How much work involved in obtaining teaching certificate?

Question

I have a Biology B.S degree, but think I would like to teach High School Science. Does anyone know how many extra classes, or what I would need to do to obtain a teaching certificate?

Answer 1

Actually it all depends on any regulations your state may have for education.

Some states, you only need to register with the regional or state education office (sometimes called superintendant of school or dept of education), other states will require you to register and take a teaching certification exam. And then some states only require you to hold a degree to teach.

Now private schools have seperate guidelines all together. Most of them only require you to hold a degree or, in some cases, be working towards a degree.

I would check with a school or other educational governing body in the area that you would be interested in teaching and they would be able to give you the specifics on what you will need to obtain a teaching certificate and teaching.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

"Jon" is correct.

It will depend greatly on the state where you plan to teach. In some states where there are teacher shortages in high school science (which is probably a lot of states), you might be surprised how easy it is to start teaching, even if you start with a "provisional" certificate and then work toward your official certificate as you complete your 1st year of teaching.

The term to research within your state's department of ed. website is "alternative teacher certification," AKA "alt cert."

As a personal suggestion from someone who teaches in a college of education and works with students preparing to teach just like you....even if your state doesn't REQUIRE certain courses before jumping into the classroom, the areas where people in your same category struggle are the areas of: classroom management, and assessment. If you are near a college that offers teaching degrees, you might benefit from taking a course or two before pursuing a teaching position.

Good luck and stick with it! We NEED good high school science teachers out there!

Answer 3

For UK - You have to gain QTS (qualified teacher status) and that take one year full time, either with a PGCE (post grad cert in education) course or GTP (Graduate teacher programme). Either way there is a h**l of a lot of work to do to become qualified!