I landed my first teaching job by…
I did not start out wanting to be a teacher. I got a job in a hospital lab while I was in college. I majored in Biology and got certified as a Medical Laboratory Technician. I continued in this position after I graduated.
I married before I graduated. My wife taught kindergarten. We rarely saw each other. I was working full time and taking classes at night. After I graduated, things were better but I had to work weekends and some nights. I also had to be on call several nights a week.
My wife kept telling me she thought I would be a great teacher. At her urging, I went back to school and got certified to teach. I was immediately offered a job at the junior high level. No way! I knew that was not what I wanted so I turned it down and kept working at the hospital.
Two years later, a month after school had started, I got a call. The Chemistry teacher at the high school was leaving for a college position. I was offered the job. I took and and 27 years later I am still glad I did.
It is rewarding to have students come back and tell me how well-prepared they were for college. I am thrilled when one of my students decides to be a Chemistry major.
If you know what you really want to teach, hang in there. Opportunity does come knocking!
Buddy is a high school Chemistry teacher in rural South Carolina. He has two sons and is married to a kindergarten teacher. This is his 27th year teaching.

This post is part of the Teaching Jobs Portal: “How to land a Teacher Job”. What was your journey like to become a teacher? If you’d like to share your experience with other aspiring teachers please see this post for more information

I received my Masters online.  It was much easier and I actually received my degree before getting a degree at an online online university meant installing 360 degree webcam like systems.  I don’t know if I would have ever done much if I couldn’t have continued my education in my pj’s.  I had 2 small children at home and there was always diaper changes, meals to be prepared, messes to be cleaned up and then in between, I jumped in and out of my class work.  Now, with the proctor camera’s, that wouldn’t be near as easy.

I’ve seen many people accomplish their goals of higher learning through online courses when they might otherwise have been left sitting at home, no way to pay a sitter and attend classes.  But, with the ability to study online, there simply can’t be a better way. 

If you are wondering what kind of degrees can be obtained online, you can check around at various online institutions but the fact is, you can get your Masters in almost anything and work on a higher level than that even.  And, one course of study, online nursing degree, has to be a simplified method for those who have wanted to return to school but knew that with children to take care of, school functions to attend and in some cases, full time jobs, getting a degree seemed impossible.

But, not it’s not, what are ou waiting on, go check them all out.