Reading Specialist Jobs
- Title I Reading Teachers
- Reading Instructors
- Literacy Coaches
- Reading Tutors
- Reading Interventionists
Earning a reading specialist degree is a terrific choice for aspiring teachers who excel in the area of reading. It is also perfect for existing teachers who would like to enhance their professional resumes and expand their career opportunities. While there are several great job options available to persons who have earned a reading specialist degree, the following five options are among the most popular today.
Title I Reading Teachers
Title I reading teachers typically work with children who are in grades one through three. Their main responsibility is to assist those children who need the most help in the area of reading. While some Title I teachers may be found working in the classroom, others often pull small groups of children outside of the classroom and work with them in a separate room in the school. Other common tasks of these professionals often include evaluating students’ reading abilities, creating individual and group instructional plans, and meeting with parents to review students’ progress.
Reading Instructors
Another great job option for persons with a reading specialist degree is that of a reading instructor. Reading instructors can choose to work in elementary schools, middle schools, or high schools, and their main goal is to teach children to become effective readers. Reading instructors may also choose to specialize in teaching children with learning disabilities or children who speak other languages other than English. Depending on the level of students, common daily tasks of reading teachers may include helping students improve their spelling and vocabulary, creating lesson plans, grading papers, and interacting with parents.
Literacy Coaches
Literacy coaches work with teachers to help them strengthen their teaching skills and abilities in the areas of reading and literacy. Literacy coaches can work with teachers inside or outside of the classroom, and their main goal is to help teachers develop their teaching capabilities. These are fairly new positions but are growing in popularity as more and more schools today are focusing on improving students’s mathematical and reading abilities. According to the website known as the Salary Expert, these positions are expected to grow by about 16 percent over the next several years, and the average salary for these professionals was just over $71,000 in 2019.
Reading Tutors
Choosing to become a reading tutor is another job option for people with reading specialist degrees. Reading tutors can work independently, or they may choose to work for tutoring companies or schools. They are needed on all grade levels from elementary school through college. Persons who choose this career help students master reading either individually or in small groups. Daily duties of reading tutors include assessing students’ reading abilities, creating effective and engaging learning plans, evaluating students’ progress, adjusting learning plans when necessary, and discussing students’ progress with teachers and parents.
Reading Interventionists
Perhaps the most popular job option for graduates with reading specialist degrees is that of a reading interventionist. Similar to reading tutors, reading interventionists help students strengthen their reading skills. But these professionals are also similar to Title I reading teachers in that they mainly target those pupils who need help the most. They typically work for school systems on all levels and can work with students individually or in small groups. They also work with teachers to help design learning plans that will be effective in the classroom. Additionally, while some reading interventionists work for one school, others travel between several schools in a particular school system.
Related Resource: Top 20 Best Master’s in Reading and Literacy Online
Many aspiring and current teachers today are choosing to expand their career opportunities by specializing in reading. A reading specialist degree can qualify graduates for many exciting job positions including those described above.
