Navigating the Teacher Job Market

With the national high school teacher job market hovering at frustratingly low demand levels for the last couple of years, some high school teachers are jumping ship for careers with more promising prospects. "There are literally thousands of qualified history teachers who want jobs and can't get them," Caroline explains. "There are experienced teachers who can't even get a single interview."

So as a recent college graduate with no full-time teaching experience, Caroline counts herself as one of the lucky ones to finally become a high school teacher and get a classroom of her own after a lengthy job search.

When she graduated from the University of Michigan in 2007, she foresaw little trouble starting her career as a high school teacher. "Everyone was saying, 'We need teachers! We need teachers!' but they don't tell you they only need certain kinds." High school teachers in science, Spanish, math and special education are in the most demand. Throughout the country, a new graduate can find a teaching job in those subject areas without much difficulty.

In places such as Hawaii, Massachusetts and many rural or inner-city areas, local governments are even offering additional perks to high school teachers in high-demand subjects. But teachers who majored in English or history who were planning to live a rewarding life as a secondary teacher are having a much harder time.

"There are two kinds of teachers. One wants to teach for the sake of teaching, and the other is interested in a certain subject matter."

For the first, Caroline says, "Get another endorsement!" Endorsements were popularized in 2006 when the No Child Left Behind Act required teachers to prove they are "highly qualified" in the subjects they teach. States set their own measurements, but taking a state test or completing a degree or a certain number of credit hours of instruction are common methods.

Getting endorsements to teach multiple subjects will pay dividends in today's high school teacher job market. If you want to teach and you are passionate about a low-demand subject area, take the time while you are in school to become a certified teacher in an additional, high-demand subject area to boost your job opportunities.

To find a teaching job, Caroline was a substitute teacher at multiple districts in her area and applied to every job opening she could find. "I was a little over-confident at first, so I didn't try as hard as I could have. But eventually I realized that if you're committed to being a teacher, you have to go and get whatever experience you can." And she did.

She flew off to Washington, DC for some real-world experience. She took an internship with a congresswoman on the Committee on Education and Labor and was able to sit in on meetings and set herself apart from her peers on her resume.

"The best advice I can give to anyone in this position is: be proactive!" While she was in DC, she sent out over 130 packets containing cover letters and resumes to the principals of schools she was interested in. She didn't hear back from the vast majority of them. "It's such a boy's club kind of thing.

Even if you find a job posting for a low demand position, it has probably already been filled." So fill out applications for jobs that aren't even open if you want to be considered when that one American Government or Social Studies teacher job opens up.

When all is said and done, if you really want to teach high school, you can make it happen in today's teacher job market. Just prepare by getting well-rounded certification endorsements and real-world experience.

Apply for a lot of teaching jobs—and keep at it! It was only yesterday that Caroline was planning on another year of subbing. And today she has a high school history classroom of her own.