Getting a Teaching License Takes Longer Than Expected

I moved to the area this summer.

Yes, I am looking into grad schools for education

Which credential program did you go into?

“Hi current teachers, I am a recent new grad from UC Davis currently applying for a job and a teaching credential program. I want to ask how long did it took for you guys to hear back from the school about teaching positions. Thank you submitted by /u/Outrageous_Gear402 [link] [comments]”

“I am starting my first official teaching job next week (I’ve done short stints and I’m a tutor). The school year is already 3 weeks in so my classes have had subs since the beginning of the year. I honestly don’t know what the curriculum is that I’m supposed to be teaching or what grade levels (English, 7th, maybe 8th). Is it ok to act like it’s the first day of school and get to know the kids? Or do I just wing it and do actual lesson plans next week after I see the syllabus? I did reach out to”

“I am going to graduate in May and I am worried about my ability to financially support myself in my moving to a job and then working. I was thinking about maybe taking a gap year before teaching to work full time (I already have a job that pays decently well) and emergency sub for the year so I can gain more classroom experience. Is this a terrible idea? Will it make being hired more difficult in a year when I start apply for jobs in the 2028-2029 school year? submitted by /u/Ok_Secr”

“i think we are in the hot of interview season now, and ive yet to receive anything... for context, i submitted most of my secondaries pretty early in July so i feel like i should start hearing back now...???? i only applied to abt 20 but is it too late to send out more primaries on the amcas right now in september?? i guess i want to maximize my chances this cycle. submitted by /u/DesperateRange9633 [link] [comments]”

Again, no teaching certificate.

“You need a teaching certificate and student teaching experience in most states.”

“Hey, the credential eval part is definitely doable but slow, a service like a NACES member evaluation can translate your degree into US equivalency and then you'd likely need to go through a CTC-approved program for the actual credential. The STEM background will help you a lot since California is constantly short on those teachers, but immigration is the real hurdle, probably a marriage visa or employer sponsorship which schools rarely do for new teachers. Check the California Commission on”

“Hello everyone! I am a new teacher from the Netherlands, graduated 2 years ago. The past 2 years I had subteaching jobs at two different schools and it was a great time. I taught children from age 4 to 7. Unfortunaly this summer the jobs ended for me because the main teacher returned. Now I am looking for a job again but I've been struggling. Maybe it is because I am too picky, but I am extremely anxious to teach the older children and this past summer only applications had opened up for cla”

“I've pivoted to teaching middle/high school. I see so many highly-qualified STEM professionals teaching STEM in school. So many in my credentialing cohort are programmers who burned out, including me. It's definitely not a job for everyone, but if you like connecting with people over knowledge, have decent social skills, and have a lot of empathy for kids (which everyone says is hard when it comes to middle schoolers, but I like this age), it's pretty good. Hours are limited, no on-c”

“I F22 graduated with an art education degree this year. I’m part of a program/ scholarship that helps you transition into the classroom during your time at college… and it’s not going great. I didn’t get a job this year and am seriously doubting I’ll get one next year. To which the program/ scholarship money becomes a loan. I’m honestly worried about this loan but also get like a pit in my stomach at the thought of having my own classroom . It sounds stupid (I feel stupid getting this degree) I”

“Have my K-8 license in NV, have a BA in elementary ed, and I’ve been working with kids for as long as I can remember. I had an interview yesterday for a 2nd grade position, only to find another candidate was selected. I don’t mind this at all as I’ve applied to be a sub and I’m finally seeing sub postings (I took a morning half day for Tuesday already). The closest I’ve been to teaching was a substitute, and the last 3 years I worked as a paraprofessional. It was great experience and with my lic”

“I have been trying desperately to get back into a district that I left. I am on good terms with lots of people on the district. The teacher that replaced me has recently left but for some reason that position has been made available. I have applied for a will be interviewing another position, split: teaching a subject I am familiar with and another I have zero familiarity with. I have taught subjects with zero familiarity before but this one worries me because it’s an AP class. I don’t want to d”

“For subbing ??? Even with a BA and a teaching degree?? That’s insane! I’m in Florida and I only have my associates. I paid $30 to take the course, then I have to provide my college transcripts and pass a drug/background test. It’s 16.50 an hour with an associates, which for the COL here is kind of shit but it’s better than nothing. I might have to ask around for a job and actually use linked in which I hate with a passion but until then I need literally anything reliable”

“I got a teaching degree about 17 years ago, but I was never able to get a full-time job at any school. I was only ever a substitute teacher and a part-time tutor. People tend to be pretty judgmental towards someone with a teaching degree who can't get hired. submitted by /u/coulduseahugrightnow [link] [comments]”

