Teachers: In Short Supply & High Demand

By Wendy Croix
Learning & Life Columnist
February 14, 2006

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If the idea of being courted for job positions rather than beating the pavement in search of work appeals to you, then consider a teaching career. Why? Because schools in every state of the union are actively recruiting teachers.

Unlike the deceptive post-secondary job boom in temporary, part-time, and non-renewable positions, the hiring boom in public elementary and secondary schools is real, offering you a solid, long-term employment opportunity.

Many districts even offer tenure. Your position in education will include medical, dental, and retirement packages that significantly enhance your starting salary, which is likely to fall in the low $30,000s at first.

Fast-track Teacher Training

Where teacher shortages have reached crisis proportions, creative solutions to teacher training are getting teachers off campus and into education jobs quickly. If you're a professional with a college degree and a strong desire to teach, look into alternative certification, which allows you to teach first and get your formal education later. Associate's degree programs are letting students begin teacher training sooner than in decades past. Choose special education, school counseling, audiology and speech pathology, or English as a second language as your major, and you'll be even more employable; your salary will be significantly higher, too. With a teaching major and training in math, computing, or science, you're likely to field multiple offers.

Security Versus Salary? Trade Offs and Incentives

The financial benefits of a teaching career aren't always clear-cut. Of those teachers who leave the profession after one or two years, 78% cite low salary as the reason. Schools in undesirable rural or inner city locations are especially hard hit. But administrators are fighting back against attrition.

According to Richard M. Ingersoll and Thomas M. Smith, recruitment initiatives include financial incentives like "signing bonuses, student loan forgiveness, housing assistance, and tuition reimbursement." If you're investing in your own education, you'll have a bankable teaching degree and the opportunity to negotiate incentives beyond your base pay. You'll have the flexibility to make extra money working summers, and--best of all--you'll know you're needed.

Sources

"Community Colleges Offer New Teacher Prep Options." Education Week 25.8 (Oct 19, 2005).
Exploring Careers. JIST Publishing, Inc. 2003.
"Future teacher shortage feared," Imran Vittachi. The Riverside, CA Press-Enterprise. (Aug 11, 2005).
Occupational Outlook Handbook
"The Wrong Solution to the Teacher Shortage," by Richard M. Ingersoll and Thomas M. Smith. Educational Leadership 60.8 (May 2003).

About the Author
Wendy Croix, Ph.D. is a freelance writer, cultural critic and university professor. In her twenty years as a professional educator, Wendy has guided hundreds of students toward the careers of their dreams.

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