On 4/30/08, S.HTeacher wrote:
> My husband won't leave Michigan though.
Now thats what your university should have told you, that you'll
have to leave the state or work for peanuts at a Charter, if
you're lucky.
Last year there were articles in the Free Press about 80 percent
of education grads having to leave the state to find work. It was
part of a series about higher education and where Michigan needs
more grads to attract business, and where its throwing away money
supporting schools that turn out grads that will either not get a
job, or have to move away. Education and
Journalism/Communications were the two big ones. Thousands of
would-be teachers and reporters and few jobs to be had anywhere in
Michigan.
I really hope that the news gets around. I'm hearing more
non-teachers talk about the poor teacher job market now, but that
might be because almost all job markets in MI are bad. Education
degrees are becoming much like History, Psychology, or Philosophy
Bachelor degrees. I mean, there are some people who will always
study these fields, but they're almost useless. Education isn't
quite there because there ARE jobs in teaching, just way too few,
and there are practically no jobs for Philosophy BAs, other than
general jobs that require any degree.
So 80 percent of the Ed grads last year didn't get jobs. Another
10-15 percent got crappy jobs at Charters, Privates, and poor
districts that they really don't want. So, nearly all of last
year's grads will be in the job market, plus there are the 2008
grads coming up. Don't forget the 2006 grads... and the 2005,
2004, and so on. Sure, some move out of state, but all in all,
this makes for a nearly impossible job market.
I hate to sound so negative, but I've been through the mill. I
had to both get certified in Special Education and move to another
state (Illinois), which isn't a booming teacher job market itself,
but much better than MI (hard to get worse). Really, its harder
than going out for the space program. The applications, phone
calls, reference letters, copies, postage, saliva spent licking
envelopes, etc! Its exhausting and so terribly futile.
I've been there, as have many others on this board. My advice is
to either convince your husband to move, or not put too much hope
in getting a teaching job and pursue other opportunities. Do not
expect to find a job in MI teaching. There are thousands who won't.
Good luck, I really hope you land a job, but you look at the odds
and you just gotta shake your head. Work the connections hard...
try to get pictures of a superintendent or a board member cheating
on their spouse. Really, thats what you need!
>
> 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.
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