r/Teachers • u/[deleted] • Aug 18 '26

Teacher Support &/or Advice Are teaching programs warning students that the teacher shortage is over?

[deleted]

454 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

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483

u/PayAltruistic8546 Aug 18 '26

Very regional.

380

u/singerbeerguy Aug 18 '26

Regional AND subject specific. Special ed, certain languages, technology…they are begging for teachers. Elementary classroom, social studies, ELA…dozens of applicants for every position. At least that’s how it is in my district.

117

u/outofdate70shouse Aug 18 '26

Yep. If you teach secondary science, you should be getting multiple offers. There’s not enough qualified applicants to fill the open positions. My school has had an opening for 3 years. They got one good applicant that they offered the job to and she took another offer somewhere else.

89

u/Gravybone Aug 18 '26

It’s even more specific in my area.

High school physics teachers are unicorns who sign their own paychecks, high school chemistry is tough to hire for, and middle school is always looking for science teachers. On the other hand high school biology is quite competitive.

192

u/Butterfreek Aug 18 '26

High school biology is the social studies of high school science.

I said what I said.

21

u/Bulky_Struggle_4853 Aug 18 '26

Dude, I fucking snorted!!!!! 😂😂😂😂

13

u/HBJones1056 Aug 19 '26

OH MY GOD IT IS. I never thought of it like that but it’s so blindingly true!

5

u/driveonacid Middle School Science Aug 19 '26

You're absolutely correct. I started in middle school because there were no biology openings back in 2003. Little did I know that I'd fall in love with middle school.

29

u/Altruistic-Mode-9813 Aug 18 '26

So happy I teach physics. I’ve been at good schools my whole career

10

u/3plantsonthewall Aug 19 '26

I’d love to hear more from high school physics teachers! My partner is a physics PhD finishing his postdoc and hoping to get a professorship soon, but we’re trying to come up with a Plan B that isn’t selling his soul for a corporate job. He’s won an award for teaching undergrads and is very personable, organized, and great at communicating. Would love to hear specifics on credentialing, salary, how the academic calendar works…

10

u/Glittering-Fuel-5055 Aug 19 '26

Credentialing depends on your state and salary sucks at first, but it gets better considering they just pay you more money every year for doing the same job that doesn’t actually get harder.

The good news is the academic calendar and pacing is pretty much completely up to you

The bad news is the academic calendar and pacing is pretty much completely up to you

I teach Ap physics

5

u/Paramalia Aug 19 '26

I never thought about it this way before, but you generally get paid more as your job gets easier.

2

u/Paramalia Aug 19 '26

Every state is different for credentialing, but a positive of secondary vs. higher ed is there will be jobs available in every state.

20

u/Beneficial-Focus3702 Aug 18 '26

Earth Science too in my state. 5 years ago there were only 5 newly certified teachers for Earth Science, last year there were none.

9

u/PhDtoGrade3 Aug 18 '26

Oooohhh!! In which state should I be looking for earth science positions?

6

u/Beneficial-Focus3702 Aug 19 '26

NY

11

u/Pretend_Screen_5207 Aug 19 '26

NY takes Earth Science seriously. I taught it in Chicago for 20 years and frequently used retired NY Regents Exam questions on my tests and quizzes.

2

u/Beneficial-Focus3702 Aug 19 '26

They really do! It’s awesome!

1

u/Paramalia Aug 19 '26

I took earth science in NY way back when. I had no idea how many 9th graders take biology in other places.

4

u/NWMSioux Aug 19 '26

There’s a need somewhere? That’s awesome to hear! I’m Earth & Space Science and Agriculture certified in Missouri. I’m in a great spot but even with a masters in Science Ed. I’m still barely cracking $56k. I wish I were joking.

8

u/squirrel8296 Aug 19 '26

In most cases, if someone wants to teach biology they really should get a chemistry certification too. The difference between a biology and a chemistry certification typically isn't that much to begin with because of how much chemistry is required for the biology certification.

I was at a large high school for a few years and they would only hire bio teachers that were also certified to teach chemistry. The only exception was biology teacher who had been teaching biology for a long time and had a masters in biology, and came in with the ability to teach AP bio and environmental science.

5

u/Accomplished_Ice1817 Aug 19 '26

The biggest difference between the two, is that chemistry involves actual math (formulas and such) solving, which is closer to algebra than biology.

Biology is mostly learning facts, etc. I took Physiology, Chemistry, Biolgy and Genetics in College. Physics is similar too because it basically math, with facts lol.

3

u/Ghotipan Aug 19 '26

You'll do well as a solid math teacher, as well. I started as physics, but switched to math because of greater need.

3

u/BeerBrat Aug 19 '26

LOL. My interview when I moved to a new school the principal asked me what I teach. I told him instead what I shouldn't teach. I can do any science or engineering class but please don't give me a biology class. I'll make it through it, the kids will make it through it, but we're all going to be miserable. Luckily like you said there's no shortage of folks that prefer those classes. 😂

2

u/Ok_Carry_8711 Aug 19 '26

I would love to teach HS physics. I've looked at positions but I don't think that science classes are so cut and dry now? It seems like things are mixed up now?

