u/MindlessPlankton8234

I’m trying to become a teacher in Washington after moving here, and honestly, I’m getting discouraged. I’ve been reading a lot on Reddit, getting rejection emails, etc., and I’m starting to wonder if I’m doing something wrong.
At first, I was only applying for classroom teaching positions, but I’ve expanded my search to substitute teaching and paraeducator positions as well and I’m still not getting anywhere. I have a master’s degree, classroom experience, and endorsements in Elementary Education and ELL. So far, I’ve applied to 16 districts and countless private schools. And I have been applying since April.
For those of you who have successfully gotten hired in WA, especially around the Seattle/Eastside area, is there anything else I should be doing? School start soon!

TLDR: What is the timeline like this year?

Hi all! I’ve been applying for a couple months now to school districts on the east side. I recently moved from another state, and it feels unusual to me that so much hiring happens in the summer. I know the state is dealing with a budget shortfall, so I’m trying to get a realistic sense of what hiring looks like this school year.

I have a master’s degree and four years of experience. A few teachers I’ve talked to in passing told me “not to worry,” but these are highly competitive districts… so of course I’m going to worry.

I’ve also looked through each district’s social media pages to see when their job fairs were held last year. It looks like most happened around this time, but I haven’t seen any announcements for this year yet, which adds to the uncertainty.

I’ve been applying to roles I’m qualified for, confident, and within a reasonable commute as they come up.