Anonymous
Post 04/11/2026 11:25     Subject: Job Market for Teachers?
Steps are the one thing you can negotiate (up to the starting limit) because you can't really negotiate salary. You have more leverage if you are in a high demand field. Like a PP said, pensions are changing. I would investigate fully which district can offer you the best deal long term. Other states do still pay terribly. I am one of the lucky ones with an old pension. I will be retiring at 53.

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Market is still strong and there is more than enough choice available for you in this region. VA will take your previous experience up to 22 years. Maryland only takes up to 10 with a Bachelors and 12 years with a Masters. DC has a flat 10 years.

Pick your poison. DC gets paid really well but it affects your mental health and at times it's physically unsafe.

MD has a good pension but you must work for ten years before you are fully vested. They also have strong unions and pay well if you are a Nationally Board Certified teacher.

VA - well it's Virginia and they don't believe in unions. Pay is okay but they seem to be more flexible on days off and a better calendar schedule.


When you say that VA will take your previous experience up to 22 years, does that mean that a career switcher could start at a higher step level? Does that actually happen in most districts or is dependent upon demand for a particular position?

NP here - I have a masters plus 23 years of experience (science)- it would be awesome to start at step 10+ rather than step 1.



No, you must have previous teaching experience in order for you to get credit! Teaching college courses or in a private educational school setting. Otheeewise, you'd be starting at step 1, even with your prior science experience.
Anonymous
Post 04/11/2026 09:52     Subject: Job Market for Teachers?
Diff pp here. Thank you for all this info. It is helpful.
Anonymous
Post 04/11/2026 08:44     Subject: Job Market for Teachers?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:High school ELA is very competitive right now. Not many jobs at all.


This hasn’t been my experience. While we get more applications than other fields, it’s not what it used to be.

I applied four years ago and received offers from three districts and two private schools.



Four years ago in ... 2022? We were still experiencing the after effect of COVID and distance teaching. Many teachers had left and we had a lot of vacancies.

We still have vacancies in some areas, but not high school English.


We regularly have vacancies in our English department, usually 2-4 a year. There are more English teachers, that’s true. But it has a higher turnover because of the grading load.

So if someone is looking for an English position, they can find one.
Anonymous
Post 04/11/2026 06:38     Subject: Job Market for Teachers?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Market is still strong and there is more than enough choice available for you in this region. VA will take your previous experience up to 22 years. Maryland only takes up to 10 with a Bachelors and 12 years with a Masters. DC has a flat 10 years.

Pick your poison. DC gets paid really well but it affects your mental health and at times it's physically unsafe.

MD has a good pension but you must work for ten years before you are fully vested. They also have strong unions and pay well if you are a Nationally Board Certified teacher.

VA - well it's Virginia and they don't believe in unions. Pay is okay but they seem to be more flexible on days off and a better calendar schedule.


When you say that VA will take your previous experience up to 22 years, does that mean that a career switcher could start at a higher step level? Does that actually happen in most districts or is dependent upon demand for a particular position?

NP here - I have a masters plus 23 years of experience (science)- it would be awesome to start at step 10+ rather than step 1.



No, you must have previous teaching experience in order for you to get credit! Teaching college courses or in a private educational school setting. Otheeewise, you'd be starting at step 1, even with your prior science experience.
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2026 23:47     Subject: Job Market for Teachers?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:High school ELA is very competitive right now. Not many jobs at all.


This hasn’t been my experience. While we get more applications than other fields, it’s not what it used to be.

I applied four years ago and received offers from three districts and two private schools.



Four years ago in ... 2022? We were still experiencing the after effect of COVID and distance teaching. Many teachers had left and we had a lot of vacancies.

We still have vacancies in some areas, but not high school English.


+1. The market has dramatically changed in the last three years. Apart from SPED, elementary and ESOL, the few vacancies get snapped up quickly.
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2026 23:21     Subject: Job Market for Teachers?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:High school ELA is very competitive right now. Not many jobs at all.


This hasn’t been my experience. While we get more applications than other fields, it’s not what it used to be.

I applied four years ago and received offers from three districts and two private schools.



Four years ago in ... 2022? We were still experiencing the after effect of COVID and distance teaching. Many teachers had left and we had a lot of vacancies.

We still have vacancies in some areas, but not high school English.
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2026 23:07     Subject: Job Market for Teachers?
Anonymous wrote:High school ELA is very competitive right now. Not many jobs at all.


This hasn’t been my experience. While we get more applications than other fields, it’s not what it used to be.

I applied four years ago and received offers from three districts and two private schools.

Anonymous
Post 04/10/2026 22:25     Subject: Job Market for Teachers?
Anonymous wrote:Market is still strong and there is more than enough choice available for you in this region. VA will take your previous experience up to 22 years. Maryland only takes up to 10 with a Bachelors and 12 years with a Masters. DC has a flat 10 years.