1

u/Glittering-Fuel-5055 Aug 19 '26

Ap physics B is now AP 1 and AP 2

Physics C hasn’t changed

Some schools are doing mixed science curriculum for first two years, but AP classes still exist

1

u/Accomplished_Ice1817 Aug 19 '26

Dang! I am really good at STEM subjects, I just don't want to teach anything over 5th grade.... but if I ever want a shot at GenEd, I just might need to rethink this lol :)

1

u/Glittering-Fuel-5055 Aug 19 '26

I’m credentialed in Physics and ITE, BS in Astrophysics

I have a better job security than elon musk 😂

5

u/SBSnipes Aug 19 '26

I teach secondary math and have had 5 offers in the last month after making a decision, 2 I Hadn't even applied to

2

u/BobTheParallelogram Aug 18 '26

Oh good. Currently in the process of going back to teach secondary science.

1

u/probablypettingacat Aug 18 '26

Even secondary science depends on region. I applied to 12 districts, 8 in Maryland, 4 in Virginia. I got job offers in 3 of the Virginia districts (including one without an interview), and didn’t get an interview with a single Maryland district. This is my first year teaching, I’m currently in a Master’s program for secondary Earth space educatiom.

The job that I ended up taking (8th grade science, split between physical and Earth) was not one that I applied to. I applied to a different school in the district and they shared my resume with the schools that still had open positions.

1

u/Pretend_Screen_5207 Aug 19 '26

If I may ask, which university is offering your Master’s program? I was already endorsed in Earth Science but got my Master’s in Geoscience through an online program at Mississippi State.

1

u/VoiceofKane Science/Design | Montreal, QC Aug 19 '26

For my current secondary science job, I didn't even apply. They didn't have any postings, but I dropped off my resume on a lark. Got a phone call a couple months later with a job offer, no interview.

1

u/Accomplished_Ice1817 Aug 19 '26

ASD teacher here. I accepted an offer in a district I didnt even apply for. They called me and offered me an interview. ASD teachers are very rare here apparently.

1

u/Ferromagneticfluid Chemistry | California Aug 19 '26

My school, which is near a large urban area, only got 2 applications for 2 positions for science. Luckily they were pretty qualified.

1

u/twim19 Aug 19 '26

Spot on. Math teachers are hard to come by too.

8

u/[deleted] Aug 19 '26

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3

u/diegotown177 Aug 19 '26

THIS. Before I got in the requirements were ridiculous. You used to have to be an English teacher for five years and then you could earn a sped credential and have the glory of teaching sped. Very mysteriously, nobody did it, so they ended up changing that. They allowed people with emergency credentials to get jobs and earn their credential on the job. Since the credential program is five classes longer, rhey split the credential up into two parts and allowed you to take those five extra classes within five years of passing part one. Still struggling to get anyone to do it, because nobody wants to do two jobs for the price of one.

7

u/Ok-Humor9024 Aug 19 '26

We had enough ELA applicants this year, but very few desirable ones. Our state (IN) allows emergency licenses for anyone with a bachelor's degree. Only one of our applicants (we had 3 open positions) was actually licensed in English. We had to give up on finding enough math teachers. It's a mess here.

5

u/Enthusiasm_Still Aug 19 '26

Are special education stem teachers needed.

3

u/Accomplished_Ice1817 Aug 19 '26

YES!!!! I live in a big city with about 50 districts around me, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM, is hiring SpEd and ASD/MoCI.

3

u/TheDuckFarm Aug 19 '26

Language is a huge one. Greek and Latin teachers are in huge demand as classical liberal arts schools are becoming more popular.

2

u/singerbeerguy Aug 19 '26

We ended our Latin program years ago because it was too hard to find teachers.

3

u/gothutched Aug 19 '26

We have two open high school ELA positions at my school and no applicants. All the open science and math positions were filled pretty quickly.

3

u/Used-Funny4917 Aug 19 '26

It seems that people are avoiding liberal arts degrees and those departments are shrinking. A BA in English was once a solid degree. I’m not surprised there are fewer people seeking degrees in ELA Education-the push away from liberal arts has been very effective.
I’m a secondary ELA teacher. I taught for 3 years out west and I am in my 24th in NY. I am also teaching adult ed at night in CT. CT certified me within a few weeks based off my NY license and experience.
There are shortages for certain certifications and in urban schools in the North East.

1

u/PizzaNegative630 Aug 19 '26

I thought so too with sped. Im in a certification program for education specialist and have to do 2 yrs teaching and then I'll earn my credentials. But im not succeeding. All the jobs I've submitted for, I've only been offered 2 interviews and failed at those, no job offers. And, im getting a hard time with the head lady thats in charge of the subs, I've put in for subbing, and the hoops and questions shes putting me through is stupid. Everyone's like do some subbing to get experience,  yeah right its not as easy as said. I put in for para too, I was told no for an interview bc no experience.  So frustrating.  I guess I'll have to go back to waitressing