H83

Hi, I'm new to this forum, but my husband, son and I moved to the US almost a year ago (days before covid shut everything down). Our plans were put on hold for awhile but we've settled in in Texas.

My son has special needs and will be starting elementary school in September so I am looking for something that would work around his schedule which naturally pointed me in the direction of jobs in the school system. I have a law degree LLB (Hons), a MSc in psychology, a diploma in counselling a certificate in CBT and before having my son I had a private counselling practice. I'm not sure if there's anything else I need to do to supplement my current qualifications or if I need to start from scratch. Sorry for the lengthy post. Any advice would be deeply appreciated!

scrubbedexpat099

I knew somebody who did Substitute Teaching, that does not need the usual qualifications. Well here anyway.

PetrifiedExPat

The only career that I know of where a degree is 100% transferrable is a life science job req. a PhD. There may be others but can only speak from experience (limited).

I heard a rumor that US private schools may accept UK qualifications as is, public schools may require some standardisation test.

scrubbedexpat099

IT is perhaps the most common one.

morpeth

A lot depends on the state and school, but often it is not necessary to have a teachers certification for a private school- and definitely not to teach at the undergraduate level if one has a Master'. Due to shortages in some areas, substitute teachers can be in demand, or some public schools if desperate enough will grant a temporary license with the idea after a year or two a teacher training course taken.

As far as accepting a UK master's the typical route is to get a reputable evaluation company, there are several, who produce an independent equivalence valuation- cost might be around $150. I know several people whose qualifications were accepted as teachers base don such evaluations.

I have no idea on the counselling requirements whether the above evaluation would count, but there is such a variety of areas 'counselling' could fit worth looking into.

Wh431

Once upon a time i got mine evaluated by WES and it was pretty straightforward (mine was a 4 yrs german degree though and it got evaluated as equivalent to a US Bachelor degree)

H83

I hadn't thought about private schools, I'll check that out, thanks!

H83

Thank you, I'll find a company and get an evaluation, it seems like there's are more routes for me to explore than I realized-feeling much more optimistic now!

scrubbedexpat099

I was talking about State schools, seems as long as you can walk and talk and keep order you are in.

morpeth

Whether through an education staffing agency , or direct with county school boards, teaching as a substitute is definitely possible for a start, I would recomment an education staffing agency as they will help you navigate the basic requirements such as FBI check, and some localities will require some sort of CPR training etc; while at the same time getting the WES evaluation will help. Someone I know got a few simple Level 3 or 4 certifications online via Opflex - most can be one in a week or two and can cost 30 pounds. It helped dress up their CV listing a course in childhood development or similar course. I do not know about Texas but I would guess substitute teachers would get between 90 to 150 a day. Having some substitute teaching experience on your CV will help in looking for a full or regular part time work.

While harder to find, having a Masters in Psychology you could keep an eye out for community college courses to teach, many these days can be online. For free you can register at several tutor sites like Wyzant, once in a while tutoring gigs come up.

penguinsix

If you are willing to do an LLM degree at an American law school, then you could sit for the Bar exam in Texas (or New York) that would get you licensed to practice law. An LLM is a one-year course of study after an LLB.

https://law.utexas.edu/master-of-law...ional-lawyers/

scrubbedexpat099

Might have problem getting a Law job that melds with elementary school schedule.

penguinsix

Probably true, but once they have a US bar they could do what is called "contract attorney" work (i.e. document reviews) where you review boxes and boxes of documents (or in digital terms, TBs of pages) for pending litigation from the comfort of your own home. This part-time legal work can be somewhat flexible, though tremendously boring.

H83

Wow, I hadn't thought there'd be a way to use my law degree if I'm being honest, but that would be useful until my little one is older. Thank you all for the advice!