Career path and specialization — five years out
Lesson 3 of 4 in From Supply Teaching to a Permanent Contract · 22 minutes
Once you've moved from supply through LTO to permanent, what next? AQs, leadership tracks, specialty roles, and even moves to administration — this lesson covers Canadian teaching career paths.
What you'll learn
- Plan AQ courses strategically
- Identify leadership tracks within teaching
- Compare specialist roles (Special Ed, ESL, French Immersion)
- Consider administrative paths
From the lesson
Permanent contract is not the end — it's a beginning. Canadian teaching offers many paths after the first permanent position: deeper subject specialization, leadership roles, administration, even moves to ministry or policy work. This lesson maps the options for years 5-15 of a Canadian teaching career.
1. Additional Qualifications (AQs) — strategic choices
AQs add subject endorsements, specialty qualifications, or leadership credentials.
Three-part AQs (most common): • Special Education Part 1, 2, 3 + Specialist. • ESL/ELD Part 1, 2, 3 + Specialist. • Reading Part 1, 2, 3 + Specialist. • Math Part 1, 2, 3 (specialty stream).
Subject AQs: • Add new subjects to your teaching certificate. •…