Sassy8

Hi,

If I have a BA degree (2:1) in History and will have a PGCE qualification by June/July2022. Will this be transferable if I move to the USA to live with my finance?
In England, I would be required to do 2 further years as an ECT (Early Careers Teacher) rather than the 1 year of NQT (Newly Qualified Teacher) as previously required. This is far too long for us to be apart, especially as Covid-19 has forced us apart so much already. I would like to live with my fiance (who is American) as he has now moved back to the USA - he finished working for the US Air force this year.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post.

Nutmegger

Welcome to BE! I'm afraid that you can't just "move to the US to live with my fiance" -- you need a visa. Here is a link to the BE wiki that tells you about your options:

https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Pulas...ork_in_the_USA

Sassy8

Thanks for your reply We plan to marry this year 🙂

Nutmegger

Do you have your fiancee visa in process?

Sassy8

No, I haven't. Where can I find that please? Does this have to go through before I apply?

scrubbedexpat099

Best bet as your first post seems to be work focused is to get married and go the CR1 route, takes say 18 months which may give you time to do what you want.

US Teaching requirements are at the State level, so best to look at what you will need where you intend going.

Nutmegger

Time to head to the Marriage Based Visa section of the forum, the good folks there will give you all the advice you need:

https://britishexpats.com/forum/marr...ased-visas-35/

Sassy8

Thanks for that information. However, I'm really struggling to find if I could use my qualifications in the USA.

scrubbedexpat099

Should help, quite how much you would need to find out from the appropriate State.

SanDiegogirl

Not too well versed with this subject, but do have nephew who undertook a PGCE in the UK (in-school training course as opposed to full time study course).

He then taught in an elementary school in the UK for 18 months before moving to the US with US wife in Jan 2019

To date, I don't believe he has had to do any further training, but he has also only been a supply teacher for the past 2.5 years - still hoping to get a full time position.

So it would appear this qualification is recognised - in California at least.

kimilseung

It will vary by State. You will almost certainly have to have your qualifications evaluated by a body recognized to do so by whoever you want to be employed by.
I had my PGCE adjacent qualification (an ATC), evaluated as the equivalent required by my State (WA), and was deemed qualified to teach in my State. (as far as I know, my teaching experience in the UK was irrelevant to this determination) I had to do an exam to gain the endorsement (Art) in my teaching area, just like locally qualified people do, to get the subject endorsement. Other subject endorsements can be gained by sitting exams, others require further studies (I did both routes for extra endorsements: History/Social Studies by exam; SPED by extra credits)
You need to look this up on your states education web page, maybe give them a call for clarification - I would trust the web page over what people say on the phone, but asking question with some knowledge should get reliable answers. You want to find your states equivalent of this WA page:
https://www.k12.wa.us/certification/...-certification
Final point, you have a History degree, so maybe a History endorsement, if like my state, the history exam includes a US history section; but history endorsement is of restricted use, better to get a Social Studies endorsement, which includes, geography, and a US history section, and a US civics section.

civilservant

Before you spend much time worrying about a job, you clearly need to do significantly more research on getting here in the first place. Either route (K1 Fiancée, or CR1 Spouse), you're looking at 2023 most likely before you can move - which might change your plans somewhat.

ddsrph

One thing in your favor is there is a teacher shortage in US. Just read article where Florida is currently short 5100 teachers.

imacd

Hi, as mentioned above, your primary focus at this point needs to be how you intend to get into the USA, and the timescale associated with this process.

I have no doubt that your degree and PGCE will allow you to teach in the US, but there will be some hurdles to overcome.

What age range are you interested in teaching? What subject(s) do you want to teach?

I agree with kimilseung's advice, you really need to look at "certification" on the States Education web page, where you will be living and take it from there.

I was a UK citizen with a BSc(hons) in chemistry, PGCE and 12 years of teaching experience when I moved to Utah in 1996. Because my subject was chemistry, I had my pick of schools to choose from, even in August! The PGCE helped in that I only had to take two more educational courses during my first year of teaching here. I count myself lucky, as many other qualified more experienced teachers I met from all over the world often had to take six or more educational courses at our local Uni. The courses were real easy, but a waste of time and money. Utah State board of Education certification dept. were really officious and you had to do what they say or just not teach. My PGCE also did count towards training hours and allowed me to adjust lanes after my first year, which gave me a healthy bump in pay, but did not allow placement on the Masters lane, which in teaching is very significant in terms of pay & time.

Hope this helps and good luck on the journey

scrubbedexpat099

(CNN)Hoping to help curb what officials are calling an "extraordinary shortage" of substitute teachers across the state, the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission announced a new rule temporarily dropping the bachelor's degree requirement to become licensed in some cases.

​​​​​​https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/12/us/or...ent/index.html