<p>amazon, it's important that your D talk right now to her advisor about the possible teaching idea. Does her college offer teaching degrees? Does your state (or near-by state) allow alternative certification in high-need areas and if so, is ESL one of them? Right now, that's a high demand area in many states and will get you hired with a provisional certificate provided you are enrolled in an alternative certification or advanced degree program.
I have a feeling that in the coming economic times teaching jobs will become harder to get. She will want to make sure she has the credentials at graduation to compete for the tighter job market.</p>
<p>I totally agree with dragonmom, teaching jobs will be harder to get and you need to be in the "shortage" areas: special ed, math and science. Our population of ESOL kids have been dropping so I don't know if there will a demand for ESOL teachers in the years to come.</p>
<p>on the other hand, teaching is a profession that cannot be off shored, like the way engineering, IT or business can.</p>
<p>Mother of a recent ed grad here. Knowing the certification rules for the state your daughter wants to teach in is critical. Our daughter went to college in IL and we asked specifically if there was a reciprocal agreement with PA when we first looked at her future college. We were assured there was, and if you do a cursory look that's true. What we found out her senior year was that PA would accept her education degree as counting but she would still have to take the PA praxis (certification) tests. She did that her senior year (after having taken almost the exact same tests for IL certification), and then moved to China for a year.</p>
<p>Late August of this year she moved back to PA and decided to finish the paperwork for certification. Two months later, she's still waiting. Apparently, it takes months for this process.</p>
<p>Former teacher, current stay-at-home mom here. You are getting some great advice here. Encourage your D to contact her school's certification officer and make sure she is on the right track and seriously look into a second teaching field. Business would be a nice addition IMO. This would be worth the investment even if she has to spend extra time as an undergrad. In my experience, it's easier to get a job with a BA/BS rather than getting the MA before getting a job. In many states the school district will pay for grad work. </p>
<p>I also encourage new graduates to get certification in several states, if there is even a remote chance they'd ever teach there. My sister had to repeat her NTE (now Praxis) tests because her husband was transferred to a neighboring state and her scores were too old....If she completes paperwork as a college senior, it might save her headaches later...</p>
<p>DD is currently a HS senior and seems to have her heart set on teaching. She will be going to a college which gets you the Bachelors and the certification in four years in CA.
Anyone have any insight on what the market is like in CA?
Unfortunately she is not a math or science person..she is looking at elementary ed.</p>