Maya Mercer

Education Principals

Mrs. Shank

09/29/20

Section 3.2: Career Paths

1.1.2: Identify the scope of career opportunities and the requirements for education,

training, certification, licensure, and experience.

As a senior looking toward my future, having a detailed plan is essential to keeping

myself organized and on-track to achieve my goals of going to college and becoming an English

teacher. I’ve already taken many important steps as a high schooler, and plan on taking many

more as a college student and eventual teacher. I have outlined said plan in this graphic

organizer ( ​3.2.1​ ). This essay is a reflection of the outline I plan to follow within the next ten

years, from where I plan on going to school, where I eventually want to teach, to why I make a

good teacher.

I have attempted to set myself up for success in college as well as I can, doing dual

enrollment at Columbus State Community College, and retaking the ACT to get my desired

score, a twenty-nine. I am currently enrolled in Olentangy’s Teacher Academy program to give

myself classroom experience as early on in my career as possible, and have previously sat in

on English classes with various teachers to observe their teaching methods.

I plan on attending North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina, enrolling

in their English Teacher Education Program (​3.2.2 - NCSU Education Major with a focus in
English​), and receiving my bachelor’s degree in education after four years. I plan to receive my

master’s from there as well and attend school while teaching in Raleigh. I have done a virtual

campus tour and talked with current students, I plan on visiting their campus in person within the

next 3 months. As well as attending school, I plan on living and teaching in North Carolina. The

requirements and certifications needed for said state (​outlined here - 3.2.3​) includes a

bachelor’s degree, and completion of a state-approved teacher preparation program. Teachers

must also hold certification for the subject and/or grade level they wish to teach.There are also

alternate routes available to those who wish to change to a career in education.

As part of an assignment for said Teacher Academy classes, I took multiple tests and

quizzes to determine my personality type, career paths best suited for me, and traits assigned to

that personality type. My results ( ​3.2.4 - Meyers Briggs Personality Test​ ) showed that I have an

aptitude toward traits such as empathy, communication, observation, and enthusiasm. These

traits are often applied toward careers in fields such as education and training, the arts,

audio/video communication, and human services. Applying these traits to my future career as

an English teacher will enhance my success and help me grow.

Becoming a teacher has been the main focus of the past two years of my high school

career, yet up until now I neglected to make a solid plan to follow. Putting these

accomplishments and goals into writing helps put them into motion, and eventually become my

reality. I will come back to this plan as I continue to live my life and work toward my dream.