I’ve done the whole subbing thing, and it has worked out pretty well in the past, however I didn’t feel like it really meant anything. And the hours are pretty locked in. Instead, I’ve gone the whole After School Enrichment route. You get to teach (and teach the kinds of things you’re interested in like acting) to kids who are excited about being there and the hours are super conducive to auditioning.

There are several enrichment companies around LA, and the pay is between $20-$40/hr depending on your teaching experience, whether you’re certified or not, and the number of kids in the class. You don’t have to have a teaching credential nor do you have to take the CBEST.

There is a certification program through a group called the National Enrichment Teacher’s Association (NETA) that covers all the legal liabilities as well as in class practices involved with teaching kids. It has helped me out tremendously, especially when it came to knowing what to do in emergency situation, if a child got hurt, etc. The test isn’t that expensive, only $140, and the certification last 2 years. There’s no law stating you have to get certified, but I know that some of the school districts in LA as well as local and state government officials are looking at requiring certified teacher. If enrichment teaching is something you’re interested in, it wouldn’t be bad to look into certification. Here’s the website:

www.netanational.org

Hope this was helpful to someone. If you have any questions, I’d be more than happy to answer them.

This is AWESOME! Thanks! I passed the CBEST, but believe it or not, subbing is a very tough gig to procur here in LA. A credential is akin to a masters degree in terms of money and time, and I just trained as a Behavior therapist for autistic kids but the pay is only $14 an hour!!!

This sounds great, thanks!