The Troops-To-Teachers Program for Military Personnel

The Troops-To-Teachers Program for Military PersonnelThe Troops-To-Teachers Program for Military PersonnelSince 1993, mora than 20,000 military veterans have made their way to the classroom as teachers for their follow on career after military tafelgeschirr. According to the Department of Defense program and Defense Activities for Non-Traditional Educational Support (DANTES), military members with 4 year college degrees can become teachers in the school systems and teach kindergarten through 12th grade. The program is known of the Troop To Teachers Program (TTT). See official website ProudtoServeAgain.com. Military members with a baccalaureate degree or higher are eligible to begin the teaching certification process to become an academic subject teacher. However, many tafelgeschirr members may already qualify to become a vocational/technical teacher. Military members only need the equivalent of one year of college courses and six years of experience in a vocational or technical field to begin the certification process. To complete the process, individuals can use an Alternative Certification Program (ACP) or University Teacher Preparation Program. Military Members within the European theater may benefit from an ACP, since this method offers online courses to obtain the teaching certification. Even better, there is no cost to participate in the program for the military member. This is free on the job training. The TTT program provides counseling, referrals, and job assistance to all current and former members of the U.S. Armed Forces who want to transition to a teaching career. Military members from all of the armed forces can use tuition assistance for their teaching certification while on active duty. Members may also be eligible for financial assistance for teacher certification expenses - a $5,000 stipend or up to $10,000 bonus based on eligibility. A commitment to teaching for three years in a high-need school district or at a high school with a high percen tage of low-income families is part of the obligation for receiving some forms of financial aid. The Defense Human Resources Activity (DHRA) and the Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES) are authorized by statute which permits the Secretary of Defense to make grants to states in order to support efforts of recruiting eligible current and former members of the military for the Troops to Teachers program. This helps to facilitate the employment of participants as K-12 teachers, and career or technical teachers in Vocational Schools. Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 grants help the states selected provide services for a term of up to 5 years through May 2023. There are 31 state TTT offices nationwide that offer placement assistance for the more than 50 states and territories participating in the program. Offices can assist military members with state certification requirements. Service members can take advantage of the TTT Web site to correspond with representatives and receive alternative certification information. Its important to focus on where you want to teach, to start checking what your states requirements are. Teacher certification is done state-to-state, not nationally. But some states will recognize another states certification, said John Gantz, director of the TTT program. The program began in 1993 during the military downsizing of the early 90s as transition assistance towards a teaching career.The military members who have become teachers have established a good reputation for the program with school administrators and principals. School systems are finding former military members to be very valuable assets. They bring leadership skills, a concern for their students (similar to their troops) and a lot of experience to the classroom, said Gantz. Schools are also seeing a higher retention rate from former military members than teachers who just finished college. The cultural diversity of the military is proving an added bonus, as the pro gram is providing individuals from a variety of backgrounds. Schools are looking for a stronger presence of male and minority teachers at the elementary level. A lot of kids are being raised by one parent, and schools are looking for positive role models to help fill that void, added Gantz. Teaching positions are available at the elementary, middle and high school levels in suburban, small towns, rural and inner-city areas. There is a higher demand for math, science and special education teachers. Positions for other subjects are obtainable, but applicants may need to be more flexible with location. Vision of the Troop To Teachers Program Every service member interested in a career in teaching will receive assistance to transition his or her leadership, training, and core values to teaching in kindergarten through grade twelve schools. Mission of the Troop To Teachers Program Assist transitioning Service members with meeting the requirements necessary to become teachers Assist prog ram participants with finding employment as a teacher when eligible Goals of the Troop To Teachers Program Reduce veteran unemployment Improve American education by providing motivated, experienced, and dedicated personnel for the nations classrooms Increase the number of male and minority teachers in todays classrooms Address teacher shortage issues in K-12 schools that serve low-income families and in the critical subjects - math, science, special education, foreign language, and career-technical education. Military Members can consult their TTT representative on job availabilities, or check the Department of Education Web site at www.teachers-teachers.com. The Web site lists teaching vacancies for each state. Service members interested in the Troops to Teachers program can get more information from their state TTT office, stateside DSN 312-922-1241 or on-line at www.ProudToServeAgain.com.

