Confusing "Teacher Shortage" with "Job Opportunities"

Congratulations, teacher graduates! You've completed four plus years studying the latest theories in curriculum, instruction, the school system, education law, child psychology, lesson planning, school leadership, educational technology, and survived about one semester of student teaching. You've received your degree, passed your certification exams, sent your $150 non-refundable license application fee, received your official state's license, and now you're good to go! You've prepared all your resumes, fixed up your portfolio, wrote some sample lesson plans, gathered all of your recommendation letters from your professors, brought a new outfit, and listed all of the schools you wished to work for. Now it's time to go out there and get a job! God's blessings on you!

Oh, you're not worried about getting a job. You just might get one at your first interview. I mean, since there's such a high teacher shortage, all of the schools you're interested in are surely just dying to have you! In fact, there probably won't be an interview: the principal may just offer you the job just for showing interest in the school! All of your professors go on and on about how there's a desperate need for teachers, and if you're male and minority, schools would be all over you!

On you're first interview, you blow the principal away! Never has he seen such a strong candidate as yourself. Yet, he would let you know his decision by the end of the week. No problem, you have several other schools you would like to interview for. So you apply and interview with five schools and every time you knock 'em dead! So, you finally call it a day and anxiously await a call. Well, no one called that day -- and they probably never will.

Okay, that's a bit strange that no one offered you a job, so you call all the schools that you've interviewed for and you got the same answer: the position has been filled. All right, not a problem, there's several other places you would like to work for. You apply to five other schools, but this time, there were no interviews. You called these schools concerning the status of your application and you get the same answer: the position has been filled.

Now you're getting anxious. Ten schools and no jobs. So, you think that maybe the schools you've applied to were too elite. Maybe these schools were the ones that everybody wanted to get into. So, you try to apply to schools a bit further from you hoping that the ground is fertile elsewhere. But no interviews. So, you apply to other cities much, much further from you. No interviews. So, you try applying to other states. Wouldn't you know it, no interviews.

Finally, after almost a year being unemployed, you are considering two options: changing careers or teaching in a "ghetto school." Well, you still want to teach, so maybe you need to work your way from the bottom first. So, the first "bad school" you've applied to offered you a job on the spot. But sadly, you lasted only a few months. So finally, you call it a quits for teaching and go back to school for another career.

Believe it or not, this scenario is all too common for many aspiring teachers. Despite all of the hype of teacher shortages, many teachers still find themselves unemployed and even facing career changing. Many new teachers find themselves either moving very far from home to get a job, substituting or teacher assisting in hopes that they would get "discovered," working in non-teaching jobs until a teaching position comes up, or abandoning their career ambitions and going into a completely different field. Some whose hearts are dead-set on teaching would wait literally for years until they get into the classroom.

Now if there is such a huge demand for teachers in the U.S., then why are so many teachers finding it hard to get a job? Well, first we need to look at what the so-called teacher shortage is all about and why everybody's buying into it.

Shortage: Fact or Theory?

Despite all the excitement about a teacher shortage, not everybody would agree that a shortage even exist, or at least not everybody would agree on the extent of a shortage. Is the shortage nationwide or is it in selected geographical areas? Is there a shortage in all schools or just in the rural schools and the "ghetto schools?" What kinds of teachers are more in demand? Which subject areas are the most in need?

There may not be so much of a shortage problem. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are more teachers than any other occupation in the U.S., nearing 4 million as of 2004. This number includes pre-school, elementary, and secondary teachers. Nurses follow in second with over 3 million. In addition, there are about 6 million people with teaching credentials who are not currently teaching. Also, every year colleges and universities produce over 200,000 teachers. Then you have plenty of retirees and career changers who feel called to teach, along with the countless others out there who wish to teach but don't know how to get started.

Let's face it, everybody wants to be a teacher. Based on these astronomical numbers, there are plenty of folks out there with education training. And now, recruiting efforts are amazing! All states have colleges and universities that offer alternative, fast-track routes for teacher certification. There are emergency licensing, federal loan forgiveness, apartment rental discount, and other tasty benefits out there to grab all the potential teachers out there. And come on, what other job out there gives you all major holidays, weekends, and summers off in addition to Christmas recesses and Spring break?

