As an elementary school teacher, you have the opportunity to teach and impact children from ages 5 to 10 or 12 years of age. This constitutes the elementary grades (kindergarten through 6th grade). In the elementary school years, children learn basic building blocks to their educational journeys including reading, writing, and basic math skills. These skills will form a foundation for all other formal learning experiences that they will experience from elementary school into their college and adult lives. Teachers at the elementary school level will experience children facing a variety of learning challenges and successes. Those going into this challenging career, must be prepared to teach children at a variety of different levels and in a variety of different ways.

Employment Outlook in Elementary Education

The employment outlook for elementary education is very positive. Many teachers will be retiring in the next decade. This fact is contributing to a strong need for more elementary school teachers. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics is estimating that this career field will see 13 percent job growth between now and 2018. This is stronger than average employment growth. Growth will be dependent on location. There have been severe budget cuts in certain states to education that have created teacher layoffs. So, it is important to note that this growth will be very location specific. It will most likely occur in rural and inner city school districts, where teachers are more difficult to hire. School districts are also having difficulty in hiring teachers in subject areas like math, science, chemistry, and foreign languages.

Salary Opportunities in Elementary Education

Generally, salaries for new teachers are fair but not spectacular. Also, different states offer different pay rates for teachers. However, teaching positions offer stability and great benefits, retirement and health insurance. Also, after teachers have acquired some experience, salaries generally increase with tenure. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, salaries for teachers in the United States in 2008 were on average between $47,000 and $51,000. The top ten percent made between $75,000 and $80,000, and the bottom ten percent made between $30,000 and $34,000.

College Degrees in Elementary Education

Colleges have great degree programs in elementary education. Be sure that any program you look into is accredited with the state you wish to become employed in, if you want to teach at a public elementary school. Also, be sure you obtain your elementary school teaching license for the state where you want to teach, most states require a teaching license to become employed as a public school teacher.