Re: Teachers with a Master's Degree
Posted by S.HTeacher on 4/30/08

Thanks for the thorough response Mark. It's a sad state of
affairs. My husband won't leave Michigan though. Looks like
I'll have to get a job in another sector while I search for a
teaching job like everyone else. I do have a couple of
connections though. Maybe this will help from what I have been
hearing.


On 4/30/08, markMI wrote:
> On 4/30/08, SHTeacher wrote:
>> Why is it so hard for teachers with Master degrees to get
> a job in MI?
>
> Ummm, its hard for ANY teacher to get a job in Michigan.
> There are literally tens of thousands of certified teachers
> who are unemployed, or underemployed (working in day care or
> as an aide).
>
>>
>> I am currently going through a progam where I will be
>> receiving Provisional certfication + a Master's degree.
>> People are telling me that I should not have done that
>> because many school districts will not higher a new
> teacher with a Masters.
>
> People tell me I should get hair implants and that I'll
> never get a date being a bald guy. They're wrong, but yeah,
> there are some women who won't date a bald guy.
>
> Same thing. There are districts who won't hire a Master's
> degree. Its about dollars. They have to pay you more and
> most districts in MI are cutting back and trying to save
> every dollar. There are, however, some administrators who
> don't like having to hire a new teacher every couple of
> years, because most of that 50 percent that quits teaching
> are newbies with only a BA. Statistically, teachers with the
> MA are more dedicated and invested in education and are more
> likely to stay.
>
> > It sends a message that teacher's should not strive for
>> advanced degrees, only AFTER they have a job, if then.
>
> Again, there's not 100 percent in education. Some
> districts/admins might have this point of view, others might
> not. There's no 100 percent certain way to get, or not get,
> a job. What one person reading a resume loves, another will
> hate.
>
>> Now I see that
>> they were right.
>
> Why? Just because others who don't know say the same thing?
>
>> What do I do now? Will I ever get a job?
>
> No, you probably won't get a job in MI. That has nothing to
> do with having a Master's degree and everything to do with
> the fact that you're a teacher in the state of Michigan.
> For every elementary education job in MI there are more than
> a thousand applicants. That's not exaggeration. Most
> regular ed jobs are like this. Even Special Ed, usually a
> shortage field in most states, has dozens of applicants per
> job.
>
> What will you do now? You'll do what all the education
> grads in MI do, with a BA or a MA. You'll wait tables or
> become assistant manager of Foot Locker, if you can get
> those jobs. You'll apply and apply with almost no hope of
> getting a public school job. You may, just possibly, get a
> job at a Charter or Private school, where you'll work long
> hours, get treated badly, and make much less than you would
> have at Foot Locker. You'll do it with a smile because
> there are a hundred other would-be teachers who would take
> your crappy Charter job if you don't want it, and your
> bosses will know that and remind you of it every day!
>
> If you ever do want to teach public, you'll have to make the
> decision to move and pursue districts in another state.
>
>> Does anyone know of MI districts who happily hire new
>> teachers with a Master's?
>
> There are no Michigan districts that will happily hire
> anyone. They likely have a list of laid off teachers they
> have to call back first. Then, if they don't have a lay-off
> to call back, they'll try to shove more kids in an existing
> classroom to keep from spending money they don't have on a
> new teacher. Then, if there's no way around it, they'll
> hire a new teacher, preferably half-time. They'll likely
> have a list of people, either formal or informal, they know
> or are related to that they'll hire before they look at any
> applications from an unknown like yourself.
>
> So, its not that you're a new teacher with a Master's degree
> that won't get you hired. Its that you're a new teacher...
> period.

Posts on this thread, including this one

• Teachers with a Master's Degree, 4/30/08, by SHTeacher.
• Re: Teachers with a Master's Degree, 4/30/08, by markMI.
• Re: Teachers with a Master's Degree, 4/30/08, by S.HTeacher.
• Re: Teachers with a Master's Degree, 4/30/08, by SpecEd Teacher.
• Re: Teachers with a Master's Degree, 4/30/08, by Missing MI.
• Re: Teachers with a Master's Degree, 4/30/08, by Mark.
• Re: Teachers with a Master's Degree, 5/13/08, by amb.
• Re: Teachers with a Master's Degree, 5/13/08, by S.H.Teacher.
• Re: Teachers with a Master's Degree, 5/13/08, by SpecEd Teacher.
• Re: Teachers with a Master's Degree, 5/13/08, by S.H.Teacher.
• Re: Teachers with a Master's Degree, 5/13/08, by amb.
• Re: Teachers with a Master's Degree, 5/13/08, by Mark.