Steps to Become a Teacher

Teach What You Know

Over the course of your career, you will gain a tremendous amount of functional knowledge that cannot be acquired in a classroom. As the economy slows and people have more time on their hands (willingly or otherwise), they begin looking for new avenues to prosperity. One of those avenues is education. You may have the opportunity to become a teacher or professor and teach what you know for real money.

Enrollment applications in all sorts of trade, technical, and graduate programs rise significantly during recessions. This creates opportunities at all levels of the educational spectrum to share the knowledge you have gained. Some people choose to switch careers and join the education field full-time. Others teach part time or work in the education field for several years before returning to their old professions. Full time and substitute jobs arise in primary education where there is often a shortage of qualified teachers. You can develop a local tutoring business focusing on math, science, writing, or test taking. Major test education centers such as Kaplan and Princeton Review often see enrollment increase as people study for school entrance exams.

How Do I Become a Teacher?

So what are the requirements to become a teacher? Depending upon where you live and what you want to teach, the steps to become a teacher are different.

Becoming an elementary school teacher is the first step of the education system in most places. Your first step is to find a state or local teacher preparation program. These are offered by community colleges, private training programs, and universities. They cover educational techniques, curriculum management, and review of basic subjects like elementary math, spelling, english, etc. At the end of your program you will need to take an accreditation class. You may also need to attend some classroom sessions with a real teacher to learn the everyday routine before being allowed to teach your own classroom. Apply to various schools and locations to broaden your chances of success.

Becoming a junior high school or high school teacher starts with the elementary school program, but typically requires more expertise and education on particular topics. You will need to select a specialty - be it history, foreign language, science, physical education - the requirements to become a teacher at this level are more stringent and focused. You will typically need a 4-year college degree, as well as a year or two of post-graduate education in your topic. There are additional tests and experience requirements. After all you're dealing with teenagers! Once you have these down, though, the path is pretty clear. Apply to teaching jobs just like you would with elementary school programs.

You can test the waters by taking steps to become a teacher through substituting. Substitute teaching requirements are often less rigorous and many schools allow you to substitute teach with only a few classes. You do have to know the subject matter, but you don't need to develop curriculums because that is already done for you by the full time teacher. Contact your local elementary, junior high, or high school for their requirements. This is an easy way to get some experience, and is an ideal part-time career for somebody with flexibility in their schedule.

The Next Step UP - How to Become a Professor (Adjunct)

At the university level, it is possible to become an adjunct professor or lead a university-sponsored program such as a legal or health clinic. Opportunities arise to write or lecture about what you know. Many professional and government organizations seek out experts to give seminars and classes. You may find your knowledge in great demand, regardless of whether you are a building construction or business expert. Universities and graduate schools, in particular, like to hire adjunct professors with many years of experience to teach "real world" classes. These are often in high demand by students who want a more hands-on view of their future professions. To become an adjunct professor, simply contact your local college or university and ask about their various programs, then call the heads of the programs where your experience might fit and find out the process. You will typically need to have 10-20 years of experience in a senior position, sufficient free time to teach a class several days a week, and it helps to have written a few articles or a book on the subject, or appeared on a relevant TV program. If you want to do "adjunct professor light", try contacting several existing professors in the program and seeing if they will allow you to lead several of their classes. This is how to become a professor without spending 20 years in academia first!

How Do You Become a Teacher on the Internet?

The Internet has given a new dimension to knowledge distribution. A case in point are the helpful lessons you are reading, which are accessible all over the world and supported by advertising and affiliate revenue. One way to do this is by publishing and self-distributing e-books. E-books are a great way to produce and sell your knowledge, and have the benefit of generating residual income even if you're not there to teach or write. Another way is by writing a blog focused on your area of expertise, which can be a decent revenue generator (again supported by ad or affiliate revenues). You can set up your own website with streaming media, CD-ROMs, videos, or DVDs. YouTube is another fast-growing area where you can become a teacher on the Internet and not only make advertising revenues, but generate tremendous visibility for yourself in a very short time with only a small investment. Some of the most popular "how to" teachers on YouTube make as much as $1 million per year through advertising, personal endorsements, speeches, and book deals! To teach on the Internet you simply need to develop a curriculum for your knowledge and find a way to deliver that to paying students at a reasonable price.

Teaching the Underprivileged

A recession can also be a time to give back to your community by working or volunteering at the local library, youth home, retirement home, boys and girls club, community center, or program for the mentally challenged. These are all programs whose members are in great need of educational help whether the economy is good or bad. It's the easiest thing in the world to do -- simply volunteer and share your knowledge!