Did I need to quit my job before starting to substitute teach?  In hindsight, probably not.  I didn’t know any better, so I quit my job in the spring and by the time I got my substitute teaching credential in June, all of the schools were on summer break.  It wasn’t until August that I got my first substitute teaching assignment.

I had assumed that substitute teachers needed to be ready at the drop of a hat to pick up teaching assignments.  While this is sometimes the case, the first several substitute teaching jobs I picked up were a few days and weeks in advance.  See, when teachers have planned absences due to professional development or appointments, they can submit a request for a substitute weeks, if not months in advance.  Most often, my substitute teaching assignments are with a single class for an entire day.  I usually arrive at the school between 7:30am-7:45am, pick up substitute teaching plans at the front desk and teach until school dismissal around 2:30pm. During other assignments, I could be what the schools call a “certificated floater,” which means that I might be with one classroom in the morning and another classroom in the afternoon.  This sometimes happens when teachers have grade-level meetings, so on a particular day for example, all of the 3rd grade classrooms might all have substitutes. 

To get substitute teaching jobs, some districts have a handy smartphone app where you can search available postings and click on the ones you want!  Others have automated calling systems, which usually start around 4pm in the afternoon for the next day.  There are also the occasional calls around 6am in the morning for day-of assignments.  If you work at a school consistently and have positive feedback from the students and teachers, sometimes the school admins will pull you aside or contact you directly for substitute assignments.

Hopefully you found this quick overview of how substitute teaching works helpful!  If you have questions or comments, please feel free to reach out by messaging me at the Contact link at the top of the page!