So the problem may not be so much a shortage as it is distribution. Although there are plenty of teachers out there, many of them are going into elementary education, and a good chuck is going into all the single-subject disciplines except math, science, special education and bilingual education. Many teachers are going for the nicer schools than the "bad schools." Teachers tend to look in places where the pay is higher, so naturally many teachers would flood urban areas. So there are plenty of teachers, but they are definitely not equally spread out so that every place and subject are adequately covered.

Perhaps the two biggest theories that fuels this shortage hype are expected retirements and student enrollments. If you read most articles about teacher shortages, you would most definitely read about the baby-boomer generation throwing in the towel, therefore leaving plenty of openings for rookie teachers. What this theory doesn't consider is that not all would-be retirees would retire on time -- or if ever. It also doesn't consider the fact that these possible vacancies would be most likely filled with experienced teachers rather than non-experienced.

In almost every article you read about a shortage, you would also read stuff about increasing number of students in the schools. Expected student enrollment doesn't mean that schools are going to hire more teachers. Nationally, one of the biggest complaints in public schools is overcrowded classrooms. Teachers could expect to teach close to 200 students most days, which is around 30 to 40 students per class. In order to reduce class sizes, the best move would obviously be to hire more teachers. But since not all school districts could afford to hire more teachers, it leaves room for schools to get creative. For instance, some of Wake County, North Carolina schools are becoming year-round schools to accommodate increase student enrollment.

Let's talk about teacher turnover rates. It's commonly accepted that the average lifespan of new teachers is from three to five years, so many teachers do not last long in the profession. So in theory, since many new teachers leave the profession, that would give plenty of openings. However, as quickly as schools are producing teachers, any given school would still have plenty of applicants buzzing around for jobs. But also consider that the nicer schools won't have as many turnover rates as the bad schools or the rural schools where the salary is not good. Also consider that when a school has openings, there would be plenty of candidates flocking to those places, so a teacher would still have to face competition.

Then there's talk about how a teacher's salary and lack of respect contributes to this so-called shortage. I highly doubt it if salary plays a role in a shortage, especially if many teachers get into the profession because they feel it's a calling. Besides, as of 2004 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median income of U.S. teachers was in the 40s, which is definitely not bad. Some states are worst than others when it comes to salary, with yearly income for starting teachers being as low as in the low 20s. Overall, salary shouldn't be an issue for non-materialistic folks. But even if salary were to play a part in a lack of teachers, you have to admit that the benefits make up for the low salary. Six-hour days, all major holidays and weekends off, summers off, and week-long recesses during the school year. In addition, as state employees, teachers get good benefits, discounts at book stores, tuition assistance for advance degrees, and other city/county/state-specific incentives. One special education teacher in New York City is pretty much worn down by her job, but the reason she's still staying in is, "We're spoiled!" Teaching may be a tough job, but the physical rewards are worth it.

Shortage Areas

Well, we know that there are plenty of teachers out there and that colleges and universities are sending out more candidates than there are job vacancies. So, there isn't and probably will never be a shortage as far as the number of teachers and aspiring teachers are concerned.

So let's talk about where else we wouldn't see a shortage. Wealthy school districts, schools with strong leadership, innovative schools, prestigious private schools, urban areas, elementary schools, and single-subject teachers in the following areas: social studies, English, art, music, health, and perhaps any specialized subjects like business, economics, driver's education, industrial technology, etc. No matter what state you live in, if you're looking to be a teacher in any of these areas, you would have a nice little competition with other teachers.

The areas where they are shortages are teachers in math, science (particularly physics and chemistry), special education, and bilingual education. Ghetto schools and rural schools would also see a bit of a shortage. School districts where the pay is way too low to live on, schools with poor leadership, etc., would have a tougher time keeping teachers for obvious reasons. Notice that I didn't say that these schools would have a tough time finding teachers, but keeping them.

