Teaching in the USA?

PrettyRad

Hi all,

This may seem a bit odd coming from an 18 year old, but I'm going into sixth year and need to have this sorted out.

If I wanted to teach in a high school in the state of California, what would be the preferable education route to take?

Should I apply to university in the US?
If I was to get my degree here, would it be possible to get teacher training later in the US, like the post grad in education? Or is teacher training combined with degrees over there?
If I was to become a totally qualified teacher in Ireland, and then move to the USA, would my qualifications be valid or would I need add-ons?

My school's guidance system is laughable, and I seem to be the only one in my year who cares about the future, I need a hand here!

Can you teach more than one subject in the US? What are salaries like? Any and all help is appreciated

Ponster

You may get a better answer in the Teaching forum.

Before anyone replies with the practicalities of visas and such, I believe that yes, you'll need a degree and several years experience. Your Irish qualifications will count for something. Not sure if you'll need a top-up or pass a US exam though.
The average salary seems to be about €40,000


Have you taken a look at this? Teacher J-1 Visa program

silja

What kind of teacher do you want to be? I ask because I have several US citizen friends here who are teachers and have difficulty getting jobs; due to this, I suspect it will be very difficult for you to get a visa to be a "normal" teacher. However, if you were to get specific qualifications, such as a special needs teacher for self-contained classrooms, or speech therapist, then your chances are better.

PrettyRad

Thanks so much for your help!

I would like to teach French, here or the US, I've read somewhere before that language teachers other than Spanish are in short supply, in the USA, but I'm not sure if that's still the case.

iusedtoknow

The reality it....not good.

A US college education does not give you the right to remain in the US
A teaching diploma in Europe is not enough get a visa

The reality is, a lot of school districts are stretched, and are cutting teachers and programs, rather than hiring new teachers. Teachers are by default (unless you get in to a private school) city employee's, which means that not only do you have a job for life, you also have good pensions. This means that full time employee jobs are pretty hard to come by.

The other thing is...there are more than enough graduates here with degrees that will allow them to go into teaching, so it is not a priority for the state department to let you in.

http://www.ctc.ca.gov/credentials/leaflets/cl560c.pdf will give you the requirements

ProudDUB

OP, get your third level education/qualifications/work experience here. Studying for a degree in the US can cost $25,000 to $40,000 per year. That is before you factor in living expenses. Do you or your family have that kind of money?

Once you are qualified and have a few years teaching experience, try to get a job over there. However, there is currently a glut of teachers in the US. Thousands of them graduate every year with BA's & Masters in Education & wind up waiting tables in restaurants. So you need to be aware of what you are up against.

You are only going to be able to get a school system to take you on if you have some sort of special skill or qualification that is in short supply in that county or state or city. The school system will have to sponsor you for a visa. You can not do it yourself. That sponsorship will cost them thousands of dollars, so they aren't going to be willing to do it unless you bring some very unique skills and/or qualifications to the table. To be frank, a French teacher does not.

It is very, very hard to get a permanent visa to live and work in the US. There are dozens of threads on here from people with degrees in engineering, computers etc etc who want to move over there. They are the ones who stand the best chance, as large companies are usually better able to afford sponsoring an overseas employee for a visa, than a cash strapped school system that is battling government cutbacks. Some one from the teaching profession is going to have an uphill struggle. The JI teacher visa could be an option for you. It's not a permanent visa, but at least it could be a first foot in the door.

dave2pvd

The other thing to keep in mind: not much call for high school French teachers in the US.

Bilingual teachers are certainly in-demand - as in English native speaker with Spanish or Chinese (or vice versa). Further, STEM teachers are always in short supply.

cena

Would there be many jobs for a kindergarten teacher??

A lot of teachers over their work a second job cause the wages is low.

iusedtoknow

it is the same all round. You need the degree in early childhood education, and a lot of districts are joining classes to cut down on the need for teachers.

I know there are a couple of teachers that work in a local restaurant friday/saturday...but it is because their pay grades don't meet the levels needed to live/work in the bay area