Teacher

Become a Teacher

If you love working with children and young adults and would you like to play a role in the educational, social and emotional development of future generations, then perhaps you should consider a career in teaching.

Teaching in a Nutshell

Teachers—preschool, kindergarten, elementary, middle and secondary instructors—play a vital role in the development of our nation's youth. Instructors working in public and private schools employ a wide array of teaching techniques and draw from a wide range of their own personal experiences to help prepare students for careers by providing them with the information and skills they will need to succeed in life.

Education Requirements for Teachers

Every state, as well as the District of Columbia, requires public school teachers to be licensed by the State Board of Education or a licensing advisory committee.

Although licensing requirements vary by state, all states require candidates to possess a bachelor's degree, as well as pass a state-approved training program and supervised practice teaching. Several states require teachers to obtain their master's degree in education once they begin teaching.

Most states require continuing education for license renewal, although a number of states do not require private school teachers to become licensed at all.

Day in the Life—and Out—of the Classroom

Teachers in both public and private schools generally work 40 hours per week in school and several more hours preparing lesson plans, meeting with parents or attending school functions in the evenings and on weekends. A major benefit of the profession is that teachers generally have their summers free.

Many teachers describe their job as a double-edged sword. Although they must often endure disrespectful and often disruptive behavior from their pupils, the rewards gained by helping students learn and grow as individuals can be immense.

While there are generally more openings in the public sector, private school teachers tend to have smaller class sizes, better resources to work with and more control over their curriculum than their public school counterparts.

Job Growth for Teachers

A demand for teachers is based heavily on student enrollment, which is expected to grow more slowly than past generations, especially as the children of baby boomers leave the educational system. This lagging growth will result in employment for teachers - kindergarten through secondary - growing as fast as the national average of occupations through 2014. However, job opportunities will vary greatly from region to region, as well as by school location and subject taught.

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