Re: Getting a teaching degree

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Illinois Teachers Chatboard

Re: Getting a teaching degree

by sped

Jun 10, 2011

I have been following these boards for years..., Now I am >considering >whether I should continue for a bachelor's degree or not. I >study online with University of Phoenix, they are >accredited, and I am just wondering if anyone that teaches >in IL is an alum of UOP?

*Deep Sigh*

Well, if you've been following this board for year, then you should be aware of the fact that it is highly unlikely that you will actually get to work as a teacher. The teaching job market is not going to get better over the next 5-years. In fact, it will get worse. This is not some mystic, unfathomable thing out there, it's basically dollars and cents. I'm an administrator. Every meeting we have is about cuts, cuts, cuts, and then we talk about cuts some more. Districts only hire when they absolutely have to. That doesn't happen much. There are hundreds, if not thousands of applicants for just about any job that is posted.

Illinois universities are pumping out thous...See MoreI have been following these boards for years..., Now I am >considering >whether I should continue for a bachelor's degree or not. I >study online with University of Phoenix, they are >accredited, and I am just wondering if anyone that teaches >in IL is an alum of UOP?

*Deep Sigh*

Well, if you've been following this board for year, then you should be aware of the fact that it is highly unlikely that you will actually get to work as a teacher. The teaching job market is not going to get better over the next 5-years. In fact, it will get worse. This is not some mystic, unfathomable thing out there, it's basically dollars and cents. I'm an administrator. Every meeting we have is about cuts, cuts, cuts, and then we talk about cuts some more. Districts only hire when they absolutely have to. That doesn't happen much. There are hundreds, if not thousands of applicants for just about any job that is posted.

Illinois universities are pumping out thousands of teachers for dozens of jobs. They've been doing that for years. That means that if we stopped certifying anyone new for the next five years, we would have more than enough qualified teachers to staff our classrooms for years to come in almost every field. Talk to a 25-year-old waitress at Applebees. It's about 50/50 that she's a teacher, probably elementary, who has been looking for a job for years.

You don't mention what field you want to become a teacher in. You may have a faint glimmer of hope if you are bilingual Spanish, special ed, or Math, or maybe a high level science like Chem or Physics. Even then, it's tough, but they have DOZENS of applicants for each job, where elem ed, English, Social Studies, and the rest have THOUSANDS of applicants.

Add onto that the fact that U of P online is not the most prestigious school out there. There are graduates from ISU, NIU, and even U of I who can't find work. I don't see myself hiring a University of Phoenix teacher who got his/her certificate online. Hey, continuing ed credits, or a post-certification Masters, well that's different, but actually getting certified online..., eh, I have to tell you that I would consider it a negative. I've never hired anyone with that credential, and to be honest, I can't remember seeing anything like that on a resume. I hire for special ed, so we don't get quite as many applications as other fields, but it would be at the bottom of the pile. With so many people on the pile, I have to say it's going to work against you.

In short, don't waste your money and time training into teaching.

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