Before you start out on a teaching career, the first thing you must do is check what professional certificates and forms of education are required of a teacher at the level and in the field you wish to enter in your locale. While regulations differ widely from place to place and from institution to institution, any new teacher will need to be able to show the education and training expected by their intended employers.

Different standards are expected at different levels and in different institutions. Most public schools from K-12 require a combination of a bachelor’s degree plus some level of professional training specifically aimed at certification. To determine what the certification and licensure process requires in your locale check with your local board of education. You can also get good information online from official state department of education sites or from such educational programs as the University of Kentucky’s site of ongoing certification criteria: http://www.uky.edu/Education/TEP/usacert.html.

When looking into employment by private schools your challenge may be quite different, or merely the same only worse. Private schools often are more interested in academic excellence and appropriate job related experience, many having doubts about the worth of “educational programs” when in depth subject training might serve better. Specialized schools like Montessori schools have their own training programs to teach specific educational methods and theories also. But the common public school assumption of certification and educational training can still be seen at many schools. In competition with public schools, private schools can end up doubling down, expecting a prospective teacher to meet both the certification standards of public schools and the academic and experiential qualifications as well. Read all job descriptions and school boilerplate closely to determine what the expectations of your desired employer are likely to be.

The rule of thumb applied to most college level teaching jobs are that you need an MA in your subject to be hired by a junior college, and a PhD to be hired by a four year college or a university. These rules, however, are bent in very many ways. TAs, assistants, and other support teachers not on tenure track may be of a lower level of training than expected for their school. Likewise there are exceptions made for those with exceptional real life experience. This particularly applies to those in the arts and in trades, where the educational background may have been acquired through apprenticeships, studios, or through direct on the job involvement. A highly successful writer, law enforcement officer, or welder may serve as a professor in some programs on the basis of applied knowledge and skill rather than academic background.

There are other situations that allow you to become a teacher through unusual paths. In districts with severe teaching shortages certification can be waived, especially if a teacher can demonstrate some degree of previous experience (as a tutor through a non-profit for example). Provided a teacher has a BA there are often places that are in sufficient need to hire that the application will be accepted. Similarly a substitute teacher with a BA who has proven satisfactory to the school may be offered a permanent position.

If you want to teach K-12, do expect to need a BA, a post graduate program in education, and to pass a certification test. This is the commonest route to professional teaching. If you can, combine a strong background in a subject with graduate level certification. This leaves you with the greatest flexibility and offers a school the dual advantage of a great subject teacher with the publicly expected certification.