edwardsimmons23

Hi, I am in a sticky situation & could really do with some advice. I have just married a US citizen and am in the process of applying for residency, in theory I should have my work permit soon & my green card on the way in the not too distant future.

My wife is expecting, so I had to move over here so she could be around her family & I could be with her throughout the pregnancy & we plan to move to North Carolina, so I am really eager to get on the career ladder here. I have a first class undergraduate degree in English Lit. & a top grade secondary English PGCE from 2012 I travelled straight after my PGCE so did not gain my NQT yet.

So my questions are as follows:

1. Do you think it's possible for me to find work teaching in middle schools out here with my qualifications and a work permit?

2. Would I have to get any other kind of teaching license or transfer my qualifications somehow?

3. Since finishing my PGCE & seeing the school systems here I am keen to work with either middle school students or Top end elementary students. Do you think the latter is possible with a secondary PGCE? (I know it is in the UK)

4. What are the main differences I might expect from the schooling systems?

5. If it came to it how easy do you think it'd be to find supply work with my current English qualifications in the US?

Any help would me greatly appreciated from anyone, you can reply here or ideally to my email address at <mod snip>

Thanks in advance

civilservant

They are one and the same thing.

Duncan Roberts

I don't think you would have any luck right away. You'll need a state license and a lot of states require a masters in or that you are working education or that you are studying for it. Plus you may need specific age range and subject education. You will almost certainly need to go back to school for some period of time to get qualified for a license. Then there is the issue of jobs, all over the country there are a lot of teachers and not a lot if jobs unless you want to work in the less desirable districts.

DebzinUS

This info should help. There is a section part way down the page that discusses international qualifications.

http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/licensure/steps/

You may find that you can teach in a private school without a state license. Many private schools only require a bachelors degree.

robin1234

I don't know about NC specifically, but in most states the minimum qualification for substitute teaching is that you have a college degree. So you'd be qualified for that. Each school district has a list of subs they can call, depending on the district you may or may not get regular work. Working as a sub is a good way to get known in one or more districts while you work toward the qualifications you'll need to get your state teaching license ...

Pulaski

Everything everyone said above. ..... Plus the good news is that you might find it easier to find work as a teacher in NC than most other states. ...... The bad news is that that is because NC has the lowest pay rates for teachers in the United States!

Whereabouts in NC will you be looking for work?

Guindalf

NC also has a lower cost of living than most other states!

Pulaski

Most, but not "all". You can certainly do a lot with your salary in NC, but the treatment of teachers in NC is deplorable.

scrubbedexpat099

EAD takes about 90 days so you have plenty pf time to get to grips with the different systems.

Be aware that Substituting usually pays by the day, not very much, and comes with no benefits.

Cadenza-93

Hi,
I have recently gone through the credentialling process. Every state will have different requirements, but I can simply share what I had to do in CA.
1. Get Uni transcripts for degree, Masters & PGCE also a letter from UK gov teaching agency clarifying that I completed my NQT & had a clear record with them.
2. Send all that & all my certificates (all originals) off to be evaluated & translated with one of credentialling peeps accepted evaluating companies. the evaluation took 2 weeks and cost $350; you would need to do this for substitute teaching as well.
3. Once the evaluation was returned I sent that to the credentialing peeps along with copies of my PGCE cert, UK teaching letter, livescan, application & fee.
4. Finally, registering myself with the school districts.

I then found myself with a job offer, the school is expediting my application, hopefully I start for the new term.

I would guess that the general steps are the same in most states. Where your situation is complex is the NQT year because in actual fact, you have not completed your full teacher training. However, it may be worth finding out if they have the equivalent of an NQT year in NC! Even if they do, I would have thought that the credentialing peeps would recognise you training to date as it stands. You could do a lot worse than giving them a call to find out.

Here the credentialing peeps are sticklers, the devil IS in the details, they are rigorous about their process; there is no circumventing anything. But, they are also fair.

Good luck!

Hotscot

Cadenza

1. Did you not have to take any courses to become credentialed in Ca?

2. If you have a Degree you just need to take a one day exam to become a sub. I did that.

Cadenza-93

No courses, I have been teaching for 10 years. The credentialing peeps recognise that. I will, during my first year be required to sit an exam for teaching students with English as a Second Language & jump through a few other hoops. Including a similar exam you sat to show that I'm 'college ready'!

Cadenza-93

Again I only speak for CA - every state is different!

1&2. I doubt that any school would even consider your application without your credential at least processing!
3. Here, the Single Subject Credential is for middle & high schools, multiple subject is for elementary.
4. Vague question - uuuummmmmmm, LOTS????
5. You would still need a license/credential for that! Though, it would likely be processed much faster than the single subject! So, you'd have to get you British education evaluated etc. but, as others have pointed out, it's possible to sub here on a Bachelors & passing the proxy 'college ready' exam. Here, it's called an 'Emergency 30 day Substitute Credential' meaning that you ay only appear in the same classroom a maximum of 30 days in the academic year. Teaching pays poorly here, substitute teaching pays extremely poorly as a result! I simply requested both together in the same application package.

Bob

Look to private schools, tutoring on the side and subbing...community college might be a good place to look for what you'd need to do about getting your qualifications checked. No point getting it done if whoever will use the info wants another company to do it and all that.

Noorah101

No they aren't. A "work permit" is an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), which is an interim benefit given to those who are applying for adjustment of status. A green card is proof of US Permanent Resident status, which one obtains after the adjustment of status is approved.

Rene