Employment Spot

Education Jobs

Looking for a teaching job? Many states are reporting a shortage of teachers this year. So the question isn’t whether or not there are jobs available, it’s where to go to find them.

Where to Start
There are a number of free resources for job seekers in the education field. Education Week, an online newspaper covering American education, offers a job listings page that allows seekers to browse by region or job title. K12jobs.com offers free access to job searches, job fairs and other resources, while the education page of the NationJob Network displays job listings from around the country.

Subscribers to the Academic Employment Network can post their resume online and access listings of faculty, staff and administrative positions in colleges, primary and secondary institutions, while EducationJobs.com posts thousands of jobs in the K-12 field for a small monthly fee.

Independent and Private School Jobs

The Independent Schools Association of the Central States offers two articles explaining the benefits of teaching in a private or independent school. The site also has a page devoted to job resources.

Independent School Management’s Career Corner updates ads every three weeks and has listings from all over the country, while The Education Group lists job openings for private school teachers and administrators, including heads of schools.

Higher Education

One excellent way to search for jobs in higher education is to go directly to a particular college or university’s site. For a broader search, HigherEdJobs.com offers listings for more than 1,000 faculty and staff positions at nearly 200 colleges and universities. Academic360.com lists faculty positions by discipline and administrative positions by function.

Another excellent resource is the Chronicle of Higher Education’s Career Network. In addition to columns offering advice for the job seeker, the site allows visitors to access the most recent job listings from the print edition for free.

Special Programs

Some organizations enable teachers to gain certification while working full-time in a salaried teaching position. The Golden Apple Teacher Education (GATE) Program places interns in teaching positions within the Chicago Public Schools with standard first-year teacher salary and benefits. The interns receive support from a mentoring network of experienced teachers and attend bimonthly coursework sessions during the school year. After the first year in the classroom, successful GATE graduates can be recommended to receive a four-year alternative teacher certification for the city of Chicago.

Teach for America places recent college graduates in public schools in the most under-resourced areas of the nation. After a two-year teaching commitment, some alumni choose to remain in the classroom, while others move on to a variety of fields.

Other Resources

• The Council for Exceptional Children Career Connection
  A job bank especially for special education professionals.
• Careers in Child and Family Policy
  Explore an alternative career choice for individuals interested in working with children.

— AnnMarie Harris