chocchipcookie

I've posted on Immigration but I think more knowledge might be found here with people who live in the US and may have been through this.

I want to get US teacher licensure. Seems like there's a lot of bureaucracy.

They want to have my UK qualifications sent to an agency in the US for 'credential verification'. Does anyone have experience with these agencies?

I have a UK BA degree plus a Law CPE and I passed Bar Finals. I've been told the UK degree won't exactly equate because it's 3 year not 4. Is that true? Does anyone have any idea how many credits this will add up to?

Thanks! I feel a bit discouraged by all the State licensing formalities right now...

caleyjag

Are you already in the US?

Have you got a visa already?

If not, then I wouldn't worry about translating your qualifications.

You need a gameplan for your visa before you worry about a gameplan for a job.

chocchipcookie

I've had a green card for three years. Sorry, should have made that clear.

Duncan Roberts

Try WES.

chocchipcookie

Do you have experience with them?

Duncan Roberts

Not personally but others have, plus I was talking to an admissions director of a top program at a top school the other day and that is the one they prefer. You will need to have transcripts sent to them and get a course by course evaluation. They will 'convert' it to US courses and give each one a GPA which should give you everything you need. It will be the one I use when I have my degrees translated.

Mummy in the foothills

I have a question in the same theme.
If you got your Degree in a US Uni, do you have to send off the transcripts for verification so that UK firms recognise them?

anotherlimey

WES is fine. The whole "translation" system is full of holes. But WES is what Harvard would use, so you should be OK.

anotherlimey

I would think UK firms would recognize a US degree as equivalent to a UK degree, but it's up to the employer. IMO there may be some bias against the US degree if it's not a well known university.

chocchipcookie

Yep, I'm not expecting much!

Bob

Use whoever they ask you to use, different areas will use different people so might be a waste of time.

If they don't have a preference, WES are usually the standard.

As for qualifications, completely depends on the State you want to teach and often down to how desperate the local area might be.

chocchipcookie

One of the problems I'm running into is that I'm in Ohio which is v. fussy about degree content. I have a History degree but I want to teach English so I may have to do all sorts of English pre-requisites plus a Masters (MEd)to be credible in the job market here which is quite competitive. So it's going to be a question of seing what I have to do and whether the jobs are there at the end of the line. The economy here is pretty bad, lots of people are retraining.

Englishtart

Having a Masters in education doesn't necessarily mean you will have a better chance in competing for teaching jobs.

Here in IL, there are plenty of teachers trying to get jobs, the problem they are running into here is that it costs the school too much to hire someone with a Masters, they are taking on 'newer' less accredited applicants, because they can get two of them for the cost of one with a Masters.

chocchipcookie

That is very interesting. I did have my suspicions about that. It's really hard to get school levies passed round here. I imagine Illinois and Ohio are pretty similar in terms of the job market.

Englishtart

I only know about here because I know a girl with a Masters degree in education, she can't get hired because her salary would cost the disrict too much. She is now working in a gym during the day and a bar at night