Bachelor's Degree

• A bachelor's degree in any subject is required to enter an alternative teacher certification program. The teacher training course provides classroom management training, "how to teach" courses and other classes specifically related to teaching and education.
  
  

Alternative Course

• Check with your state's department of education or higher education to learn about its alternative certification courses. A list of approved teacher education providers will likely be listed on the page. If not, contact the department for such a list. Contact individual programs to learn about what they have to offer, the costs of tuition, and what types of classes they offer. You may be able to take most of your classes online, which can be important if you are still working full-time in business. Your state may offer some grants, scholarships or student loan forgiveness programs to help offset the costs of getting your teaching license. The federal government provides a grant called the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grant (TEACH) to help pay for the education of new teachers willing to teach in a low income school for four years.
  
  

Choosing

• After deciding which teacher education program to enroll in, it is time to decide what kind of a teacher you want to be. You can select from being a general elementary school teacher, teaching middle school, or teaching high school. You can also specify which subjects you want to teach if you teach at the middle or high school level. The subjects you teach if you decide teach in higher levels will probably depend upon the major of your bachelor's degree.
  
  

Endorsements

• You can also add special endorsements/specializations to your teaching license, although you will have to take some extra classes to earn them. As a teacher education course usually lasts about a year, and being mentored by a teacher as you first begin to teach can take some time (depending on the course and your state's requirements), consider if you want to take extra time to earn an endorsement/specialization. Some you can earn include special education and teaching English as a second language, both areasin high demand.
  
  

Teach for America

• Another option is to enter the Teach for America Program as a Corps member. You will receive teacher training and teach in a low-income area that needs teachers. Teach for America welcomes those with professional experience into its program, and it also provides tuition assistance if you decide to pursue your teaching license.