Educational Requirements for Teachers

To start, you should know what the specific categories of teachers there are, what licensure and educational requirements teachers have, and any other essential skills you'll need to have before you can begin your career.

Types of Teachers and the Degrees Required for Them

Different teachers have different education and certification requirements, so let's go over the different categories of teachers

There are:

• preschool and daycare teachers
• public school teachers (which can be split between elementary school, grade/middle school, and high school teachers)
• private school teachers
• special education teachers
• college professors

While daycare teachers can sometimes work with only an associate degree and college professors often need a graduate education, most other teachers need a bachelor's degree with specific licensure or specialized certifications.

Because a bachelor's degree is the standard minimum educational requirement for teachers, we'll go over what you need to enter and graduate from a teaching-related bachelor's program.

Degree Completion Requirements for Teachers

There's more than one bachelor's education program for teachers, the one you choose depends on the type of teacher you want to be.

Preschool teachers often pursue early childhood education, while public school teachers can pursue elementary education or secondary education, and special education teachers will find a degree in special education the most useful.

Other degree options include education degrees in specific subjects like math or reading for specific age ranges.

What all of these programs have in common are their requirements for admission and graduation - all colleges require minimum GPA and standardized test scores for programs, and a minimum number of passed credit hours to graduate.

Education degrees are special, however, in that they have a student-teaching component as well. To graduate and get a teaching license, you have to have a certain amount of student teaching experience.

Most other teaching education requirements are state-specific and can be found below.

State-Specific Teaching Education and Exam Requirements for Public School Teachers

All states require an approved bachelor's program for educators and student teaching experience, but some want further education and specific certification exams to be completed for public school teachers as well.

For instance, the states of Massachusetts, Ohio, and New York require public school teachers to complete a master's program within five years of getting their licensure and beginning to teach.

Many states require prospective teachers to pass the PRAXIS CORE and PRAXIS II certification exams, but states like Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana, Florida, Illinois, Oregon, and New Mexico also have specialty or subject area exam requirements.

Other states - California, Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia, New York, and more - have state-specific exams alongside or in place of the PRAXIS.

Once you've met all of the certification and educational requirements for teachers, you can start to learn about the steps to beginning a teaching career.

The Steps to Beginning Your Teaching Career

Here are all the things you need to qualify for a position as a teacher:

• a bachelor's degree from completing a teacher education program
• a passing score from a teacher certification or licensure exam
• a successful background check
• a good score on a subject focus area test (for teachers who teach only one subject or specialize in some way)

Once you've completed all of the testing and educational requirements in your state, you can begin your teaching career by choosing the type of institution you'd like to work in and applying to nearby positions that match your qualifications and interests.

Remember to be willing to find opportunities and experience outside of your desired position - working as a tutor, career counselor, life coach, or childcare provider can give you more skills and experience as you work your way into a teaching career.

With all that experience and education under your belt, you'll be starting your teaching career in no time.