Choosing what career path to follow is one of the most significant decisions you make in life. One option that’s available to you is becoming a teacher. However, you’ve got some questions about its desirability as a career choice. So, is teaching a good career in Canada?
Teaching is generally a good career choice in Canada with an attractive salary, employment insurance, a reasonable leave period, and teaching grants. You can also get the national award for Teaching Excellence and Teaching Excellence in STEM. However, you must be ready to cope with multiple roles.
Still, you’ve got to consider your career goals in light of the benefits associated with teaching before making your decision. As such, in this article, we discuss the career benefits of teaching in Canada and how to become a teacher.
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Is Teaching a Good Career in Canada?
Taking a career decision requires you to consider the pros and cons. In the case of teaching, here’s what you need to know.
Benefits of Teaching In Canada
Some of the benefits associated with teaching in Canada include:
1. Attractive Salary
Becoming a teacher allows you to earn attractive salaries in addition to widespread respect. Although your salary depends on your level of qualifications and experience, despite this, an average teacher’s salary in Canada is attractive.
2. Employment Insurance
This is another alluring benefit that comes with a teaching career in Canada. You get so many employment insurance benefits that cover your teaching period. Some of these insurances include life, dental, and long-term disability insurance both for you and your family. There is also the provision of regular benefits for people who lose their jobs and other casual teachers.
3. Extensive Leave
You also get enough leave of absence from work if you teach in Canada. You can go on a sabbatical once you meet the requirements. You also get compassionate leave, cumulative sick leave, and so much more. This ensures you can achieve a work-life balance.
4. Teaching Grants and Scholarship
You can also get teaching grants as a benefit in Canada. Beyond this, you can also get a teaching and teacher education award and scholarship, which usually depends on the province you teach. These grants and scholarships help you further your education in a field, improving the educational value you can offer.
5. Making Remarkable Difference
Every society demands change-makers and impactful individuals. A teaching career offers you the benefit of submitting your quota in these regards. You can make a difference on so many children by being their teacher, which is purposeful and essential for the nation’s future.
6. Learning
It’s no doubt that students can attain endless possibilities when allowed freedom of thought and expression. When this is at the base of your teaching, you would also be open to learning from them. Teaching allows you to stay updated within your field and grants easy access to information.
Cons of Teaching in Canada
Some of the cons associated with teaching in Canada include:
1. Behaviour of Students
Students have different family backgrounds and are from different social classes. In addition, some of them face challenges that affect learning. So, understanding them and providing solutions to these issues is a challenge that you’ll face as a teacher.
2. Multiple Roles
Your duties require you to play many roles which go beyond teaching. To your students, you can be a counsellor, a mentor, a career guider, and so much more. Multitasking these roles can be a little tasking, and you’ll need to deliver if you opt for a career in teaching.
Steps on How to Become a Teacher in Canada
The following is an outline of the steps to take in becoming a teacher in Canada.
1. Get a Degree
A bachelor’s degree in education (B.Ed.) from a recognized and accredited institution is essential to becoming a teacher in Canada. It shows you have undergone the tutelage of seasoned professors and lecturers in the field throughout your program.
2. Apply for Teaching Program
This step familiarizes you with teaching because you get firsthand experience of the job. In addition, it’s a one-year program that helps you build your confidence and expertise in education. Some schools make provisions for their students, while for other schools, you’ll be required to register in affiliated institutions.
3. Get Certified
Like other professions, you need to be certified before you’re identified as a teacher in Canada. You can do this by obtaining the teacher certification made available by the educational body of the province you wish to work. The process of this application is seamless, and you can do it by downloading the form online.
4. Find Vacancies
Once you take the steps mentioned above, looking for openings is next. First, look for teaching vacancies in schools in the area where you’re a resident. Then send applications to as many schools as possible.
5. Combine English and French
Your proficiency in these two languages increases your chances of getting a well-paid teaching job in Canada. So if you can only speak one, start learning the other and gain basic – preferably advanced – proficiency.
6. Get Licensed
This license is essential. So, ensure you get it and keep it updated from time to time by furthering your education as a teacher or an administrative officer. You can always get access to continuing education through the Canadian Association of Principles.
Immigration To Canada as a Teacher
Canada is opened to accepting the best individuals worldwide. So, you can further your career when you immigrate, provided you’re already a trained teacher. By your training, you’re automatically placed on the level of a Federal Skilled Worker, which makes you eligible for Express Entry Immigration.
You can continue your application by finding your classification code (NOC), which helps you determine your job level, choose, and research the province you want to move in. In addition, the National Occupational Classification enables you to determine the cost of living concerning expected income. Finally, it would be best to get acquainted with immigrants’ local educational board requirements and get your academic credential assessment.
The Bottom Line
Teaching is a very purposeful and rewarding career choice regardless of the location. Although a teaching career in Canada offers you a lot more than in some other countries, you need to be ready for some responsibilities. By weighing these responsibilities against the benefits, you can then determine if a career in teaching is the one for you.