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Any advice on this?
I was in the corporate world for 25 years and finally have had enough.
I am sick and tired of working more, for less pay. I didn't play the corporate game and move into management like a nice little boy, and it has hurt my pocket.
I am not bitter about it, because I made decent money. But, its time to move on and go back into teaching, I think. I have all the education (my MS in Special Education and was certified for 5 years out of college).
I believe I am ready for the challenge, but have some hesitation because I have not been in the classroom since the late 1990s!
Any advice on this?
I was in the corporate world for 25 years and finally have had enough.
I am sick and tired of working more, for less pay. I didn't play the corporate game and move into management like a nice little boy, and it has hurt my pocket.
I am not bitter about it, because I made decent money. But, its time to move on and go back into teaching, I think. I have all the education (my MS in Special Education and was certified for 5 years out of college).
I believe I am ready for the challenge, but have some hesitation because I have not been in the classroom since the late 1990s!
Maybe I should start as a sub first?
Thank you for any feedback.
I wouldn't quit your current job until you have a teaching job lined up. Subbing won't help. If you're a bad sub, they won't hire you and if you're a good sub, they want to keep you as a sub.
There is a demand for teachers certified in special education, especially with other certifications like math and biology.
I did see a late 50 year old get hired as a math teacher.
There's demand for teachers, and age doesn't matter. AARP even has a job-training program called something like "Back To Work, 50+", that's mainly aimed at helping women get jobs after being out of the job market raising kids, or for whatever reason, but they also take men. The main focus is helping them access education and training in two fields: nursing and teaching, where there's the most demand. They partner with community colleges to facilitate access to the education needed to qualify for those fields, or to help people brush up on dormant skills. I don't know if they also partner with universities.
In any case, that just goes to show that there definitely is demand for teachers. To enhance your employability in that field, you might take some math or science, and get credentialed in that, in addition to your Special Ed. The credentialing process would probably have you do a semester or year of teacher training in the classroom, which would help you ease back into that environment, since you're feeling out of touch.
Just some ideas. Schooling probably wouldn't be compatible with keeping your current job, though, scheduling-wise, so you'd have to decide if you could take a year off from work to focus on dusting off and spiffing up your credentials.
Fortunately, I do have a special education degree (MS), and plan to teach in the city schools (lots of work here in special education and in general, as most people don't have the "moxie" to teach in the city schools), so I am not worried about finding an opportunity.
Does anyone know the process for certification in New York State these days? I had a provisional certification from 1998-2003, which has now obviously expired.
A lot depends on where you live. I'm in the NYC suburbs, and "teaching shortage" doesn't really apply to us. Sure, there are some higher-demand licenses, but even they have far more applicants than positions.
Fortunately, I do have a special education degree (MS), and plan to teach in the city schools (lots of work here in special education and in general, as most people don't have the "moxie" to teach in the city schools), so I am not worried about finding an opportunity.
Does anyone know the process for certification in New York State these days? I had a provisional certification from 1998-2003, which has now obviously expired.
Things have changed A LOT since you were last in the classroom. If you are thinking about special ed in NYC or Buffalo, it's not that easy to be hired, despite what the general public thinks. There is a glut. It will be helpful if you are bilingual in Bengali, Chinese, or Spanish. Also there have been many changes in the special ed. field. Everyone who has gone to school since 2000 has a special ed certification and they won't hire anyone without it even if you are not hired for a special ed job. There's all kinds of stuff going on in the NYC schools that is not reported in the media. There are supposed to be layoffs, maybe. There are also less students in the city schools because so many people left during COVID. However, the students are not the problem. It's other stuff that I won't go into that is problematic for new hires and new teachers. We've had a rotation of chancellors for several years and for good reason. Try applying for the para job first. Although, they only hire per diem paras at first.
You may not have to go through all of the recertification process/exams since you were already certified. You might be grandfathered in for some things. You are most fortunate that they eliminated the Edtpa last year for certification. That was a punishingly cruel assessment and very expensive for the applicants.
If you like challenging students, you could apply for a job with NYS. The pay is very good. You could be assigned to a juvenile detention center or a homeless shelter. You need state certification, but the application process is fairly easy. You can only apply in October. They may prefer a more mature candidate.
Not tying to be cocky, but I scored in the 97th percentile on those tests.
There are many jobs in the inner city schools.
I also have an MBA from a top school, so I am sharper than most teachers with my successful corporate career. It sad that the majority of teachers don't have real world experience outside of teaching.
I just don't like the corporate world anymore because of the nonsense.
Do you know what the edtpa is? It's not a "test." It's an assessment that is based on submitted videos and "reflections of your teaching practice." You don't get a "percentile score." In fact, there are no teacher tests with a percentile score.
As for "nonsense," the education field has it's own set.
I'm not trying to discourage you. But the hiring process is more complicated (in the very bureaucratic city schools) than you think.
Like you, I was also a career changer so I had "real world" experience first too. Many of us, also have MBAs and went to Ivies.
I see that you rewrote your post after I replied. You seem to have already made up your mind so no need to ask others for advice. Best of luck.
Fortunately, I do have a special education degree (MS), and plan to teach in the city schools (lots of work here in special education and in general, as most people don't have the "moxie" to teach in the city schools), so I am not worried about finding an opportunity.
It's not that they don't have "moxie." Do you know what some of these buildings and neighborhoods are like? Crime, gang activity, absenteeism, families and students in various phases of the legal system, poverty, hunger, chronic underfunding... it's a lot. Throw in an abusive admin (either at the building level or the city) and it's no wonder that these buildings are hard to staff.
You know what we call teachers without "real world experience" outside of teaching? Experts.
Your business world experience is not going to be super helpful in a SpEd classroom.
Good luck in your search.
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