Student Resources

• Employment opportunities. The school districts surrounding Oakland University hire dozens of our elementary education degree graduates every year. Teacher salaries and test scores in these districts (including Utica, Warren, Troy, Farmington, Roseville, and Walled Lake) are among the highest in Michigan.
• Professional development. Our elementary education degree puts you in ongoing contact with students, so you’ll have many hours of field experience under your belt by the time you start your student teaching assignment. You can also deepen your hands-on expertise on campus through the Galileo Institute for Teacher Leadership and the Educational Resources Lab.
• Outstanding faculty. You’ll learn from veteran educators who spent many years in elementary classrooms before they became university faculty. They act as professional mentors and career guides, enhancing the elementary education degree with their personal experience as teachers.
• Elite academics. Our elementary education degree was the first in Michigan to align with the state’s new teacher certification standards, which take effect in 2021. You’ll learn advanced material that integrates textbook theory with hands-on practice, and reflects the most current research and evidence-based practices.
• Superior professional performance. Graduates our elementary education program have an excellent record on the teacher certification exam, with pass rates exceeding 95 percent in the most recent available data. In addition, 93 percent of new teachers from our elementary education program were rated effective or highly effective in Year 1, increasing to 97 percent by Year 2.

The median elementary school teacher salary in Michigan is about $61,000, well above the national elementary school teacher salary. In districts that are located near Oakland University and hire many of our elementary education majors, the average elementary school teacher salary is even higher than Michigan’s state average.

From 2015 through 2017, Michigan districts hired nearly 500 elementary education majors from Oakland University. The top hiring districts included:

• Chippewa Valley Schools (30+ hires)
• Utica Community Schools (20+ hires)
• Rochester Community Schools (15+ hires)

If you've earned an Education degree, you may have planned to teach -- but this may not happen for many reasons. You might find that teaching isn't for you, or you may have to explore other career options while looking for a teaching job. You might also decide that you'd like a change, or you need to make a change for personal reasons. Whatever the circumstance, an Education degree opens up many other career options - some just involve a little creative thinking!

While you've gained pedagogical and classroom management skills throughout your experience in your specific teacher education program, you've also honed a number of other skills -- often referred to as "soft skills" -- that are in high demand by many employers and in many industries. 

Think about the ways that you have built up your:

• Ability to work and communicate with children and adultsthrough your placements
• Effective oral and written communication skillsthrough lesson planning, communicating with parents and administrators, and working with your mentor teacher(s)
• Information and communication technology savviness through online learning experiences, technology-rich instruction lessons, and working with different technology tools available in your placements
• Problem-solving skills in classroom management, instructional planning, and instructional design
• Ability to work as a part of a teamthrough your placements and/or with your mentor teacher(s) 
• Organizational skillsthrough instructional planning, assessment, and classroom management
• Time management / planning skillsthrough instructional planning and assessment

Of course, you've also gained subject area expertise in your major and minor areas, which is transferable to jobs in these fields. And, you have an understanding of the K-12 educational system, which is incredibly relevant and important in may settings. 

Potential Career Options (outside of classroom teaching):

• Museum education officer
• Adult education and training
• Curriculum design
• Education policy making
• Educational non-profits or non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
• Teaching English abroad
• Tutoring
• Private/parochial education 
• Child care provider, either independently or in a daycare setting 
• Paraprofessional in general education or special education
• Higher education positions, such as an admissions counselor
• Educational technology companies
• Instructional design/corporate trainer
• AmeriCorps/other service-based organizations
• Community educator 
• User education / customer service 
• Researcher
• Educational resource company 
• Textbook design or marketing
• Library assistant
• Standardized test developer
• Homeschool consultant
• After school program director
• Counseling
• Camp counselor / director