MiraCosta College offers three free non-credit courses for students to earn certificates that can lead to paying jobs in local school districts as teacher aides. 

The program is part of the District’s free noncredit workforce preparation and short-term vocational classes, which prepare students for entry-level employment and career advancement. The college offers three courses in the teacher-aide program, with only two needed to earn a certificate. 

Erica Duran, department chair and English instructor at the college and a teacher in the program, said classes are in response to a growing need for teacher aides. That includes MiraCosta College itself, which has hired 10 people as instructional aides after they completed the program. 

“This is one of those jobs where, just in North San Diego County at any given time, there's about 300 to 400 open positions,” Duran said about the job opportunities. “Schools desperately need applicants.” 

The Carlsbad Unified School District offers a higher starting salary for people who have earned certificates from MiraCosta. 

Duran said the Carlsbad district has worked with the college and brought several of their instructional aides to tell students in the certification program about their experience. 

Dunn said that starting pay usually costs around $19 to $23 an hour, although aides in special education courses tend to pay more. 

A typical workday is 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and the number of hours worked a week depends on whether somebody has a full-time or substitute position. 

Besides helping school districts fill a need for more teacher aides, the certification program also allows people interested in a career in education to get a first-hand look at the job without a significant commitment.