Alphabet Man

Currently working on my Master's degree and also teaching government and American history here in Boston. Pretty good gig. As a fellow educator, I encourage you to move to America and try to teach, if that's what your goal is. However, does seem like you have a lot of areas covered, so try to narrow it down to either History or P.E. I know P.E. teachers probably have a year or two extra of study before they're certified.

Don't move to Michigan. You have a better chance at winning the lottery than finding a teaching position. My wife is an (out-of-work) elementary teacher.

Qualified as a teacher, just looking for a job. Ontario's a great place to teach if you can find a position, and I know that if you're coming from Australia it's easy to get certified over here. Things are, however, tight all over the province.

I just got a teaching job in Macomb County Michigan. I teach American History, World History and English. I have 1 9th grade class and 3 10th grade classes.

I am finding out that in Michigan schools are starting to lean towards hiring teachers that are a little older/more mature like late 20s/early 30s over the fresh out of college early 20 somethings.

I am convinced the thing that helped me the most was working with an interviewing coach.

Its also safe to assume that for you to be certified in the state that you want to work in, you'll likely need to take a few more college classes and pass some state tests (which are super easy in Michigan).

If you have any questions feel free to PM me or ask me here.

Good Luck!

-Dan

Former high school social studies teacher - 10th grade World History, 11th grade U.S. History, 12th grade Government/Economics.

I got hired basically straight out of college, graduated in December 2009 but didn't bank on a job immediately because I graduated midyear (not sure how the schoolyear runs in Australia, but ours is typically August/September to May/June). I got hired as a long-term substitute in March in a school that had a vacant position because the football coach got fired. The job was for the remainder of the year (March-May) with option to become a permanent position if I passed all my evaluations. I was already certified as it was a requirement to graduate with an education degree from my university. Long story short, budget cuts subtracted one social studies position from the school, and since I was the lowest-ranked in seniority, I got the axe.

I was contacted for, interviewed for, and got hired essentially on the spot in July 2010 as a full-time teacher at a high school in rural South Carolina. The interview process was rather laid-back and not tremendously difficult. (I'll come back to why.) I interviewed with the district hiring coordinator, interviewed with the principal and assistant principal, and got a call 15 minutes later saying that I was hired. I spent 2 years there and for various reasons gave up the job to return to grad school full-time. I loved my job, but hated the area I was in and I saw a lot of things I disagreed with going on administration-wise at the school.

As to why I was basically given the job, it was 2 weeks before school started and they hadn't filled the position yet. I was the only fully-certified candidate that interviewed for the job. I taught in a low-income, Title I school that at the time had around 90% of the students receiving free/reduced lunch. Don't get me wrong, saying that a school with 90% low-SES students is going to be a "bad school" is a hugely deterministic statement, but compound that with (what, in my opinion, were) issues with the school administration made my job very difficult at times.

What I'm trying to say is, starting out as a first-year teacher, be prepared to take the job that nobody else wants in schools that have 30% or more turnover year-to-year. Paying your dues, so to speak. You're (probably) not going to get into a high-ranking, model school where everything runs smoothly. The more experienced teachers hold onto those jobs until they're basically forced into retirement. Some stay at the low-SES schools because a) they're great teachers and 2) they feel rewarded helping "where they're more needed" but many jump ship as soon as they're able. You're going to have problems, no matter what school you're at. It's how you deal with them initially, then how the administration deals with them once they're out of your hands, that ultimately determines things.

I'm sure you've heard it a thousand times, but don't expect to make a lot of money. I made $30,360 USD ($29,281 AUD) before taxes. I did not receive a raise (nor have any of the other teachers in my former district for the past 7-8 years) due to budget shortfalls. There are no bonuses (those are for the corporate world) and raises (at least now) are non-existent.

Be prepared to do a lot more than just teach. Teaching was the easy part of my job, and it was the part of the job that I loved and kept me going for 2 years. You'll spend at the very least 20 additional hours per week writing lesson plans, planning, grading, contacting parents, and going to other school functions in addition to your "8 hour" working day. That's not counting if you coach or lead any other school groups (as you're expected to). I was the film coordinator (resume term for "video guy") for football, operated the clock/scoreboard and did PA for basketball, and was an assistant coach for baseball one year, did PA and scoreboard for baseball the next. (All unpaid.) I loved doing all of those things, but your leisure time to do other things you enjoy diminishes severely.

It seems like most of my post is negative, but that's not how I intend it to be. I intend it to be realistic. I loved my job, but I got burnt out and had little to no options in regard to mobility, and chose to return to grad school.