<p>Hello CC parents. Odessagirl is interested in teaching in NYC. She will graduate in May from a PA college with degrees in History and Secondary Education. She and a fellow History Ed major are interested in being in NYC. They have researched on the internet about tests they need to take to teach there, I believe it is an additional two or three that they don’t take/need in some other states. She just earned a perfect score on the Praxis II. 
They have researched boroughs and at one point felt that Sunny Side might be somewhere they would feel safe and enjoy. I have offered to provide a trip for them next month to NYC for fact finding. They will take an Amtrack train to Penn Station and go from there. What can you tell her? Hints? Advice? I will have her log on to read them - she knows that I am active on CC and have received so much help through the years. Thank you all so much.</p>
<p>There has been a hiring freeze for several years and there is a large backlog of certified candidates who can’t get jobs. Very large. Teaching jobs are almost impossibe to get and social studies is particuarly tough unless you know someone. Sunnyside is in Queens and if you feel it is safe, so does everyone else. Queens and Staten Island are impossible markets for new teachers to break into. I can’t stres enough that coming off the street your daughter will never, ever, ever get a job in Queens. Or a permanent job at all. My D is a first year teacher of social studies 7-12 who is almost finished with her master’s in special ed. She has a job due to a connection. My D started out at a college in PA but after emergency surgery she decided that all she wanted to be was a high school teacher at home in NYC so she transferred to a local school because teaching is all about the connections made during observation hours or student teaching. If your daughter has no connections, doesn’t teach math or sciece other than biology or special ed, I can’t imagine how she will get job. </p>
<p>What is your daughter’s masters going to be in? Does she really understand what teaching in NYC will be like? Drugs, violence, sex, pathology. Going to school at night while working all day? Working at whatever job she can find, which will not be teachng.</p>
<p>I hate to be so harsh, but we’ve just gone through this and it was very hard. Before my daughter’s fairy godmother stepped in, the only nibble my daughter got was for a job at a questionable charter school in the Bronx.</p>
<p>I wish you and your daughter all the best, but I think she would have much better qualty of life somewhere else. Please PM me if there is anything I or my daughter can do to help. I would be happy to put her in touch with my daughter.</p>
<p>I agree with Zoosermom… it is really difficult to come to NY from somewhere else to get a teaching job, and social studies is one of the most difficult areas… that aside other than a Teach for America program placement… first-year teachers can get hired by parochial schools and yeshivas as well as charter schools. While you can get some teaching experience doing that it is hard to make enough money in those schools to live on… and you are not making any connections for real Board of Education jobs. Sometimes you can luck out and get a leave replacement job… for a semester or school year, but sometimes those jobs require a good amount of teaching experience. For many charter schools the salary can be a bit higher but so are the job requirements, longer school day, lack of flexibility, lack of resources and so on.
In terms of a place to live, Sunnyside is fine, good location and safe but not necessarily a place where it is easy to get an apartment.Apartment rentals in NY are high and they won’t be able to sign a lease without a guarantor. Trust me on that, I am the guarantor for both my d’s apartments.</p>
<p>I know somebody who just started teaching in NYC this year. He is an elite (HYPSM) school grad who taught somewhere far away that he never would have chosen via TFA for three years before he went for the straight out teaching job and moved to NY. So he had pretty stellar credentials – and he’s teaching a STEM subject.</p>
<p>Otherwise, I’d assume as zoosermom said that connections are important. I don’t know what the substitute situation is like in NYC, but I know people who have made extra cash subbing – if that is viable for her, it might be a way to gain connections and if she was on a regular roster of substitutes, she might be able to support herself.</p>
<p>The sub system has been closed for a while, but when it’s open, only a principal can put someone on the sub list and they only put people they know on the sub list.</p>
<p>There is currently a free on sub licenses. In order to get a sub license, you basically have to be connected to a principal or AP, who will sponsor your license. There is a glut of social studies teachers at the NYC DOE. Currently there is a hiring freeze on english and social studies teachers (exception would be SS teachers with SPED licenses).</p>
<p>That’s too bad about subs. I know people in CT who have subbed pretty easily without education degrees or aspirations, but every state is different.</p>
<p>I know what it’s costing D2 to live in NY on an entry level humanities grad salary…can’t imagine a teacher’s salary will be much higher. I believe public schools are difficult to break into, but there are private schools and religious schools that might be an option.</p>
<p>OTOH, if it’s her dream, she should go for it! Sharing living space with a group of friends could bring down the cost.</p>
