where all the teaching jobs have gone

According to the media, there's a veritable flood of people applying for substitute teaching jobs right now, and apparently the crappy economy is to blame for the state of things.

In many states, requirements are minimal to be a sub--you don't even need to have a college degree, much less a teaching license. This would explain the flood of warm bodies seeking to become subs in these states. In Oregon, on the other hand, you need to have a teaching license (unless you are a paraeducator sub, in which case, you need to have two semesters of college credits under your belt). This thins out the crowd quite a bit, but even so, jobs are hard to come by. Aside from the piles of people who graduate from schools of education but can't find permanent full-time teaching jobs (my story), there's also a flood of retired teachers in the sub pool-- so not only are there not many 1.0 FTE jobs available this year, there also aren't very many districts that are currently hiring substitute teachers either. (And those of us who are lucky enough to have been hired as subs, there's not enough jobs to go around.)

For the 2008-2009 School Year, both districts that I currently work for stopped accepting general certified substitute teaching applications after October. The hiring window was basically open for less than a month at both districts, and they filled their quotas fast. It's probably still possible to get hired by districts that have "closed" their application process if you:

A. Were a student teacher in that district (and have good references)
B. Are bilingual in Spanish, Chinese, Russian, French, Japanese, etc, or have a foreign language endorsement.
C. Have a SPED Endorsement, or are interested in working regularly in Special Education (This is how I keep myself busy most of the time).
D. You want to teach PE
E. You are interested in teaching advanced math/science

The classified subbing hiring process works a bit differently, and technically applications are accepted year-round, although this year, it's been an off-and-on thing. I noticed one district is still hiring classified subs (there's more turnover in classified staff, so there's usually more hiring at this level). Another district is currently only hiring in Nutrition Services.

Thinking about the economy that the Class of 2009 is graduating into, I'm sure the local school districts will be inundated by even more applicants wanting to get into their substitute teaching pools. And that's not even accounting for everyone who will be in line due to budget cuts in both districts.

As for full-time jobs, the last time I looked at Ed Zapp, there wasn't much there at all. Many area districts will be cutting or consolidating positions, and are not adding any new positions. A lot of people who were temporary hires this year have no idea if they will be working next year--and many won't (these people will all be back in the sub pool). Another reason is that many teachers will be sticking it out another year or two rather than retiring. I've heard more than a few mention that their spouse was laid off this year, so they won't be retiring. School districts all over the country are laying off teachers, or are considering layoffs, as budget trimming measures.

If you are graduating from a teacher training program this year, don't expect to get a job (unless you are going into a hard-to-fill area). Even SPED folks can't expect a job right out of the gate. You're most likely to get a job this year if you are looking for work as: a science, music, or math teacher; a speech-language pathologist, occupational therapist, audiologist, behavior specialist or EBD/SED teacher, or an Autism specialist. Other factors that increase your chances are having multiple subject endorsements, or living in or being able to commute to a rural area.

The rest of you will probably be joining me in substitute teaching land (welcome to the ride), as long as you get in the door quickly before it bangs shut.