Teacher Certification: A Guide to Entry Level Teaching Jobs

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While we’ve covered a variety of employers who offer opportunities in education and teaching, the vast majority of jobs in these fields are at the nearly 100,000 public schools across the United States. Our schools employ more than 3.7 million teachers, and that number is projected to increase 13% over the next decade. That’s nearly half a million new teaching jobs.

During the 2011 State of the Union Address, President Obama reiterated our need to prepare new teachers and committed to investing resources towards doing so. He ended his comments on teachers by saying this:

In fact, to every young person listening tonight who’s contemplating their career choice: If you want to make a difference in the life of our nation; if you want to make a difference in the life of a child, become a teacher. Your country needs you.

Not only are shifts in our country’s demographics forcing schools to hire more teachers, but the federal government has committed to making a significant investment in preparing thousands of new teachers. There is no greater opportunity for new and recent college graduates to make a difference than there is through a career in education.

What It Takes To Be a Teacher

We can all remember the qualities that we valued most in our favorite teachers. There are a multitude of intangibles that separate great teachers from good teachers and good teachers from not so good teachers. However, there are certain requirements that all teachers must meet just to be able to work in a public school.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics: “All 50 States and the District of Columbia require public school teachers to be licensed.”

Licensing requirements vary from state to state (there is no national teacher certification), but they’re generally similar in that they require a minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree along with a certain level of education specific coursework. Here’s a more expansive explanation of how a teaching certification works from CertificationMap.com:

A teacher certification determines your eligibility to teach specific grade levels and subjects. You generally receive a teacher certification for a specific grade level and subject, and then have the opportunity to add credentials by taking and passing the appropriate examinations. For example, if you received your teacher certification to teach math at the fifth grade level, you could then receive additional credentials to teach math at the fourth or sixth grade level, or to teach another subject at the fifth grade level.

While most entry level teaching jobs don’t require a Master’s Degree in Education to teach, having such a degree can be an enormous benefit for those who want to accelerate their careers. For instance, teachers with Master’s Degrees:

• Get advanced training that provides the skills and knowledge necessary to excel in the front of the classroom.
• Are far more likely to get hired at the school of their choice
• Meet the requirements for jobs like principal, counselor, and educational administrator.
• Start with higher salaries and benefit from improved job security.

What’s the Next Step?

Because the road to a teaching credential can be confusing, we are working with the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education to help you explore your interest in a career in teaching. They provide one of the first and only Master of Arts in Teaching programs delivered online by an elite research university. The MAT@USC program is where the forefront of technology meets the future of education; a revolutionary curriculum designed to prepare the next generation of great teachers.

MAT@USC students earn a Master of Arts in Teaching degree, and new teachers may be recommended for their teacher certification. The online MAT@USC program requires the same strict admissions criteria as USC on-campus programs, has the same tuition requirements, and offers identical services and resources. Currently, no other online degree program resembling the MAT@USC exists in any college or university in the country. Learn more about this unique online master’s degree available through the MAT@USC today! Take the next step →