My son is considering a major in teaching social studies. I know the market for that is pretty bad and it’s one of the toughest to get a position in due to the amount of competition, but I can’t seem to find any solid statistics on the job outlook.
Are specific content areas not tracked in terms of secondary education for employability?
Anyone out there know for sure how hard it is to get a social studies teaching position (son is a hs senior next year)?
My experience is only anecdotal; sorry, I have no stats.
But in my experience teaching since 1980, the job market for Social Studies is brutally tough in most parts of the country.
That doesn’t mean he shouldn’t follow his dream, merely that he’ll have to work to make his resume more interesting than his Math Education or Physics Education peers.
Let’s talk extra curricular. Historically, lots of sports coaches have also taught Social Studies. But if that’s not within his comfort zone, have him look at Speech and Debate, Model Congress, Model UN or Mock Trial. Does his school have teams in any of those areas?? Is he a member?
As he begins observations/ internships/student teaching at colleges, you’ll want to find opportunities for him to be involved in those activities. It can be really difficult to find coaches, since all are VERY time intensive.
Does he teach/coach anything now? I’m thinking Religious Ed, Little League, whatever.
As he looks at colleges, ask specifically how their Social Studies teachers have done in terms of full time employment. (Also ask how early their students are in high schools-- the earlier, and the more often, the better. Doing so not only gives you a much better idea of what you’re getting into, it also begins networking.)
Is it possible to minor in something that will open a door? (Secondary Math, Physics and Chem typically have the best job markets.)
Thanks for the reply. He is not a sports kid so coaching wouldn’t work. Regarding math and science, we would love it if he went into teaching those subjects since he’s great at them, he just isn’t interested in them. I was thinking about talking to the school districts though as you suggest- perhaps we can come up with another angle.
What activities is he involved in? I coached Speech and Debate for 18 years… I’m pretty confident it was instrumental in being hired as a math teacher just out of college.
And if he has a talent in math or one of those sciences, would he consider minoring in them?
Check the laws on the State Ed Website where you live, under teacher certification. I believe it’s possible in some places to, say, teach History with certification, and teach one or two math classes without certification, as long as you have minored in math. Doing so would certainly make him a stronger job candidate than someone unable to pick up those last 2 math classes.
Thank you, I will look into that.