But what about those places where everybody says there's a high need for teachers? Don't listen to them. Whoever said that probably heard it from somebody who heard it from somebody who heard it from somebody. And remember, a high need for teachers doesn't mean good job opportunities and a shortage doesn't mean that the schools want your kind. Even if there were places where the ground is fertile for every kind of teacher, those places would only be in pockets. Every place has there pockets where the job opportunity is good, but only pockets.

What if your classmates got jobs quickly in your area but you didn't? What if they were just regular social studies, English, and art teachers just like you? They found a job with no problems, but you can't seem to get one. Well, there could be plenty of possibilities: 1) they started their search much earlier than you did, 2) they are teaching in high-demand fields, 3) they probably got jobs in the schools where they student-taught, 4) they probably know someone who know someone, 5) they just happened to be in the right place at the right time, 6) they're lying and are probably still searching for a job. It is also possible that you probably did awful in your interviews, but assuming that's not the case, your not finding a job shows that a shortage isn't a problem just like their finding a job quickly doesn't show that there is a shortage.

Tricks of the Trade

When I was teaching at one particular school in New York City, I was one of two social studies teachers in a school with about 1,000 plus students. Only two social studies teachers -- or should I say only two teachers who were qualified to teach it. However, this didn't mean that we taught all the students in the school, because other teachers were being used to teach social studies, even if they weren't qualified to teach it. Usually, the English teachers took on the additional role of social studies teacher.

So how do these teachers teach subjects they are not familiar with? Textbooks, baby! That's how one English teacher from Texas did it. She didn't even know geography, yet she was responsible for covering that subject. One math teacher also took on the role of social studies teacher and did the best he could.

All homeroom teachers were also required to teach health education to their homeroom students, whether or not we were qualified to teach it. One math teacher from New Jersey bluntly told me that she knew nothing about health. I barely touched on health education with my students, and I didn't even give them a grade for it because for one, I didn't know that I had to. While giving the students grades, I wasn't given the choice to grade for health education. Another reason is that I barely touched on the subject, so I didn't really keep a record of everybody's progress.

My school wasn't the only one who played their game well when it comes to being resourceful. It is no secret that schools would call upon a teacher to teach a subject he or she isn't qualified to teach. Since hiring teachers depend on the school's budget, a school might have to be a bit creative, and to avoid getting in trouble, a school might hire one or two teachers who are qualified to teach a particular subject and then just have other unqualified teachers to help out. In my case, there were only two qualified social studies teacher, but other teachers picked up the slack and taught it too.

So if you're having a problem finding, say, a social studies position, it might be because the math and English teachers are teaching it. If the budget is tight, schools have to be resourceful and even cut back on what they already have. Art would most likely be the first to go if there's a budget crisis, and other subjects deemed not too important would follow, such as health, music, etc. If the problems aren't completely cut out, the school may have one or two qualified teachers on staff, while the majority of other teachers are math, English, science, and other academic subjects. I'm sure that you been to a school of 80 teachers where there were only one music teacher, one art teacher, one dance teacher, and two gym teachers.

One common complaint I've heard from teachers is how the interviews were very unprofessional. The principals would act degrading or seem uninterested. One teacher even said that one principal told him that she never intended on hiring him, because she already had someone else in mind.

Depending on where they're located, principals may be required to interview a certain number of applicants before making their decision. So technically, if a principal is required to interview three people but wants to hire the first person he interviewed, he would still have to waste the other two applicants' time. So, when you're sitting in an interview and the principal seems weird, it's perhaps because he knows who he's going to hire and interviewing you is just something he's got to do.

Some teachers may not realize that having an advance degree may actually work against them. Schools are required to pay you more if you have more college credits or an additional degree. Schools in wealthier counties have no problem hiring teachers with master degrees and may even require teachers to have one in order to work there. Schools in poorer counties may hire lower-degreed teachers over higher-degreed ones.

