Conference turris::womannotes-v3

    salary depends a great deal on what grade you teach, and whether you
    teach at a private school, public school, or university/college (you'd
    need a masters for that one, probably).
    
    Lately, in Massachusetts, proposition 2-1/2 has cut so far into
    educational budgets that teachers often don't even get raises that meet
    the standard of living increase if they're working in public schools. 
    I'd guess the tenured teachers may make $30,000 if they've been there a
    while and the school is particularly generous.  I'm not sure what the
    outlook is for private schools and universities.
    
    -Jody

    see also:
    
    CAREER
    103 - engineer to education (school teacher) prog.
    
    you might also ask in 2B::MATH
    
    -Jody

    
    I applied last time when I only had 3 -1/2 years of company, but was
    hoping that my 8 years of engineering experience would allow them to
    accept me;  I was rejected.   The first time around (one year ago),
    the pre-requisite for years at DEC was 3.  In the Fall it was 5 years,
    and now it is 7 years.  They keep increasing the numbers of service
    because the majority of people applying have greater number of years at
    DEC (the cutoff in the fall program I believe was 8 years).
    
    I think it's a great program and I may pursue it on my own some year
    soon if the years of service keep increasing or the program gets
    cancelled.
    
    Good luck in 94!  I think it's great!
    
    Debby
                                        
    

    
    That kinda makes sense (upping the year eligibility), in that there are
    only 30 slots.
    
    I'm just hoping that it will continue long enough for me to be able to
    take a stab at it... on the other hand, if I do it at night under a
    nighttime certification program, I'll get what I want.
    
    Just to clarify, I'm not 100% sure that I'll give up engineering. What
    I really want to do is teach evening remedial classes, just as my way
    of giving back to the community. I'm especially interested in knowing
    if anyone else is teaching nights, and finding out what kind of time
    commitment and credentials are necessary.
    
    On the other hand, a few people have contacted me for more info, so
    please keep it coming!

    If you are interested in community remedial teaching, you might want to
    ask at your local library. I know that in Waltham MA I have seen signs
    looking for volunteers to help both adults and children in remedial
    math and reading skills. I've also noticed similar things in the local
    newspaper. They weren't looking for certified teachers but just people
    that were willing to give of their time to help.
    
    Deb

ren,

If you call the MTA - Mass Teacher's Association in Boston, they will
send you the latest salary survey they did.  The average starting
salary for Master's is something like 23K :-(

Also, the EEP office can send you the names of a number of schools
that have special transition programs for people that want to go into
teaching as a second carreer.  Harvard, Lesley, and UVM all have them.

The state of CT also has a program where you go for the summer and
then start student teaching.  It's called the Alternate Route to
Certification.

DEC's package is very nice but grants, work-study, loans, and scholarships are
another route.

john

I attended one of the seminars on Engineers into Education. Let me synopsize 
what I got from it; I went very late, so I'm missing some info.

To date, the program has been run twice. Its a two phase program. In the first 
part, you spend two weeks visiting schools, taking teaching self-aptitude tests 
and getting an overview of what teaching is. 64-68 people have been through 
this part. The second phase is when you actually decide to leave the company.
Right now, you automatically get 52 weeks of pay and health ben'ies for a year.
This is different from past programs. You also get up to $13,000 to attend 
school for a year full-time or 2 years part-time toward an MS in Education, a 
teaching certificate, or whatever refresher courses you need to make you 
eligible to teach. You also get a $2500 stipend. Of the 64-68 people who
went through Phase I, 59 went through Phase II.

The most rigid criteria are:
 * minimum 7 years in the company, 
 * US citizenship/permanent resident status, 
 * working in a US facility with a 3 or above rating 
 * NOT in Sales, EIS or a designated "critical" function. 

You are expected to have at least BS in Engineering, Math, Physics, Chemistry
or Computer Science, or at least a BA in Education, with a concentration AND a
certificate to teach math, physics, chemistry or Comp. Sci. There is SOME
leniency around the degree requirements, as long as you have a BS in SOMETHING,
and can show that you have enough academic hours in one of those 4 subjects to
get certified. So, if you have a Biology degree with a Math minor or a
Chemistry minor, you might still be eligible. You will have to submit an 
official transcript along with your application so that they can examine what
courses you've had.

Typically, they have 60 applicants per 30 slots. Right now, they are taking 
people in order of a.) being on transition followed by b.) seniority, as long 
as you have 7 years in. So, a 10 year person on transition has priority over 
an 8 year person on transition, who in turn has priority over a 20 year person
who's not on transition, who in turn has priority over a person with only 19 
years. The age range of previous attendees was 28 to 63, with 6.5 to 23 years 
in the company.

If you're just curious about what it takes to get certified, there's a 
Department of Education office in Quincy that can review your transcripts and 
help you design a curriculum for certification. Many local schools offer 
programs, including Harvard, Northeastern, Lesley and U Lowell.

FWIW, one third of the attendees have been women to date.