Math and biology have recently become less in demand in my area. Chemistry and physics are still shortage areas. I would imagine that math is still a shortage field in many locations.
Location plays a big part. But...no one is guaranteed a job. I know someone who has a specialized certification and didn't get one of the three jobs posted. Only three people applied.
In most parts of the country, there are NO "Critical Shortage" areas, only less competitive areas. Those areas tend to be Physics, Chemistry, and high school math. But even in those areas, you'll have to beat out other people for the job.
I agree with Alice. Even down here, where we weren't hit nearly as hard by the recession as the rest of the country, teaching jobs are still not easy to come by. Now, you'll have a lot more interviewing OPTIONS if you teach high school math or advanced sciences, but that's no guarantee. And in Texas, most districts expect you to have the "composite science" certification which means you're certified to teach physics, biology and chemistry. That's quite challenging for some science teachers. They may be great biologists but hate physics and have no desire to teach it. It makes scheduling much easier, though, when all the science teachers are qualified to teach all the subjects.
I also agree with Alice. I am certified in 6-8 Math, and I have yet to land a single interview for it. And, the postings are few and far between. (For every 200 elementary positions, I find 1 middle school math positions)
Giraffe, are you certified for high school math? Around here at least, that's always been where the math jobs were.
I think location plays a bigger part than certification area. If you're certified in HS math and truly willing to work anywhereI don't think you'd have much of a problem finding a job. By anywhere, I mean places like the reservations in the dakotas, alaska, etc. One of my friends has a sister that teaches on a reservation in SD, and I don't see how this is possible- but she swears that the nearest chain grocery store is literally 3 hours away! If you have a higher-needs certification paired with being willing to work somewhere like that, I don't see how you could possibly not get hired unless you were terrible at interviewing.
Nope. 6-8 in Michigan (where I am looking) and 6-9 in North Carolina. But I already have an elementary position here (NC).
In middle schools out here, in CA, there are many more math/science core positions, than only math or only science. I don't know the requirements to add middle school science to your current credential, Giraffe, but if you added it, you might find more positions to apply for.
Here in VA, middle schools will not even talk to you if you are only certified in 6-8 math. Because of the push for Algebra into middle school they need someone who is certified in 6-12 in math. There is a shortage in some counties in VA of people who have a 6-12 math certification. 6-8 math certification won't help at all.
My district is about 4 math teachers short, well that was last year, not sure what the new year will bring
We posted two math jobs this year and FOUR, count them, FOUR applicants. One took 60 seconds to answer every question and refused to give an actual opinion about anything at all, and hadn't brought the sample lesson we asked for. One was a PhD rockstar that we hired right in the interview. The third one was really great but insisted he planned to witness his faith to the students...we will hire him if the one on Monday is not as good as he is, because a quick review of public school policy is way easier than teaching someone how to teach. I really wish we had more applicants.
Wow...that's crazy myloveasdeep. One high school I interviewed at here told me they had 100+ applicants for HS MATH! I don't know how many applicants there were for the job I got, but there is definitely competition for some math jobs to say the least.
We need one high school/college math teacher (my school is an early college model) and one middle school math teacher. We are still looking for the right MS candidate.
Of course, the social studies and English positions we posted got hundreds of replies. I don't get it.
I am in Denver, as a matter of fact. I can't speak for other schools in the area, but every time I look at job postings around here they are for SPED, Spanish and math.
I teach in CO. I'd say Denver is by far the most competitive area to get a teaching job in the state- it seems everyone in the state wants to live there! I went to a metro area job fair and while the "bad" metro area districts (according to test scores, that is) had people wrapped around the building to speak to them, "good" districts an hour or so outside of the city couldn't get candidates to give them the time of day! I was always chatting with other candidates in line (bored, lol) and everyone was saying that they didn't want to go outside of the Denver area. Meanwhile, in my previous district that was up in the mountains in one of the resort areas, we legitimately sometimes had trouble finding people to fill the positions! If you're willing to work in a rural area of CO, I'd say you'd have absolutely no problem. Even in Denver, the market isn't anywhere near as competitive as other areas. The CO natives seem to think the teaching market is bad- but I think that's just because they honestly don't realize what it's truly like in other states! I am certified regular ed and sped and got a regular ed job in the metro area after only a few weeks of trying. Throughout the summer I got calls from almost every other district in the area for sped openings. I didn't apply to DPS because they make you work for free for them for their summer program for the entire summer (literally almost a full school day, I think it was 4 days a week) and call it a "practicum" for "ELL training." If they're going to give me a summer job, then great- but don't use me as a free workforce and call it "training!" The positions I looked at also said that you had to agree to work for the school for four years as long as they wanted you back. I know they pay better than other schools in the area, but I can't imagine what else they put their employees through just knowing those two things up front! I applied to all of the other low ses/middle ses schools in the area (the population I prefer working with).
Some certifications are in more demand than others (HS Math, Advanced Sciences) but that doesn't guarantee you a job. The openings for these positions are more competitive than most people realize, unless you really are willing to move to a different state and/or work in any district. Certification in multiple areas will be far more beneficial in your job search, but still is not a guarantee.
I completely agree that it all depends on location. The district I used to teach at was so desperate for high school and middle school Math teachers that they wound up hiring 3 teachers from India without meeting them face to face. Mind you, this was after they attempted to recruit teachers from all over the country.
Even though they are laying off hundreds of teachers here in Nevada, we are in need of math teachers (middle and HS). I found it ironic that one of the posts talked about the abundance of elementary school positions in their area. That is what we DON'T need. I am elementary certified and tested into a middle school math certification (you can do that here because my prep program was k-8). If I hadn't done that and stayed with elementary school I wouldn't have a job. So yes, location...location...location
I have a certification in Biology and will likely soon have a certification in 9-12 General Science since I feel confident that I passed my PRAXIS. I'm considering a certification in Chemistry as well. Would that significantly raise my chances? I'm not able to move for at least two years, but after that I'm willing to move to the surrounding states. I live in PA.
Rural Georgia I'm in Rural Georgia!!!!! I want in! But I'll bet you are SOUTH! I am originally from the southern part of the state and I know I have seen many more teaching positions down there than up in North Georgia.
In my area, surprisingly PE teachers got hired the fastest this year. I think it really depends every year. There is almost always a math or science position open in a district if not more than one, and at least here, they usually tend to be for Middle School level. (The reasoning I've been told is that no one wants to work with that age group.) Our methods teacher told everyone to get their Middle School Science credentials if we only had a specialized science for High School (like I did in High School Biology), because he said year after year, new teachers think they're going to get hired as Biology teachers, but the only places that are hiring are Middle Schools. It's definitely very different for Chemistry or Physics though, and from what I've heard, nearly every place is looking for math teachers.
