Good luck with the certification process!

Choose which one you are interested in! It is best to have a job that you like! Personally, I think the P-3 really limits what you can teach. With K-5, the only kids you can’t teach are the 3 and 4 year olds (and 6th & above) ~ just my opinion.

If you are going for dual-certification and are concerned about landing a job…look into a high-need area (elementary education + English for speakers of other languages, or elementary education + special education).

I have elementary education & special education certification (dual-degree) (with an English content area certification picked up later) and I can and have taught in elementary, middle, and high school…I feel very fortunate that I am not “trapped” in one particular area.

Good luck!

You will be more marketable only in that there will be more jobs available to you. It won’t necessarily make you more qualified for the jobs that are out there.

It’s not going to make you much more valuable to a principal because most public schools don’t have pre-k’s anyway and most pre-k’s don’t have upper level – so they won’t care that you could teach it.

It could give you a slight edge in that someone hiring may feel you have just a greater knowledge base that could be applied in you classroom and that you have the skills to accomplish the certification – but I think it would be a slight edge.

It really depends on what you really want to teach, and the cost / benefit of adding the dual.

I say no point in getting it unless you think you might want to teach pre-k someday — unless it will be fairly easy/cheap/quick to accomplish – then why not??

But if it will require more time/money – I don’t think I’d do it.

Also I would check to see what your state degrees qualify you for. Many states include Kindergarten as early childhood and require the early childhood degree for it. Some states also include 6th grade in the elementary degree.