PING: Teachers and assorted college folk .. switching majors

[DeToxRox]

So I have roughly a year left before I graduate with a degree in Communications with a focus in Public Relations. I've always wanted to teach and have lately been kind of bummed I am not taking Secondary Education as my major, especially when my school has a Nationally ranked program.

That said I know of quite a few people with my same degree who have gotten teaching jobs with relative ease due to the glut of jobs that open up out west and down south so my question is what do people in the know (i.e teachers, etc) feel the best option is?

I am not sure how it works in different areas as far as teaching certification goes but every day I am researching it, but if people with actual first hand knowledge can help me that'd be great.

Thanks.

[Passacaglia]

What school do you go to?

Most states have reciprocity agreements where if you have a teaching certificate in one state, then you can get one easily in the other -- I think you just have to take another test. There's like 37 of these states, and Michigan is one of them, so you're okay there. There will be some hoops, but from what I understand, not too much -- you should contact the state you want to teach in to find out.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by Passacaglia

What school do you go to?

Most states have reciprocity agreements where if you have a teaching certificate in one state, then you can get one easily in the other -- I think you just have to take another test. There's like 37 of these states, and Michigan is one of them, so you're okay there. There will be some hoops, but from what I understand, not too much -- you should contact the state you want to teach in to find out.

I go to Oakland Unviersity

[tarcone]

But to get reciprocity you have to have a certification already.
If you really want to teach, most states allow you a 2 year provisional certification. I wouldnt get it until you have gotten a job. In that 2 year time period you have to complete education courses that earn you a certification.

My bro-in-law teaches in FLA. There is a huge shortage of teachers in FLA. They also make great money. He told me of one teacher making over $100k, with his years of experience and education.

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by Passacaglia

Most states have reciprocity agreements where if you have a teaching certificate in one state, then you can get one easily in the other -- I think you just have to take another test. There's like 37 of these states, and Michigan is one of them, so you're okay there. There will be some hoops, but from what I understand, not too much -- you should contact the state you want to teach in to find out.

I don't know much about how teaching certs vary from region to region, but I believe what Pass is saying here is true about reciprocity...once you get a certification, you can take it a lot of places.

I just wanted to chime in here and say how great it is that you're going into teaching. There aren't enough people who really want to be teachers (or so it seems, lately), and people who really want to...well, that's really cool in my book.

Good luck!
/tk

[JW]

I'm a communications (They called it newspaper journalism when I graduated.) major who became a teacher after a military career. Most states as noted above have fast-track provisional/alternative certification programs. Louisiana's program allows you to get a master's degree in education while completing certification requirements and while working. I'm sure other states have similar programs. With a communications degree you should have a lot of English courses. I obtained certification in social studies and English (I also had picked up a lot of graduate social studies hours over the years.) and had an automatic Louisiana certification in publications/journalism/communications after getting my initial certification.

BTW, I wouldn't recommend Louisiana. Pay here is somewhat lower than most surrounding states, though the state recently bumped up teach pay significantly. However, there is definitely a shortage of teachers. You could get a job just about anywhere.

So just be aware that you could probably pick up a teaching job easily after you graduate, but you would in most states have to enroll in an alternative certification program to keep your job.