Career Corner
In this blog, members of the American Association for Employment in Education, a professional organization for college career-center directors and school district recruiters, provided career advice and discuss developments in the education job market. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: career advice and job huntjob hunt.
Education
Opinion
What Makes a Good Teacher?
Melissa, an Upward Bound student, has been helping out in the Career Center for the past six weeks. She graduated from high school in June and took some concurrent enrollment classes at Dixie State College. She is considering secondary education as a career. This choice is based on a positive experience she had with a dynamic history teacher in her junior year of high school. I asked her to share with me and with you what she thinks makes a good teacher. Here is her response.
Teacher Preparation
Opinion
Life After Teaching
Recently, Joyce from Massachusetts posted this question on the Education Week Top School Jobs Career Corner blog. I would like to address her question as my blog entry this week.
Professional Development
Opinion
Take Some Time for Reading
Every classroom teacher needs to read. Although many schools require teachers to adhere to prescribed curriculum, in many cases there is room for some teacher-selected literature. The classics are always a good choice; however, that does not mean teachers have to ignore popular fiction/non-fiction entirely. It is a good idea to have an understanding of what students are selecting on their own. I suggest you educate yourself by reading what your students are reading, so you can initiate conversations about or allude to characters and situations from their picks. Whether you have a job or not, and regardless of the grade level you prefer to teach, summer is a good time to read. Believe me, once you begin the school year, the time for reading diminishes at an alarming rate. So why not take advantage of the long summer days to cross a few books off your reading list?
Job Hunting Tips & Advice
Opinion
Do you have a job yet?
You are at a summer family gathering and inevitably someone asks, "Do you have a job yet?" If your answer is no, it is hard to keep from feeling discouraged. However, you are not alone. Many recent graduates have not found suitable employment yet. Unfortunately, this is particularly true for education graduates.
Teacher Preparation
Opinion
How Do I Transfer My Certification from State to State?
Because teaching certification is sanctioned by individual states, teacher candidates often wonder how to transfer their credentials from one state to another. While there are requirements that are unique to each state, the process is manageable. Here are some tips:
Teacher Preparation
Opinion
Jobs Outside of Traditional Classroom Teaching
Last week, a reader indicated that she is having "great doubts" about whether she wants to pursue elementary school teaching and wonders what other career options she might pursue.
Professional Development
Opinion
Graduate School: Where do I start?
Recently, a reader indicated that she has graduated with a Liberal Studies major and a Multiple Subject Credential that allows her to teach Kindergarten to 8th Grade. She is having "great doubts" about whether she wants to pursue elementary school teaching and wonders what other career options she might pursue. She adds, "I am thinking of continuing my education and receiving my Master's Degree, but I am confused as to what field of education fits me best. If you could help by guiding me towards different routes and directions to go to for help, it would be greatly appreciated."
Job Hunting Tips & Advice
Opinion
What Do Employers Consider Experience?
A reader recently asked, "If I don't have actual experience in working as a guidance counselor, but I have experience in it within my college career, would that be considered experience?"
Job Hunting Tips & Advice
Opinion
Keep a Positive Attitude During a Difficult Job Search
The teacher job market for the 2011-12 academic year is the toughest one I have seen during my 32 years in education. Even schools that need teachers may not have the funds to hire them. I still have hope that state governments will eventually provide the funds for school districts to hire the teachers needed to educate students from grades K through 12. But that funding may not come this year or even next year.
Job Hunting Tips & Advice
Opinion
Is It Panic Time?
About this time every year, I start to see a few educators who are very worried about their employment prospects for the next academic year. Inevitably, the conversation includes a question about whether it is time to panic if one has not secured a position for the fall. The answer is "no."
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Keeping Up (But Not Necessarily With the Joneses)
How are you keeping up with what is going on in your job search - and in the world? Record-keeping in your job search is important, but it is also vital, in my opinion as an educator, to keep up with what's going on in education and in the world.
Job Hunting Tips & Advice
Opinion
Resume with Advanced Degrees - Re-Entry from Admin
A reader recently submitted a question regarding re-entering the classroom after a stint as an administrator and asked for feedback on her résumé, as she was having limited success in being selected for interviews. Diana Sanchez wrote an entry for this blog in December called "The 'Over-Educated' Myth?" in which she addressed some of the questions surrounding advanced degrees for teachers. I'll give my thoughts as a career services professional on a re-entry résumé, but I would encourage school HR or hiring officials to provide their (more relevant) thoughts as well.
Job Hunting Tips & Advice
Opinion
Why School Districts Hire Newbies - Or Veterans
As I have worked with education job seekers over the years, I have often been asked by candidates why they are not getting interviews or offers. There are lots of reasons why one may not be generating interest, and you have read many good ideas on this blog for increasing your attractiveness to potential employers. Commonly, however, candidates eventually get around to this: Am I not getting interviews (or offers) because I am new and don't have much experience? Or: Am I not getting interviews because I have a lot of experience (and they will have to pay me too much)?
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Part-time, flex-schedule, and work-from-home jobs
Question from a reader: "What are the top K-12-related part-time, flexible-schedule, and work-from-home job opportunities teachers can explore to stay current in their careers while staying home with children?"