Special Education Career Path

It is really hard as a high school student to know exactly what you want to do when you grow up. It can be easier to learn about jobs when you learn how to research at least one job that might interest you. A student who researches the nature of a job, its working conditions, employment facts, the education and training requirements, along with the future job potential and earnings will be wiser and more knowledgeable when determining a career path to choose. Going in to the Special Education workforce is an interesting career path because they get to work with kids, give children individual attention, and help students with disabilities.
To begin with, major duties of a special education teacher includes assessing students and adapting lessons
Creativity is also needed so one can adapt to the individual needs of each student. The class room is unpredictable; sometimes students will have outbursts or meltdowns that require specific attention. A special education teacher needs to be even-tempered. The classroom can get intense, but a special education teacher needs to be able to maintain a calm environment. They also need to know when to have a good laugh and when it is appropriate. Children react better to a light mood. The teacher should be highly intuitive because some children find it very difficult to express exactly what they are feeling. All in all special education teachers really just need to have a true love of children (Top10). “The teachers that appear to be most successful appear to be resilient and resourceful and have a passion for teaching” (Proquest). To become a special education teacher, one has to already have a high school diploma (SDMyLife). A special education teacher needs at least a bachelor’s degree and an approved teacher education program. In some other states, teachers have to have a master’s degree (SDMyLife). They also have to have one year of student teaching in a classroom (SDMyLife). Most teacher training courses last four to five years usually including educational psychology, legal issues in special
Usually special education teachers make around $34,000-$84,000 annually (SDMyLife). The number of K-12 special education jobs in South Dakota is roughly 1,285 (SDMyLife). It is estimated that the employment rate will grow by two percent in the next eight years (SDMyLife).
In conclusion, a job as a special education teacher would be especially rewarding; they get to be with children everyday, work in a great educational environment, and have a decent pay. A student who does research on a specific job will be better prepared when determining a career path in the future. Knowing the job’s conditions at work, requirements of training, along with earnings and employment is important in truly understanding the career one may go