How to become a certified teacher

zieak ♦ October 19, 2012 ♦ Leave Your Comment

I have spent many hours researching my options to become a licensed teacher. I have now had a few job interviews that went very well until we got to the fact that I am not currently certified. Fortunately, most states have “alternative routes to licensure” for professionals that are considering a change of career. Here are some of the requirements that I have seen…

• Bachelor’s degree
• Teacher prep program
• Passing a PRAXIS exam or something similar
• Additional college credits

I have seen prices well over $10,000 for packages that may give an opportunity to become licensed at the end.  I finally have settled on one state’s program because of the minimal requirements, ease of testing, and overall cost.  I am going to become licensed in Massachusetts.  They require a Bachelor degree (must provide transcripts), passing a few state exams (the MTEL literacy competency and subject area tests), $225 for testing plus $125 for licensing registration and a hard copy.

My only problem is getting to the test centers.  Living in Mongolia, I worked hard to find a program that I could do online.  Those that I found were marginalized by many “professional” educators.  One educator with a site examining issues for teachers pointed out that anyone with a bachelor’s degree and $500 can take a 3-9 month program and become “certified” as if it was a bad thing.  Well, I found a state license that I can get for less than that – unless you count the airfare I need to pay to get to the tests!

Overall this will be a very valuable addition to my resume.  I have taken the PE subject area practice test and fared well on the multiple choice questions.  The literacy reading test looks quite easy and I am confident about the writing portion as well.  Getting my certification will open more opportunities for interviews and remove most barriers to hiring me!