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Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Teachers
I'm thinking of switching careers. In high school, I took early childhood education courses & spent 2 years assisting in a kindergarten classroom. After high school, I decided I liked animals better than kids and became a vet tech. Now thinking of returning to that career path. I'm in my late 20s, work part time, have a newborn, & on a tight budget. (I think I'd like to teach elementary school). Where should I start? What type of courses do I need? Are there online courses? Could I do this part time until my son starts school? Any insight would be appreciated.
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Re: Teachers
It's a 4 year degree initially for Early Childhood Education, and depending on the area you have to continue on to your Master's part time after finding a job. I don't know where you are but look at schools near you and look into the degree availability. If you're in Ohio, OSU and OU both have very good reputations for the degree, and many of the regional campuses offer the degree as well. You can't really get this degree online. It involves A LOT of fieldwork (just about every educational class (about 2-3 years of your degree) has fieldwork. You'll take a lot of general education classes and then a lot of child development classes and a lot of education classes. You can do it part time and then move on to full time.
Basically...
Find a school near you that offers an Early Childhood Education degree. Call them and they will set you up with Financial Aid and an Advisor. That advisor is your new best friend. Listen to what they have to say but also make sure that they listen to you... you have a child and if you want to go part time until your kid is in school, tell them that. They will help you figure out what classes to take when and discuss your goals and help you make a plan.
Truthfully, I'd see about doing some subbing or something to see if this is something you still really want to do. Stakes are getting higher and the stress of the job most days is incredible. While that will not give you an accurate picture of the job, it's more telling that EC classes you took 10+ years ago and assisting in a classroom.
Also, think about your area and job opportunities. Elementary jobs can be very difficult to get and most districts are cutting teachers not hiring more. I'd think you'd be looking at 3 years especially if you don't already have a degree.
OP, do you have a bachelor's degree? If not, you will need a bachelor's to teach elementary school. If you already have a BA/BS, then you can look into alternative certification.
In my state, you couldn't even sub in a public school without a certain amount of college credit.