may want to consider taking an aide job for a year or two while she makes connections. It's grunt work, but certainly better than being unemployed right?

My mom has been a special ed teacher for almost 30 years and I can only share the experience as I know it, but I'm happy to share in the hope that it could help.

She got her masters at SLU and started working at one of the state schools for the mentally disabled around the time I was born. Throughout the 90s there became this push to put as many kids as possible back into their neighborhood schools. This essentially left only the medically fragile kids and the kids with serious behavior problems (most have whom had been tossed out of their neighborhood school because they lacked the teachers and one-on-one care they needed).

They were a last resort school; they couldn't kid any kid out, no matter what they did. My mom taught a class with 15-21 year old boys who, as well as requiring extensive help in all aspects of their day from eating to using the bathroom, were also at times very violent.

She got the crap beat out of her and ended up having to have neck/back surgery because of it and was out on worker's comp for some time. She either had to go back to that class or take over a class with younger, medically fragile kids, mostly in wheelchairs. There was no way she could lift those kids as needed in her state, and it had been a long 22 years at a place that had become little more than a day care (much to my mother's chagrin), so she looked for a new job.

But who wants to hire someone with 22 years of experience and a masters when they can hire someone straight out of school and pay them 12k or more less a year right?

So my mom ended up taking a significant pay cut to get her new job. It took her a helluva long time to find it as well.

It's nasty out there, for new teachers and experienced teachers alike.

Please ask anything else; if I don't know the answer, i can look into it and hopefully help you out.

[jearleal]

Sorry about your mom's bad experiences, I hope my daughter avoids some of that.

I suppose my original post was in response to ANR_BLACK. They have such a positive outlook on the job situation for teachers, so I was curious if my daughter was just unlucky or what ?

I believe she probably will be an aide or be on the sub list for this year, as it is fast approaching.

Good luck to all.

[stepka]

Just an update here: I can't even find a job as an aide, and I have a bachelor's degree + years of experience working with kids and subbing. I have gone over and over my resume and can't figure it out. I have been pestering one of the larger school systems here for months, and am constantly assured that they need aides, but they have never called me for another interview. I'm beginning to wonder if I have a crime on my record that I'd never heard of! I will be subbing for several districts though and working on ABCTE certification meanwhile.

ARAGx6, that's a heck of a story about your mom--it sounds like she is very dedicated, and I hate to hear that she got hurt.

[anr_black]

Originally Posted by jearleal

Sorry about your mom's bad experiences, I hope my daughter avoids some of that.

I suppose my original post was in response to ANR_BLACK. They have such a positive outlook on the job situation for teachers, so I was curious if my daughter was just unlucky or what ?

I believe she probably will be an aide or be on the sub list for this year, as it is fast approaching.

Good luck to all.

Hi, to respond to your question, I guess I've just been lucky in finding jobs! We've moved several times, and the last time I even applied for positions before we moved, with a central IL address. I did send out a lot of applications, to basically all districts within a 30 min. commute of our new house, and I got two interviews. I was offered a job in the Ft. Zumwalt district and one in the metro East, and ended up taking the one in IL. I don't have a masters, so I'm wondering if maybe some districts don't want to pay the higher salary for someone with a masters? That was in 2005, and all I can guess is the teacher market has changed? I wish I had better advice for your daughter...hopefully she'll find something soon

[aragx6]

Yeah my mom's experience was about 2006 ... I think this is her third year at the district school.

It was a difficult situation there, and the new school isn't perfect (lousy facilities, disinterested administrators and all that good stuff) but at the end of the day I think she's far happier, and the year after she started, everyone got a nice raise from the district and so for the first time in her entire career my mom broke the 40k mark...

I think she was proud or me and jealous at the same time when my first job out of college paid an equal amount!

I give anybody credit who teaches for a living... you have to really love it (though those summers off are sure nice!)

[Missymiss]

Originally Posted by jearleal

Sorry about your mom's bad experiences, I hope my daughter avoids some of that.

I suppose my original post was in response to ANR_BLACK. They have such a positive outlook on the job situation for teachers, so I was curious if my daughter was just unlucky or what ?

I believe she probably will be an aide or be on the sub list for this year, as it is fast approaching.

Good luck to all.

If your daughter decides to sub, I would suggest getting on the list for 2-3 districts to guarantee she can work every day. Hazelwood School District pays $95/Day and is one of the larger school districts in the area if she lives nearby.

Many school districts are still interviewing/hiring quite a bit for the next 3 weeks. I would suggest she keep applying to as many districts as she can and check [URL="http://www.moreap.net"]www.moreap.net[/URL] as well as private schools in the area. I know it can be very hard to secure a teaching position and I wish her much luck !