How to Write the First Paragraph of Your Cover Letter

How to Write the First Paragraph of Your Cover LetterHow to Write the First Paragraph of Your Cover LetterYour titelseite letter is one of the first things that employers see when you apply for a new job. They use the content found in that letter with a copy of your resume to determine if you are worth a call back. A strong cover letter that highlights the top skills you have and shows how your experience can help you with the job at hand is the key to getting an interview from a company. Though you may have a hard time identifying your key skills and putting those skills together in a cover letter, you can use online cover letter examples to see how you can grab the attention of employers.Writing Your Cover Letter A good cover letter starts with your personenname, address, email address, and phone number listed on the top. Include the name and address of the employer just beneath your contact information. You can then use a simple dear hiring manager to start the letter, though its often helpful to check the companys website and find the name of the hiring manager or the person in charge of interviewing employees. Sign the cover letter with your full name or the full name you used when applying for the position.The First Paragraph The first paragraph of your cover letter is the most important. It is what hooks the reader and makes a hiring manager want to learn more about you. Some of the things you should address in that first paragraph includewhere you first heard about the job openingyour current positionif you are currently in school and what level you are at, i.e. graduate school or collegewhat you study/studied in schoolany personal connections you have to the jobMaking Your Cover Letter Count Have you ever had a song stuck in your head for hours? With the right opening, you can make your cover letter stick in the minds of potential employers in the same way. Keep the first paragraph of your cover letter short, succinct, and to the point. Give employers a broad view of you as a person, including where you go to school or attended school, how you heard about the job opening, and why you decided to apply. Our cover letter builder can help you craft the perfect first paragraph and a great cover letter. Related Articles Is it Better to Apply for a Job Online or In Person?Is There Such a Thing as Workplace Privacy?Job References Adding to Your Resume

Power Electronics Isnt Just Electrical

Power Electronics Isnt Just Electrical Power Electronics Isnt Just Electrical As the world moves toward more renewable and sustainable energy solutions and smaller electronic devices, the demands of power electronics, once very much the core of the electrical engineering discipline, are requiring a combination of mechanical and electrical engineering skills.Many high-power devices need to be lightweight and more compact and some also must be able to operate in an unforgiving environment, in the rain or on salt-sprayed roads, and even while on the move.Vibration shock is another challenge to be met.These are mechanical engineering challenges, says Joe Sarokhan, a mechanical and aerospace engineer by academic training but whose title now is senior electrical engineer at Ocean Power Technologies, Pennington, NJ, a company at the forefront of creating energy from powerful waves of the ocean.The main obstacle to making electronics smaller is the heat buildup, Sarokhan says. If you can fig ure out a way of getting the heat out efficiently, twice as effectively, then you can make the device half the size, he says, adding that heat is always a factor, whether in electric vehicles or wind and solar systems.According to Sarokhan, cooling and air flow analysis are things that electrical engineers dont typically do. If mechanical engineers have some electrical background, they can pick up the power skills within a year.Understanding Power SystemsBeing able to convert power more efficiently is a major driver, says Sarokhan.Even traditional vehicles, which used to require mainly mechanical disciplines, are moving from hydraulically driven systems to electric power, so knowledge of both is required.Sarokhan considered a college major in electrical engineering but decided on mechanical (and aerospace engineering with a certificate in robotics) at Princeton University because he felt mechanical engineering would give him a better overall background and knowledge of general engin eering principles. Power engineering wasnt even part of his consideration even though his grandfather worked in the field after serving in the U.S. Navy in World War II. Back then, electrical engineers had to have an understanding of high power lines because many jobs involved transformers and transmission lines as the infrastructure of this country was being put into place, and that was typically part of an electrical engineering education, Sarokhan said.But over time, electrical engineering evolved to focus more on digital circuits, microprocessors, and other aspects of computer science and less on high power systems. And power engineering wasnt considered such an exciting career path any more so fell out of favor as a field of study.But a combination of factors put Sarokhan in the midst of it in areas he never imagined. Upon graduation a decade ago when his first choice of an industry, aerospace, wasnt doing much hiring, he went to work as a project development engineer for a com pany making scanning electron microscopes and miniature equipment.The electrical and mechanical integration was very tight, he says.There he learned a lot about the cooling and shielding requirements of sensors of the electronics. After several years, he joined Princeton Power Electronics, which made solar inverters and military motor drives that required an understanding of high power. I picked up more experience in how to make electronics survive in a high impact environment, he says. Thats when he realized how important knowledge of both disciplines is. And now he sees the whole power engineering field starting to come back.Mechanical FocusIve had to hire people in this field and there arent many at all, Sarokhan says. I found that electrical engineers dont have experience with high power mechanics devices, transformers, and conductors, and it was actually easier to hire a mechanical engineer and train them to become electronics engineers because packaging the high power devices is more of a mechanical issue than electrical.In an article, Career Focus Power Engineering, in IEEE-USA Todays Engineer Online, Dr. Nada Marie Anid, dean of the School of Engineering and Computing Sciences at the New York Institute of Technology, said the nature of the work of a power engineer will not be the same from now on, and new skills will be required, skills that Sarokhan acquired in his early jobs.Now, he is putting those skills to work in a device capturing the energy of ocean waves. We are trying to put hundreds of kilowatts of electronics on a 260-ton buoy floating at sea and deal with all the operation and shock issues as well as create long-time reliability and optimization so that everything lasts for many years.Converting wave energy into electricity is still in the early developmental stages. Its a very tough mechanical and electrical engineering challenge to get electronics to work in that environment, says Sarokhan.Nancy Giges is an independent writer.Packaging t he high power devices is more of a mechanical issue than electrical.Joe Sarokhan, senior electrical engineer, Ocean Power Technologies