One of the most commonly thought of school jobs is the job of a teacher. Teaching is perhaps the most commonly sought after career. What you need to realize is that to be a teacher you must have certain qualifications. Generally teachers must all have four year degrees and they must also hold the necessary certifications to be in the classroom. Additionally, to progress in school careers like teacher there is constant study and improvement involved. Often you are encouraged, if not required, to pursue your master's degree. Additionally, many teachers participate in a great deal of professional development throughout their careers. That being said, for those who it appeals to teaching can be one of the most rewarding opportunities out there.
Administrators are another branch of school jobs that you might want to look into pursuing. While administrators are not necessarily teachers many of them started off as such. Just as teachers are required to have certain qualifications so are administrators. When you think of school jobs administrators are typically thought of as the Vice-Principal, Principal, and Superintendent, but there can be other more specialize administrative school careers in particular districts.
Many people do not think of this when thinking about school jobs, but academic aides are often positions that are available as well. Typically a classroom aide is someone who works in the classroom with the regular classroom teacher. Generally this person is thought of as an assistant, but they are often given their own reading groups or intervention students to work with. While there is usually an educational requirement for school careers like this it is not as stringent as that of teachers and administrators. Typically you are required to have two years of college for a position like this or if you do not have that you need to pass a specialized test to get the job.
Clerical work is another part of school jobs that are available to job seekers today. Schools need office workers, lunchroom attendants, and cleaning staff. While these school careers do not require the educational background of the other positions they are no less important to the day to day operation of the school. However, since these positions are less educated they are typically paid out at a lower salary point than the others.
There are also school jobs available for specialists. These school careers allow you to really specialize your focus into one area. Often because they are so much more specialized they require you to have additional training. For example, some of the school jobs that fall into this category are SPED teachers, ELD teachers, reading specialists, and speech therapists. To truly perform the job requirements of these positions well you need to have the necessary training, and because of that your skills are often higher in demand and can pull a larger paycheck. However, that is partially because often the burn out rate in school careers like these can be higher. This may mean that you are not able to really work continuously in this field successfully.
Each of these school jobs is very different from one and other. However, the great thing about working in a school is that it is a very rewarding place to work. You see on a daily basis your impact on the children and for many that is more important than the paycheck that you are able to bring home. When looking for school jobs think about what your strengths are and how school careers might be a place to really use them. You never know, you might have just stumbled onto your passion.
