Mustang1718

I'm a guy that has been trying to get a full-time teaching job for the last five years. My specialization is in Social Studies, meaning there is a ton of competition for very few openings. I've made a name for myself in the two districts I sub in to where it feels like I have become a minor celebrity with students and staff of the four buildings I frequent, but there just haven't been openings.

I've found that nearly all advice for finding jobs is very different for when it applies to someone choosing to become a teacher. What advice would you give for someone like me? I'm willing to swap careers, as well, but I genuinely have no idea where to start.

This is my exact outlook, and I have been teaching for five years now. I have my full teaching license, but have been working as a sub due to Social Studies being incredibly competitive. Between my reputation with students and staff, I have a room full of people celebrate when they see me walk in. It's really weird, but also makes it really fun.

And I bring that part up because before I earned this reputation, I would have other teachers come in and say things like "They are taking advantage of you." I worked doing customer service and sales in an oil change place during college with co-workers who were the type to absolutely hate school. I've learned the best way to do pretty much anything is to handle it one-on-one and not yell. Give your students respect and it goes a very long way. It's how I get the "bad" kids to be my biggest supporters and then they get stuff done.

Not exactly near Cleveland itself, but there is one in a park near Hudson's high school. I once got called a "poser" by two middle-aged men in bandanas playing because I was catching Pokemon and didn't realize I was in their way. Good times.

I'm in Northeast Ohio. We are known very well for the teaching programs we have. We also have a vast number of colleges because of funding in the 1970s that makes it so that nowhere is more than half an hour away from a major university. This is great, but also makes it so the people that stay here have to fight tooth an nail for positions.

I have a Google Doc list that I share with my SO (she's also looking for a full-time teaching job, but teaches English instead) of just under 100 public schools within about an hour's drive that we check daily from April through August. I think we had maybe 6 openings that we were qualified for between the two of us. My greatest chance I had was when a 7th grade Social Studies teacher retired in the building that I student-taught and long-term subbed in multiple times this year, but a 6th grade teacher bumped up and I am only licensed for grades 7-12.

As for feedback, I get told that I am a qualified candidate, but there are just a ton of people applying. They usually mention that they are only interviewing 10 people out of 100+ applications for part-time openings, and 20 interviews for 200+ applicants for full-time.

I would move if possible, and I am not against it. I just ironically don't really have money to afford to do it. Teaching is also different than many careers in this area in that I would have to see if my teaching license transfers to another state. If it requires more college classes, I'm SOL because I pretty much just have cash each month to keep myself alive and that's about it. I keep my head above water by doing things like painting rooms and decks for my mother and car maintenance for my father. Quite embarrassing for someone about to turn 30.

HERE WE GO BROWNIES, HERE WE GO!