“Hey all, applying to some grad programs and have been looking at getting my teacher certification/credential in California. I have had informational overload but wanted some clarification: do I need to have my CBEST and CSET scores before applying to these credential programs? I feel like many of these programs' info pages are vague about this. For reference, I am a political science degree holder and am looking to get a single subject certification in Social Studies. I read that for some pr”

“I'm in my 3rd year of 3rd and want to get out of whole classroom teaching. Anyone with experience as an ESL teacher and/or Reading Specialist, please share the pros and cons. ESL seems more in-demand, but I think my personal interest is more on the reading side. submitted by /u/Fit-Butterscotch1666 [link] [comments]”

“19M Indiana - I’m currently a second-year bachelor’s student studying Secondary English Education and my master’s is going to be in Ed Leadership. I’m also a substitute teacher for a local school district. While my primary goal in life is to become an author and cartoonist, I love learning about education and education just in general, and I love the kids at my work. Recently I’ve been reading up online about how the “teacher shortage” is really only a shortage for the STEM and SpecEd fields, no”

“Hello, I wanted to start off by saying that I did go to college for education and graduated in 2023. Unfortunately, due to my financial situation, I could not realistically do the student teaching portion, nor work as a substitute, since I am living by myself and am fully responsible for my rent, food, bills, etc. The whole ordeal at first dismotivated me, and for a few years, I have been just working a regular 9-5. Recently, through my younger sister’s and friends’ encouragement, I found the mo”

“I may be completely out of my league but I would like to leave teaching and move into an IT career. I have a BA and an M.ED in Education. I'm very, very good with people and I am used to troubleshooting; that being said, I am not skilled in networking/IT. I am know I can learn and pick up the concepts but want to avoid going back to school. I was considering looking into studying the basics and getting certificates over the next three years and then transition out of teaching. I need someone”

“Hello! Longtime lurker, first time poster. I recently started my master's in secondary education— I've wanted to make the pivot to education for a while, but am finally able to. One of our first assignments is to conduct an interview with one veteran (10+ years of experience) and one novice (<3 years of experience) teacher to learn about the characteristics and expectations for effective teachers. I thought I'd turn here to get as diverse a pool of educators as possible! This can”

“I officially got the job on Friday! I’ll be a special education teacher, but I’ll also be teaching a GED class. Classes are officially starting in a few days and I haven’t even been to the district yet. I’ve been reading up on the GED website to get an idea of what to teach, but I feel like it’s hard when the directors haven’t given me the curriculum expectations yet. They said that there will be a lot of support, the teacher who used to teach the class will be my mentor, and I’ll get an opportu”

“I’m currently student teaching and I’ve been asking my mentor teacher a million questions and I don’t want to keep bugging them so I figured I’d ask here. I’ll preface with saying IDK how much these things vary by location/state, I’m in UT. ——-——————————————————————- Do endorsements increase your salary? Do some teachers get a degree/license in, say English, then end up getting hired and not teaching English but instead electives? Like, if I get a CTE endorsement could I teach just CTE with my E”

“Hello everyone! I’m a native Spanish speaker, I have a bachelor’s in Communications and a masters in Spanish Literature. I was a High School Spanish teacher long term sub a couple of years ago, and enjoyed the job a lot. I’m now considering getting a certification through an alternative program in University of Michigan. I have a couple of questions: How employable do you think I will be? Considering I don’t have a specific degree in education. I’m willing to go through the certification process”

“I live in Orange County, CA. I just got my Bachelor’s in Spanish and have started the Single Subject credential program at CSULB. I’ve heard that recently job prospects in the education field in OC have been extremely scarce and ridiculously competitive. I want to teach high school Spanish and am hoping that this subject specifically will give me somewhat of an edge compared to Social Studies or English, but I can’t help but feel worried that I’m chasing a career with extremely slim chances when”

“How feasible would it be to try to get a teaching job in Utah without a license? I'm almost done with my English bachelors and I want to immediately start on a Masters that comes with licensure, but I'd like to get classroom experience while working on a graduate degree (I've looked into subbing. It just doesn't pay well enough to be realistic). I know in Utah you can't work public schools without a license, so how reasonable would it be to try to get work teaching in a priva”

“Hi friends, just looking for some encouragement or stories from others. I have always dreamed of being a teacher and for some reason went another route. Have worked in corporate America but am not liking it, so now am considering going back to school to become a teacher at 26. I have a bachelors degree in business management. I would love to teach art or even PE but no experience in these areas or lack of proper education. I know it is possible to become a teacher with no prior experience but wo”

“I will be honest with you. Teaching is very difficult and you will get a much better preparation for teaching in an in person program. You are also more likely to get an internship or student teaching position (depends on what the school does), and ultimately, more likely to get an interview. I think just about every state university has a program. I went to UCSD more than three decades ago to get my credential. You don’t mention what credential you are trying to get but I would really impress u”

“Many states call their teachers union _____ education association. The VEA is an affiliate of the NEA, the national teachers union.”