<p>Religious schools should be looked at carefully as they are wonderful, but most prefer that the teacher be that religion. The top private schools are also a good option to consider.</p>
<p>You and your daughter can look at NYC DOE website </p>
<p>[New</a> York City Department of Education](<a href=“http://schools.nyc.gov%5DNew”>http://schools.nyc.gov)
not easy to navigate, but it has a lot of info, also you can call to HR Connect and ask this question 718 935-4000, they will provide some info or if you will be in NYC just stop by department of education 65 Court St, Brooklyn NY 11201. This is only for public schools in NYC. You need to do more research and decide if this what she wants, but it is can be done.</p>
<p>HR Connect will not be able to help her with getting a job. HR connect is primarily for people employed by or retirees of the DOE for issues such as payroll, benefits, etc. They will not be in a position to help Op’s daughter to get a job. </p>
<p>As a new person outside of the DOE, her only options would be getting a job in a shortage area, or getting a job when a new school opens or knowing a principal, AP who can hire her within their school (subject to funding allocations).</p>
<p>She should take the steps toward getting certified in NYS</p>
<p><a href=“OTI : NYSED”>OTI : NYSED;
<p>If she is going to be in NYC, she should look into the process for having her fingerprinting done while she is here. She will also need to have this done in order to be certified by the state</p>
<p><a href=“http://schools.nyc.gov/Offices/DHR/Fingerprinting+Employee+IDs+and+Smart+Cards.htm[/url]”>http://schools.nyc.gov/Offices/DHR/Fingerprinting+Employee+IDs+and+Smart+Cards.htm</a></p>
<p>OP, any chance they will consider another “big city” to pursue??? Maybe some other big cities can provide better opportunities at not so high a cost of living.</p>
<p>My daughter looked into private schools in NYC and attended a job fair for them. What she found was that they wanted MORE education and experience then even the publics. She ended up getting a job in a charter school in Harlem - not a great experience. She felt lucky getting that job which was just before the hiring freeze. Editing to add - she had two years of job experience before that.</p>
<p>Has she looked into Teach for America? It might be an option.</p>
<p>Thank you all so much for the information. I just texted Odessagirl and told her to read your insights sometime soon.</p>
<p>Has she looked at charters? I know they can be hit or miss, but there are some that are great and can offer stable employment in an exciting environment.</p>
<p>I’m a fan of the Uncommon Schools which include 13 in Brooklyn. They use an apprentice teaching model, where first year teachers learn along side veterans and gradually take on responsibility. I started in such a model, and work in a school that uses such a model and I think it’s a fantastic way to begin. Uncommon’s website says they’re hiring apprentices now, and given how fast the organization is expanding it’s likely there’d be teacher openings when she finished her apprenticeship.</p>
<p>KIPP is another strong organization to consider, although I think I’d like working for them a little less – they’re pretty rigid.</p>
<p>If she ever wanted to try a different city she could PM me. I’m in DC.</p>
<p>I go to a religious (and academic) private school in NYC and I’d say to check out the private schools. I only know mine, but I would assume that other ones must be somewhat similar. The pay is good, you do NOT necessarily need to be religious (in mine, there are a number of non-religious teachers) and it can be a lot safer an environment than some publics. HOWEVER, I know that my school generally prefers an MA even for entry-level. Others may not, though, so tell her to check them out.</p>
<p>My D is also considering a move to NYC. She is not a teacher but an artist with a lot of technical ability and is looking for a job in the design/photo/art industry. As it stands now she is thinking of moving there in the summer and will share an apartment with several friends.<br>
I have concerns about living expenses, salaries in the arts, job availability, etc but she seems to have good luck on her side in most circumstances and falls into things easily so I’m supportive. She’s also frugal to a fault (a good trait for an artist!).</p>
<p>OP
Has your daughter considered Boston? I think there is a good job market for teachers there. As a teacher myself, I am always skeptical of the undergrads who plan to “test in” to the teaching profession without having done student teaching. Going into any classroom without training, in my opinion, is a recipe for disaster. Going into a city classroom without it…ugh.
I have a student teacher right now (at an upper middle class elementary school) and I have to help her navigate potential disasters every ten minutes. Without an extended practicum, failure is hard to avoid.</p>
<p>Hannahbanana, most religious and private schools do require certification, which hasn’t been completd yet.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I’m in a totally different part of the country, but a million years ago when I taught school, private school salaries were substantially lower than public school salaries. I could barely make ends meet on my salary-working in a private school would have been out of the question as a single woman. NYC might be very different, but I would not assume that private school=good salary without doing a lot of homework.</p>