Need Help looking for a new LSSP (School Psychology) job.
March 15, 2019 12:39 PM Subscribe
This is for my girlfriend. She is finishing up her 2nd year as a school psychologist (LSSP) at a co-op that has been, frankly, an unhealthy working environment. They are completely unorganized, she has 5 ISDs she's driving between, and they only pay her $34K. She's looking for a new position in Austin, Texas and the surrounding ISDs. She's applied to all of them but it's been 2 weeks and she hasn't heard anything back. She wants to live in Austin because that's where her life is.
Anyway, I've got some questions.
I'm in the UX /product design field, so I'm used to the ability to network on LinkedIn to find openings, but she said that school professionals aren't really active on LinkedIn. Is this true?
It sounds like to me that this career is by nature extremely stressful and not at all respectful of a healthy work/life balance. There also seem to be few resources for LSSPs out there. I know that if I didn't like my profession, I could find all kinds of articles about adjacent professions that UX designers could morph into, but I've looked for similar adjacent professions for LSSPs and I've found nothing. Do you know of any resources out there for this? What do LSSP's do when they get burnt out?
And do you know of any resources for LSSP jobs other than just going to the ISD website and looking for openings?
Also, there is an opening for an LSSP job at UT Elementary School, which is a charter school. She's weary of applying to a non-public school because she doesn't know the rules they operate by or if having such a school on her resume would hurt later if she is looking for another public school position. What do you all think of this? Charter schools, yay or nay?
Lastly, there are openings at places that don't look like schools at all. Places like Soliant Health and ProCare Therapy. They seem to be companies or staffing agencies. Some even talk about working from home, which doesn't make a lot of sense Does anybody have any experience or knowledge about these?
Anyway, I've got some questions.
I'm in the UX /product design field, so I'm used to the ability to network on LinkedIn to find openings, but she said that school professionals aren't really active on LinkedIn. Is this true?
It sounds like to me that this career is by nature extremely stressful and not at all respectful of a healthy work/life balance. There also seem to be few resources for LSSPs out there. I know that if I didn't like my profession, I could find all kinds of articles about adjacent professions that UX designers could morph into, but I've looked for similar adjacent professions for LSSPs and I've found nothing. Do you know of any resources out there for this? What do LSSP's do when they get burnt out?
And do you know of any resources for LSSP jobs other than just going to the ISD website and looking for openings?
Also, there is an opening for an LSSP job at UT Elementary School, which is a charter school. She's weary of applying to a non-public school because she doesn't know the rules they operate by or if having such a school on her resume would hurt later if she is looking for another public school position. What do you all think of this? Charter schools, yay or nay?
Lastly, there are openings at places that don't look like schools at all. Places like Soliant Health and ProCare Therapy. They seem to be companies or staffing agencies. Some even talk about working from home, which doesn't make a lot of sense Does anybody have any experience or knowledge about these?
Best answer: I am a teacher in Texas, but not an LSSP. I just went through the job hunt process.
Austin ISD has their Spring Break next week, so I'm not surprised she hasn't heard anything. Also, two weeks seems like an eternity when you are the applicant, but it's really not long at all. Keep checking and applying. I expect that interviews will start up in a few weeks, and will continue throughout the summer.
Job postings are handled via the ISD websites. Some ISDs also hold job fairs, but you have to have applied via their website anyway. Hiring happens right up through the first few weeks of school. So keep checking the websites and don't give up.
I don't know about Austin, but in Houston it is very hard to get hired by the better school districts. There are a LOT of applicants for a limited number of opportunities. I've tried two years in a row to get into my ISD of choice. Apply to everything. Don't give up.
I used to teach at a charter school. Charter schools are public schools with smaller student bodies. They get (some of) the same public funds as standard public schools, and are subject to the same rules and oversights. Like any school, they can be more or less organized than their counterparts depending on the strengths of the administration. She needs to do a lot of research into the charter to be sure she isn't jumping from one mess to another. Also keep in mind that fewer resources also means less money and fewer teachers. Paychecks are going to be smaller at a charter versus a standard public school, and every employee is expected to do double or triple duty to cover all the staffing holes.
The advice I was given was that a charter on your resume won't hurt you if the timespan is short. The longer you stay, the harder it is to leave. I used my time at the charter to gain experience, take on additional responsibilities, and take professional development courses, all with the intent of beefing up my resume. When I felt I had learned all I could, I moved on.
Good luck to her in her search.
posted by rakaidan at 7:20 PM on March 15, 2019
Austin ISD has their Spring Break next week, so I'm not surprised she hasn't heard anything. Also, two weeks seems like an eternity when you are the applicant, but it's really not long at all. Keep checking and applying. I expect that interviews will start up in a few weeks, and will continue throughout the summer.
Job postings are handled via the ISD websites. Some ISDs also hold job fairs, but you have to have applied via their website anyway. Hiring happens right up through the first few weeks of school. So keep checking the websites and don't give up.
I don't know about Austin, but in Houston it is very hard to get hired by the better school districts. There are a LOT of applicants for a limited number of opportunities. I've tried two years in a row to get into my ISD of choice. Apply to everything. Don't give up.
I used to teach at a charter school. Charter schools are public schools with smaller student bodies. They get (some of) the same public funds as standard public schools, and are subject to the same rules and oversights. Like any school, they can be more or less organized than their counterparts depending on the strengths of the administration. She needs to do a lot of research into the charter to be sure she isn't jumping from one mess to another. Also keep in mind that fewer resources also means less money and fewer teachers. Paychecks are going to be smaller at a charter versus a standard public school, and every employee is expected to do double or triple duty to cover all the staffing holes.
The advice I was given was that a charter on your resume won't hurt you if the timespan is short. The longer you stay, the harder it is to leave. I used my time at the charter to gain experience, take on additional responsibilities, and take professional development courses, all with the intent of beefing up my resume. When I felt I had learned all I could, I moved on.
Good luck to her in her search.
posted by rakaidan at 7:20 PM on March 15, 2019
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posted by DarlingBri at 2:29 PM on March 15, 2019 [2 favorites]