Be aware that each state has their own credentialing requirements.

So do you not have a license when you get your first job?

“I'm very grateful to have received an II but the school requires that everyone sends a pre-interview update sheet that asks if we've had any changes in our primary since submitting. I have one change. I listed my gap year derm MA job as an activity in my primary (with ~2000 projected hours), however, after two months I switched to an orthopedic MA job because of higher pay. Do I need to mention this transition at all? After all, I'm going from one MA job to another, the only switch w”

“Keep in mind that history and English positions are the two hardest to find due to a massive saturation of HSS and ELA credentialed teachers.”

“I just interviewed today for a 7th/8th grade Spanish position and was basically told the job is mine pending HR/red tape. School starts NEXT WEEK and I’m equal parts thrilled and terrified lol. I’m not completely new to teaching; I spent the last 3 years teaching English in Spain, including 2 years with secondary students, but I’ve never been the full-time teacher of record in a US public school. This will also be my first time teaching Spanish instead of English. The good news is the department”

“Hello!! I have always bounced around the idea of becoming a teacher for as long as I can remember but never felt confident enough to follow through. I ended up graduating from UofSC with a B.S. in marine science and jobs are really rough in that field. Due to some personal hardships, I’ve moved back in with my parents and now I feel like this is the best time for me to start seriously working towards getting a license. I’ve looked on the SC Board of Education website regarding an alternative rou”

“Hi all! I’m a 24F with a bachelor’s degree in a business-related field, and I’ve recently been seriously considering becoming a teacher. I’ve always loved working with children and wanted to be a teacher when I was younger, but unfortunately, outside influences led me down a different career path. I’m now extremely unhappy in my current field and feel like I’m looking for a career I can actually be passionate about. I’m considering going back to school for a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) in E”

“Hi all. I'm about to finish my last year of undergrad. I want to be a teacher and was told going to grad school is the way to go. I am aware of alternate teaching pathways and certifications. I am also aware that the general consensus is if to take the path that would be the cheapest. However, assuming I had all the money in the world to go through whatever pathway or grad school you could, which way would you take? Assume one end goal is to be a teacher and another one is to eventually move”

“Hello teachers! looking for advice on the next step in my path. I graduated this may and was late to start applying for teacher positions. Now that the school year has begun where I live I really trying to focus on how I can prepare to secure the ideal job for next year. Any tips? things that’ll look good on resume? jobs to apply to in mean time? things to prepare for interviews? submitted by /u/Clean-Economy462 [link] [comments]”

“Looking to get a conditional license to teach High School Math in Maryland. I already have a BA but not in Math. I know I have to go to my local board and ask for it but I want to be prepared for that future meeting. AI is saying I should probably have a passing Praxis score in Secondary Math prior to such meeting. I am confident to teach Algebra at this point. I am thinking with a conditional license you get sent to teach the classes and schools that are hard to hire? I will most likely be teac”

“Ok, let's say secondary math/physics teacher in Ontario (see salary grid available online) vs a civil/structural engineer in Windsor-Essex.”

“Im looking to become a math teacher in miami. Does anyone know if the demand is high there? Aka am i likely to be able to find a job there without experience? Thanks submitted by /u/No_Teach7320 [link] [comments]”

“Hi! I have an interview tomorrow for a 7th/8th grade Spanish teaching position and would love some advice from experienced teachers, both for the interview and for what I could potentially be walking into if I get the job. Some background: I graduated college in 2023 and then spent the last three years teaching English in Spain. For two years I worked as an English language assistant in a public secondary school with students ages 12–18, and this past year I had a more hands-on teaching role at”

“Hi everyone! I’m a new teacher in California, and I have my first interview for a 4th-grade teaching position coming up, so I’d love any advice from experienced teachers. The position is actually at the elementary school where I previously completed my student teaching, so I’m familiar with the school and community, but this will still be my first actual teaching interview. For those of you who have interviewed for teaching positions, what advice would you give someone going into their first int”