The best way to know if having a higher degree is looked upon favorably in your county or state, look at the board of education website in your state and see the percentage of teachers with higher degrees. In my state of North Carolina, as of last year there was only about 25% of teachers who had advance degrees. Only 25%! Schools with good reputations would naturally want people with experience and higher education, but as for the rest, they have to keep within the budget. So yes, there's a such thing as being overqualified, but it depends on where you are.

Then it's experience. The better schools would want to have experienced teachers, usually with 2 to 3 years of teaching experience. Once again, it depends on where you are, but this is another complaint new teachers have, that they are losing jobs to those who are more experienced. Many new teachers are faced with trying to strengthen their candidacy through substituting, being a teacher's assistant, obtaining additional certifications, etc.

Advice for Future Teachers

Looking for a teaching job is like looking for any other job. It could be extremely easy to land a gig and it could be extremely difficult, but it all depends on where you are. You might be in a great job market or you could be in a bad one. You have the very elite schools who could afford to be picky and you have the low-down schools who would be happy to get anybody -- well, not just anybody, but you know what I mean. Overall, getting a job in the schools isn't a walk in the park, especially since you have plenty of others out there desperate to teach. So if you don't get a job immediately after graduation, don't get discouraged.

There is really no best time to look for a job. You should continually look for teaching jobs, and even if the new school year is only a few weeks or a few days away, don't assume that the schools you're looking at are no longer searching. In fact, during that time, some schools would still have vacancies that they are rushing to fill, which means a high chance of on-the-spot job offers. Even if the new school year started, keep searching. Teachers leave within days of starting the new school year. There may be more students coming during the new school year than was expected, which may mean that more teachers need to be hired (if the school district could afford it, that is). There are early retirements, maternity leaves, terminations, etc., so there will continually be openings in the schools. You just have to continually keep an eye out.

Substituting or being a teacher's assistant may or may not work for you. For one thing, it doesn't guarantee that you'll get a full-time teaching position. It's possible for you to sub or teacher assist for a long, long time before anything comes up. It's better to be proactive in your search by constantly checking out openings at other schools than to just sub somewhere hoping that it would get you into that school or that it would look good on your resume. Yes, substituting or being an assistant does look good -- doesn't guarantee you a job though.

Relocating for a job may or may not be in your best interest. If you're young, single, and fresh out of college, then the whole world's at the tip of your fingers. If you're married with school-age children, that's a different story since now you have other people to consider. Don't be surprised to hear other aspiring teachers making a choice between relocating or changing careers. Relocating is a big gamble, though, and before you hop on the 12:15 train to Sweet Home Alabama, make sure that your decision involves more than a career opportunity. Do you know anybody in your new location? Have any friends or family? How are the living conditions there? Temperature, general job market, the kind of people there, etc., you have to keep these things and other things in mind when you move somewhere else.

Going back to school to get additional certifications would definitely make you more employable, but are you willing to go into more debt than you are already are? Would you be happy teaching in your additional certification areas? You might get a job in special education fairly quick, but would you be happy doing it? Yes, we need a job, but if you're going to settle for something you really don't want, you might as well do something else for a career that would bring much less stress to you.

Along the lines of stressfulness and settling, it's not a good idea to work in a school that would bring you much grief. A number of teachers settle for the bad schools thinking that they have to work their way up in order to get the experience needed to work in the good schools. The main problem with this is that when you work in a bad environment, you may risk given up on teaching period as you may judge all schools to be the same way. You may burn out too quickly and end up leaving the school within months, weeks, or even days after being hired. Then you have that mark on your resume and would have to come up with a clever excuse if another principal asks why you left so early. Go for what you want instead of settling, because all settling does is bring more stress on you than you need.

Do not be so quick to change careers if you can't find a job. Just take a break from looking for a while and relax. You'll get a job, but it's all about where it would be and when you would find it. You may not find the job in your area, but you might find one in another area. You may not find a job in three days after graduation, but you may find one eventually. Changing careers are for those who know that teaching isn't for them. Not finding a job is a reason to temporarily change careers if necessarily, but teaching would still be your goal.

Best wishes to all of you aspiring types. Remember, we can't always have it all right away, but if we keep at it, we'll eventually find what we're looking for!