If have a M.S. and an M.Ed. in gifted education, how difficult will it be to get a job teaching gifted students?

Based on the way you write, you shouldn't teach.

It will be very difficult to get a job teaching gifted students, even with these degrees. First very few schools have gifted classes anymore, maybe you'll find a couple in affluent areas. Secondly all the money is being spent on students who are the opposite of gifted. Tons of money goes to special education because our society has decided that they'd rather do that than give these misbehavers a few beatings. Almost all grants schools get have to do with special ed or "technology", the latter which just seems to be a buzz word for carts of ipads that never get used. Teaching has a hazing process where new teachers are usually assigned to teach the worst students for a couple years before moving on to average students and then finally advanced students if they can make it that far, many don't. Your best bet is to get the masters while teaching full time and then use that as a springboard to get a position in a magnet/governors school or get put in an AP classroom.

Here's the important part: after you get that degree, the people you will be competing against for jobs will have full time classroom experience as well as that degree. You could be the exception, the teacher who goes straight to an IB school or to teaching AP classes, but I'd put more money on the Cubs winning the world series than that happening.

Thank you. I am well aware that gifted and talented students tend to be of lowest priority in our schools, which is actually one of the reasons I wanted to work with them: they are ignored. Like you say though, this means there are very few jobs for people who want to work mainly or exclusively with G&T kids... I believe there were only 2 or 3 in my entire school district growing up, and this was for a town of about 30,000. I may be wrong on that though.

GT students are the lowest priority because of the almost GT problem.

If your GT cutoff is top 2%, 3% through 5% parents cause problems. If your GT cutoff is 10%, 11% through 20% parents cause problems.

No GT program means only one or two parents of crazy smart kids who don't go to private school complain.

Teaching GT won't be as great as you think. Each year will be a battle to see how long you can keep them from figuring out how to use their intelligence against you. It is so much easier to deal with a couple normal trouble makers rather than a couple budding lawyers or investment bankers.

akmvo34ht wrote:

Teaching GT won't be as great as you think. Each year will be a battle to see how long you can keep them from figuring out how to use their intelligence against you. It is so much easier to deal with a couple normal trouble makers rather than a couple budding lawyers or investment bankers.

I have been labeled gifted and talented since I scored above the 99th percentile on every test they gave me when I was a kid, so I think I'd manage alright with most students.

If you're so gifted why did you write "If have a M.S."?

Mr. GATE wrote:

I have been labeled gifted and talented since I scored above the 99th percentile on every test they gave me when I was a kid, so I think I'd manage alright with most students.

And yet, you fail to grasp the fact that you want to go directly to most desired teaching assignment bypassing all those who have been teaching for years. I will let you in on a little secret, in most school districts seniority means a lot.

edward teach wrote:

Teaching has a hazing process where new teachers are usually assigned to teach the worst students for a couple years before moving on to average students and then finally advanced students if they can make it that far, many don't.

Not that way any more, at least around here. Seniority counts for nothing, and older teachers are often fluffed off in favor of "new" (read: young) teachers with "fresh ideas" (translation: they come cheaper). Never mind that they can't manage their classrooms or that they change up their ideas every week or two when they realize their bright ideas aren't working. We are surveyed as to what we would like to teach, but I'm not sure TPTB even read the surveys. This year I was given the EXACT opposite of what I asked for. And no, I'm not one of those old teachers who "needs" to retire.