“Hi everyone, I am currently a teacher with five years of experience. Before this I worked in sales account management. I live across the country from my mom who is now having some health issues, but I have commitments in my current location and would like to be able to go back and forth. I have been on the hunt for a remote role for about a month (not long, I know) and have not even got a screener call. I have never had trouble landing interviews or jobs in my life, so I am finding this surprisi”

“So I applied to 20 schools this 2026-2027 cycle (FAP waiver) but I’m a little worried I may have cooked myself. First, I didn’t realize 2 of the schools on my list required either Casper/preview so that puts me at 18 realistic options. I also haven’t received 3 secondaries back after submitting. So I am left now with 15 realistic options. How accurate is the 2 week rule in your experience and Is it worth submitting any additional primaries at this point? I’d unlikely be able to turn around secon”

“CA & AZ have a reciprocity agreement, right? There may be a few hoops to jump through but you can do it. AZ dgaf about education, so while the pay may be lower and the union much weaker, there are jobs. (Teacher shortages actually are a thing in places nobody wants to work). So you can try places like Phoenix and Tucson, but cast a wide net. Some of the rural districts are so desperate they’ll probably let you teach math or science. Enjoy 105 degrees 6 months a year & 60k! Decent pension”

“I am part of the NYC Doe and considering the move back to FL to be with family as I left right after high school. However I am considering leaving my teaching job here. What does salary and pension look like for tenured teachers out there? submitted by /u/No-Decision-7568 [link] [comments]”

“Hi everyone! Female, 26. Please help me figure out my career. I'm confused about myself. Maybe it's clearer from the outside. Or what would you do if you were me? I have a degree in teaching English (I live in a non-English-speaking country). I worked at a private school as a substitute teacher for a couple of months. Naturally, as a substitute, you can't really tell whether you like the profession or not. I like the English language, and I get along with kids. It's just that my”

“Fellow music teacher. It took me two years of interviews to get my first job. During that time I substitute taught in different districts every day. My first real job was 3 days a week teaching band, choir, and general music. I was there 5 days a week until 6pm every night. The extra days and time weren't teaching, just figuring out how to do the job. I was there for two years until I got a full time job elsewhere. I've been fairly comfortable for ten years until they changed my courses”

“How do you handle that, aren't you supposed to have lesson plans made up for wks months to start? I have no idea i haven't taught yet. The lesson plans give me anxiety, and dont you have to submit them to admin for approval or so?”

“I'm quite honestly scared of school, i was always bad at it, I do however wish to have financial security and a career in teaching since i think it would go well with me. In my province in Canada, any teaching degree you need to pass the French exam in the last 2 years of the degree, which is known to be astronomically hard needing a 70 percent to pass.. So I'm taking the Second Language Baccalaureat degree that way to pass is minimum 60 percent. ( even though i might want to teach art s”

“It took me a while to figure out what I want to be, but a couple years ago I set my sights on teaching. I’m in my 40s so it’s a little late, but I started subbing and loved it. Enrolled in a fast tracked education master’s degree. I’m doing great in it - all As. My field experiences have been great. So imagine my surprise when I logged in to check my financial aid offer for this year and instead of the $20k from last year, I see $5k. It’s Friday night so I can’t ask the office until Monday, but”

“I mean, I know certified social studies teachers w/ 20 years of experience who are fighting to get hired. I agree with the other commenters--getting certified in a second subject is the best way forward.”

I've met ONE in my 23 years of teaching.

“I just graduated GSU in May with a major of Middle Level Education concentrating in math and science. My primary goal was to be a full time middle school math teacher. I graduated with a 3.7 gpa and certified in both math and science for grades 4-8. I thought finding a job would be no problem because of the supposed “teacher shortage, especially math”. It is now late august and I have just gotten my 10th or 11th rejection. This was for a remote position too. I’m literally looking for anything no”

“Hi! I am trying to get my credential in WA state & im having such a hard time figuring this out. I want to do ELA, history, FCS (or some other CTE), I have also thought about SPED/Reading. I majored in Communication/Journalism in college & worked as a journalist a little shy of 2 years & I do freelance social media & digital marketing. It looks like if I want my credential in English I'll have to take about a year of undergrad English classes. I am so confused! Could someone”

“I am trying to go back to school to teach. I already have a bachelors degree in advertising. Due to several circumstances, I have not been able to work in my field the last 4 years. I was able to teach on a temporary license in Florida for a year and I really enjoyed it. I’ve since moved to Illinois and want to pursue a MAT program to teach high school. I’m looking for either affordable online or Chicagoland programs. My issue when it comes to applying is that they want you to have bachelor leve”