Pick your poison. DC gets paid really well but it affects your mental health and at times it's physically unsafe.

MD has a good pension but you must work for ten years before you are fully vested. They also have strong unions and pay well if you are a Nationally Board Certified teacher.

VA - well it's Virginia and they don't believe in unions. Pay is okay but they seem to be more flexible on days off and a better calendar schedule.


Different districts in MD have different policies on how many years of teaching experience they will give you credit for on the salary pay scale.

My district is PGCPS and currently, they will give you credit for all your teaching experience - no cap on what transfers, I believe.

MD's pension for new hires isn't so great. The multiplier is only 1.5% and to retire with full pension (i.e. no reduction) you need to meet "the rule of 90". years teaching in the state + age has to equal 90. So with 30 years' experience you can retire at age 60, and your pension will be 45% of your average high 5 years.
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2026 18:26     Subject: Job Market for Teachers?
High school ELA is very competitive right now. Not many jobs at all.
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2026 16:51     Subject: Job Market for Teachers?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Market is still strong and there is more than enough choice available for you in this region. VA will take your previous experience up to 22 years. Maryland only takes up to 10 with a Bachelors and 12 years with a Masters. DC has a flat 10 years.

Pick your poison. DC gets paid really well but it affects your mental health and at times it's physically unsafe.

MD has a good pension but you must work for ten years before you are fully vested. They also have strong unions and pay well if you are a Nationally Board Certified teacher.

VA - well it's Virginia and they don't believe in unions. Pay is okay but they seem to be more flexible on days off and a better calendar schedule.


When you say that VA will take your previous experience up to 22 years, does that mean that a career switcher could start at a higher step level? Does that actually happen in most districts or is dependent upon demand for a particular position?

NP here - I have a masters plus 23 years of experience (science)- it would be awesome to start at step 10+ rather than step 1.


Haha, no. It means that if you leave one district and have 22 years experience teaching, VA will credit you for all those years. Many districts will only give you 5-8 years, meaning if you leave with 22 years, you'll be placed on step 5, only getting credit for 5 years and likely taking a big pay cut. That's how districts work. No school district is going to give you ANY experience for any work you've done outside of a school, like being a scientist for example. Heck, they might not even give you credit for your masters. It just depends. But career switchers don't carry experience with them.
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2026 11:01     Subject: Job Market for Teachers?
Anonymous wrote:Years ago, it was a teacher shortage. Now things are better. Any insight into the current job market for teachers in the DMV area? An area of interest for me is NOVA high school, ELA.


better where? lol.
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2026 10:45     Subject: Job Market for Teachers?
Anonymous wrote:Market is still strong and there is more than enough choice available for you in this region. VA will take your previous experience up to 22 years. Maryland only takes up to 10 with a Bachelors and 12 years with a Masters. DC has a flat 10 years.

Pick your poison. DC gets paid really well but it affects your mental health and at times it's physically unsafe.

MD has a good pension but you must work for ten years before you are fully vested. They also have strong unions and pay well if you are a Nationally Board Certified teacher.

VA - well it's Virginia and they don't believe in unions. Pay is okay but they seem to be more flexible on days off and a better calendar schedule.


When you say that VA will take your previous experience up to 22 years, does that mean that a career switcher could start at a higher step level? Does that actually happen in most districts or is dependent upon demand for a particular position?

NP here - I have a masters plus 23 years of experience (science)- it would be awesome to start at step 10+ rather than step 1.
Anonymous
Post 04/09/2026 20:43     Subject: Job Market for Teachers?
Anonymous wrote:Years ago, it was a teacher shortage. Now things are better. Any insight into the current job market for teachers in the DMV area? An area of interest for me is NOVA high school, ELA.


Things are NOT better. Districts have gotten better at juking the stats and enrollment is dropping. However, high school ELA and Social Studies have been perpetually saturated for decades and still are. Right now, some shortage areas are:
PE
school counseling
social work
speech path
ESL
bilingual (all languages)
math
science
special Ed
prek
elementary
And some areas of the country are experiencing shortages in nearly everything
Anonymous
Post 04/09/2026 17:58     Subject: Job Market for Teachers?
Market is still strong and there is more than enough choice available for you in this region. VA will take your previous experience up to 22 years. Maryland only takes up to 10 with a Bachelors and 12 years with a Masters. DC has a flat 10 years.

Pick your poison. DC gets paid really well but it affects your mental health and at times it's physically unsafe.

MD has a good pension but you must work for ten years before you are fully vested. They also have strong unions and pay well if you are a Nationally Board Certified teacher.

VA - well it's Virginia and they don't believe in unions. Pay is okay but they seem to be more flexible on days off and a better calendar schedule.
Anonymous
Post 04/06/2026 20:27     Subject: Job Market for Teachers?
Years ago, it was a teacher shortage. Now things are better. Any insight into the current job market for teachers in the DMV area? An area of interest for me is NOVA high school, ELA.