The Opportunity for Massachusetts Teaching Jobs

Much like the rest of the United States, the State of Massachusetts has seen an overall slump in the economy in the past year and a half. Even though this typically turns into fewer job opportunities in the market, the number of teaching jobs in Massachusetts has stayed up to par. This is partially due to the recent law changes for Massachusetts’ state licensing requirements, as well as the instability in the overall national job market.

Changes to the states licensing requirements: Earlier in the year, Massachusetts put into place an exam for the licensing of all elementary school teachers. This exam was implemented for teachers to prove their arithmetic skill before teaching kindergarten and up education. (The system that was in place before had a general test in which very few arithmetic questions were asked.)

Almost three-fourths of the aspiring elementary school teachers who took the new exam this year failed the new math section. As a result, there were some Massachusetts teaching jobs available for educators who had a stronger background in math, or who held multiple-subject teaching licenses.

The national career market has also played a major role in the opening of the Massachusetts teaching jobs market. Before the arithmetic exam was implemented, many teachers packed up and relocated to other states that they saw as less competitive to get their foot in the door on a teaching job. Also, many married teachers found themselves relocated because of their spouses lack of job opportunity in Massachusetts. Whichever way you cut it, the economy has created larger opening in Massachusetts for teaching jobs.

What the economic forecasts are saying: According to new economic forecasts, the recession in Massachusetts will run deeper and longer than in the nation as a whole, and job losses this year will exceed those of the 2001 downturn. But educators who have the right credentials”or the flexibility to relocate”may find that there are still many available options for Massachusetts teaching jobs.

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