Teaching Secondary School

[lelick1234]

Does earning a PhD or maybe even a Master's degree in history make you overqualified to teach secondary school?  Although I would love to become the next big thing in historical scholarship, I am convinced that I would be extremely lucky to even find a full-time position at a community college.  If I need medical benefits for my family to survive, is secondary school teaching an option? 

[ashiepoo72]

I think it depends on the school, but working at a secondary school is totally an option. A PhD isn't entirely uncommon for a principal or other administrator, and I had several teachers in high school that had PhDs. They were mainly in the hard sciences, although one had a doctorate in psychology but taught English. I would imagine charter and private schools would welcome PhDs more than public schools, but this is probably too simple of a distinction. I went to a public high school, but it is in a wealthy (think 1-percenters) neighborhood, so maybe that's a factor.

 

Getting a job in secondary school probably won't be any easier with a PhD, though. Job prospects are pretty terrible across the education spectrum.

 

I may or may not know a community college professor who writes historical fiction under a pseudonym to pay the bills...

[TMP]

You'd likely have better luck with private and charter schools than public schools.  Public schools, like universities, want to be able to hire on the cheap to start with and raise the salary from there over the years.  A PhD is worth far more than someone with a BA who will learn a masters in education along the way.

[perpetuavix]

A content degree isn't always enough to teach high school. It varies a lot by state, but most (possibly all?) states require a teaching certification. There are generally multiple ways to get this; it might only require passing a test in some places, but in others, you get your certification through a teacher preparation program (either a Bachelors or a Masters in education). Some also require student teaching in order to qualify (I have no idea if graduate teaching experience would satisfy this requirement. It seems like it should, but that doesn't mean that's actually how schools work). A lot of states have relaxed their certification requirements (often because of TFA) and made it easier for people without formal education backgrounds to enter the classroom. There are some places where you can be hired for a position and get an emergency certificate, which gives you time to meet whatever certification requirements that state has. This is especially true in high need areas, which history is generally not. There are also many alternative teaching programs (I taught high school math for three years through NYCTF; the Teaching Fellows has programs in 10ish cities and they're not the only ones in the game). 

Certification generally only applies in public schools, though. Charters can generally get around them and private schools pretty frequently hire uncertified teachers. 

Getting a K-12 job, even in history, is almost certainly easier than getting a higher education job, though. Even if you don't have a certification, if you're willing to go where the jobs are (like I assume you would for a higher education job), you can find a K-12 teaching position. 

[maelia8]

I've definitely thought about this as a possibility as well if I'm unable to land an appropriate university job in my field after completing my PhD. I taught as an ESL teacher overseas for two years before going to grad school and loved it, and I honestly think that if I couldn't teach history at a university, teaching it at a private school would be nearly as much fun. Of course becoming a professor would be top priority, but if for some reason I can't find a steady or paying position, teaching at the high school level would definitely be a backup plan.

[lelick1234]

Hello, 
 

Do any of you believe that a PhD would make me overqualified, or at the very least, cut into at least six years of possible teaching experience?  Should I instead just cut my losses and just skip graduate school altogether and just get my teaching certificate? I was thinking about getting a stable secondary teaching job, then earn my master's degree while working so that I can at least apply for positions at community colleges.  Do community colleges even hire people with master's degrees anymore, or do I have to have a PhD to be competitive?

-Leo 

[ashiepoo72]

Why not take some time off, get a teaching credential and then reevaluate? It seems like you're having doubts about job prospects after completing the PhD and we just don't know what the job situation will be in secondary or postsecondary education in the next 5-7 years it takes you to finish a doctorate. Even if you get a job as a high school teacher, the pay isn't great and getting a PhD isn't the most intuitive path toward getting that kind of job, as you will take nearly a decade away from working toward tenure and making money to complete a degree that may or may not help you in your career. If you're having doubts, I really think it'd be in your best interest to not apply to PhD programs just yet and do some soul searching. Getting a credential can only help you.

 

Community colleges certainly hire MAs. My MA program is one of the biggest feeder programs into the CCs in its area, some of our lecturers actually work as half CC instructors half university and often help grad students network with CCs. The big thing you need to do is network, boost your CV, get some teaching/tutoring experience, etc and you will more than likely have to patch together a full-time schedule of classes at multiple CCs, at least for the first few years. Expect to travel a lot and accept just about any position teaching any class that gets thrown your way, including ones outside your field. A lecturer was talking to me about having to teach U.S. history at a CC even though he's a Europeanist, but he said it's gratifying to be teaching and learning a subject at the same time. I'm sure this isn't the case for everyone, but it's something to think about.

[Catria]

But I would suspect that the job market for CC teachers is so glutted that PhDs are flooding that segment, hence more PhDs in CC positions than in the past.

[lelick1234]

It would be interesting to know if as a high school teacher whether you would be able to publish during the summer.  Does anybody know any PhD who teachers high school who has published as a teacher?