Teaching is a unique profession because everyone has been supported by a teacher at some stage in their life. School teachers may specialize in various fields, but could be primarily categorized as kindergarten and elementary school, middle school, and high school teachers. There are several characteristics that differentiate a teaching career and enable individuals to make it their preferable career choice.
Why Become a Teacher?
There are many reasons why you would want to choose a teaching career:
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Flexibility of location: as a teacher you could move around and do not need to stay in one place all your life due to your job.
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Career growth: teaching is a career where you could rise to become a department head, administrator, or a principal. You could also go back to school and acquire additional qualifications to achieve career growth.
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Scheduling perks: work schedule and summer vacations enable teachers to have a work life balance many other professions fail to maintain.
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Challenges ahead: teaching is interesting as well as challenging, you could always strive to be a better teacher and motivate students to perform well.
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Contribution to the community: teaching is a fulfilling career where you could give back to the community by teaching students and enabling them to achieve success and become good people.
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Develop your interests: you could always choose to teach a subject that interests you; this way you will acquire knowledge and enjoy teaching the subject as well.
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Influence minds: you could influence young minds in a positive manner and be the catalyst for change.
Requirements to Become a Teacher
Education
You could enter the teaching profession by acquiring a bachelor's degree, which is the minimum requirement. However, public school teachers also need a certification or license issued by their state. Teaching is a field where you will be motivated to acquire in depth knowledge of your subject and may want to attain further education. Advanced education is highly recommended for teachers in order to perform better and achieve career growth.
Training
Training is vital for the teachers to communicate effectively and overcome challenges they face during their work. Training programs enable teachers to effectively present information and help students to perform well. Teachers learn techniques to work with students having different abilities and backgrounds. Training programs also consist of fieldwork such as student teaching.
Career Outlook
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment of kindergarten, elementary, and middle school teachers is expected to increase by 17 percent during the years 2010 to 2020, which is as fast as the average growth of all occupations. However, the employment of high school teachers is likely to rise by 7 percent from 2010 to 2020, and this is slower than the average growth of all occupations. Overall growth is expected in the teaching profession because of decreasing student teacher ratios and rising enrollment. The employment growth for teachers is also expected to vary according to different regions.