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All this talk about teaching...
I figured you all would be a great resource. The short version of the long story is I am considering a career change, I have been doing a job that I don't love by any means but it pays the bills. Whenever I think about what I should have done I always come back to teaching. So after a long talk w/ my DH I decided I might try and change careers depending on how feasible it is. So w/ that said any ideas, helpful hints, is this even possible or am I nuts? I am sure it varies by district/county.
What do I need to do in terms of preparing to get a job? Besides a credential. How hard is it to find teaching positions in this area? I don't have an education background, other than the fact my mother teaches severely handicapped students and I have grown up hanging around her classroom. All this back to school talk has really peaked my interest I guess!
Thanks in advance for your help/suggestions/talking me out of it! 
Re: All this talk about teaching...
Unfortunately right now with budget cuts its very hard to get a teaching job. I'm sure that its all just a hype and that there will be more jobs soon. But I know lots who were laid off in my area last year and still don't have jobs! It really depends on what you want to teach though....all my friends who taught elementary cant find jobs but my friends who teach middle school have all been "safe". I teach middle school
As far as what you need. Most districts offer "Alternative certification". If you have a bachelors degree you can pretty much start teaching and take classes as you go.... there is a time limit on when you have to take classes by and such but most districts offer them free to you
. You would have to go take the certification exam though-- and the extent of how hard it is depends on what you'd be teaching. you can take it on the computer for like 75 bucks, although I think it may have gone up. Not sure....
Hope that helped maybe a little?
Now is a really bad time. One of the new hires at my school actually got let go from public school due to budget cuts. She is highly experienced and wonderful . . . but people had to go. (Their loss and our gain!)
She said she has 20 or so more friends that lost their jobs and all were experienced and qualified . . . somebody had to go and it was the luck of the draw.
(Oh, I am talking about Elem Ed)
Most of our subs are all experienced with degrees and they couldn't find fulltime jobs . . . so it really is a crappy time to be talking about becoming a teacher. (I never thought I would say that, but in our lovely economy, teachers our suffering!)
Here is a link to the FL DOE for people who want to go into teaching from other professions http://www.fldoe.org/edcert/level3.asp
I live in Osceola county and taught here before having my son. My friends still teach in this county and have seen fellow teachers laid off with no jobs lined up yet for the fall. I even heard a rumor that the new superintendent for Osceola has a hiring freeze in place.