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quick career question


EIACwrestler

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i am a senior in high school, and intend to go to college for a degree in biology with a minor in general science, so i can teach biology classes as well as earth/space science. my question for the coaches on this board is, how is job availability in your area? i'd like to stay in southeastern indiana, but that isn't a must. just tell me how likely it is that a teaching position would be available in four years, especially if i'm willing to help out with a wrestling program.

 

any help would be appreciated, and if i should have put this somewhere else, give me a verbal smack on the head.

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i am a senior in high school, and intend to go to college for a degree in biology with a minor in general science, so i can teach biology classes as well as earth/space science. my question for the coaches on this board is, how is job availability in your area? i'd like to stay in southeastern indiana, but that isn't a must. just tell me how likely it is that a teaching position would be available in four years, especially if i'm willing to help out with a wrestling program.

 

any help would be appreciated, and if i should have put this somewhere else, give me a verbal smack on the head.

 

It's hard to predict if the schools will be hiring a science/biology teach four years from now.  However, the overall trend looks good for you to get a teaching job when you are done with school. 

 

 

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As a former teacher, I can tell you that science teaching jobs are geneally in demand. My brother is a science teacher in SW Indiana, and I believe he would concur. It is, however, very difficult to predict availability, especially if our governor implements some of his educational plans regarding consolidation. Good luck!

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As a school administrator I can tell you that good Science teachers are in very high demand.  To say the least, the applicant pool is extremely thin.  Willingness to coach an extra-curricular position(s) is a bonus, but effective classroom instruction should come first.

 

Positions in certain certification areas run cyclical (e.g. English and PE).  However, Social Studies and elementary are saturated with applicants, and has seemed to be the case for quite some time.  Math and Science will always be in demand.

 

Other factors in the hiring process:  years of experience and geography.  I have interviewed many highly qualified applicants that I could not hire simply because of budgetary issues.  Secondly, I have been burned by hiring people not from the area who seemed willing to make a long term commitment until a job opened up close to home.

 

Last piece of advice -  4-5 years from now when you are interviewing for jobs, always ask yourself this huge question:  Can I see myself spending my career here?  Because years of experience equals $$$, 10 years from now you may see yourself teaching at a place you don't enjoy working and your experience makes you immobile.  There is little in life that stinks more than waking up every day going to a job you hate.  Every school in Indiana possesses one or two people like this and all they do is suck the life out of their kids and colleagues. 

 

Teaching is a great profession.  Good luck.

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Some great advice has already been given.  The thing I would like to reiterate the most is to be a teacher first and foremost.  Yes, you can more directly impact an athlete's life by the closer bond a coach has to his athletes, but you have a greater task to teach the many of the importance of your material.  I am amazed that some teachers actually cannot tell their students that what is being taught to them in the classroom can apply to the real world.  Take time to know the material and explain its uses to your students.  Teaching is wonderful, and I love the new challenges it presents each year.  (Now, if only I could get someone to grade all of those research papers.)

Good luck with college and be certain to put in applications all over the area.  Be willing to come in with a yeoman's effort and a willingness to listen to more experienced teachers for great advice.  The wrestling room will almost certainly be waiting for your assistance if you get the teaching job.

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The best advice I could give you would be to think about additional teaching endorsements to make yourself as valuable as possible. 

 

I have a friend that majored in Secondary Ed social studies at Ball State but also minored in special education.  He has been working as a special education teacher in Kokomo since we graduated in 1993.

 

Coaching can make you more desirable but endorsing in other educational areas is often a bigger incentive to hire a candidate as you can teach a wide variety of areas.

 

Good luck!

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