You’ve decided that teaching is the career for you.

You’ve taken the classes, decided which subjects and grade levels you want to specialize in, have an idea as to which school settings you might want to teach in, and have actually worked with young people enough to know that this is your calling.

However, you still want to know something extremely important: how easy will it be to find a job after graduation?

You’re in luck. With an anticipated increase in demand for teachers from 3.5 million in 2004 to almost 4.2 million in 2016, or an increase of 18%, the outlook for finding a job after graduation is very good, when compared to previous job seekers. Unlike manufacturing, or even professions such as accounting and law, teaching cannot be outsourced. Teachers are not in danger of losing their jobs to workers in China and India.

Between 2007 and 2008, about 49.6 million students attended public or private elementary and secondary schools. These students were taught by nearly 4 million teachers. Many job openings will occur as school districts move to replace the large number of retiring teachers expected through 2016. Availability will continue to be influenced by both school location and the area of teaching license. For example, positions will be more plentiful in inner cities and rural areas than in suburban areas. There will be more mathematics and science positions than positions in other areas of teaching. Still, working as a teacher with any qualification and in any subject area has significant advantages with regard to job security. The U.S. Department of Labor expects to see an increase by 12% of grades pre-K through 12 teachers, from 3,954,000 in 2006 to 4,433,000 in 2016.

I hope this helps assuage your concerns about being able to find a job after graduation. Best of luck as you embark on what will surely be a rewarding path.