Becoming a Substitute Teacher in Arizona, AZ

Arizona has remained about the middle of the pack when relating to its students standardized testing scores. Also boasting one of the highest multicultural student populations, the state also has one of the highest multilingual populations. The last three years has seen a healthy 9.22% average teacher salary increase, including an expansion of it’s educational system to meet the demands of a growing population. This also means that more substitute teachers are being hired, so now is a great time to look into a career as a substitute teacher. Substitute teachers are not only needed for when teachers take personal days, but also for the many state mandated teacher training days, which provides guaranteed work in a position that is largely thought of as on call. However, it is still necessary to have a flexible schedule in becoming a substitute teacher as those personal days do need to be filled. Many full time teachers started as subs, and boast that the experience was very beneficial in the decision to become a full time teacher, as it allows you to get a feel for the job without meeting all of the requirements to become a full time salaried teacher.

Required Training, Qualifications, and Education

Arizona does require substitute teachers to obtain a bachelor’s degree. The state also requires fingerprinting as well as criminal background checks through state and government authorities, and periodic reprinting is required over the years.

Licensure and Certification

The following stipulations are required for submitting a substitute teacher application-

  • Submit the initial Substitute Application through a local school system
  • Complete the Application including transcripts and references
  • Include mandatory fee with application

For certification information please visit our Arizona Teacher Requirements page.

Career Expectations For Substitutes in Arizona

Coming out of the recession has allowed most states to expand its educational system, and Arizona is no exception. Although everyone was hit pretty hard during the economic downturn, educators fared better then most in job security. As our population continues to grow, more teachers will be needed to maintain acceptable student-teacher ratios, which inherently means increased demand for substitutes. Becoming a substitute teacher also looks phenomenal on any resume and puts you at the front of the pack if looking to become a full time teacher at some point.

Salary Expectation

The average substitute teachers salary in Arizona is approximately $26,000 a year according to bls.gov. However, salary can fluctuate greatly amongst substitute teachers as many factors ultimately decide how much you will be payed, like experience, education, school district and so on. Substitutes in Arizona are on average payed about 13% less then the national average for subs, but again there can be a large fluctuation in actual income. Many substitutes find it possible to carry another job along with substituting as there is a fare amount of downtime in some periods.