Become a Teacher in New Mexico

To earn your New Mexico teaching credential you will have to complete the appropriate amount of undergraduate coursework and standardized tests, as well as an accredited teacher certification program. Learn more about getting your teaching credential on Teach.com.

The New Mexico Public Education Department offers a 2-year Alternative License to allow for the completion of a program and required testing. To obtain the Alternative License you must have a bachelor’s degree, a letter of acceptance into an approved alternative teacher education program, and proof of registration for the NES Essential Academic Skills exam. New Mexico offers other alternative licensure programs as well, which are listed at TeachNM.

Interstate reciprocity is a program that allows teachers certified in one state to teach in another state. New Mexico has policies in place regarding out-of-state reciprocity. To find out which other state’s teaching licenses can be used in New Mexico, visit the Teach.com reciprocity page. Or, for more specific questions about your situation, contact the New Mexico Department of Education.

To find out what other state teaching licenses can be used in New Mexico, check out our Teacher Certification Reciprocity page on Teach.com.

New Mexico participates in the REAP program, a teacher recruitment website that makes it easy for teachers to find opportunities and job fairs.

Learn more about finding a teaching job on Teach.com.

The average school teacher in New Mexico makes about $50,390 per year, according to 2019 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. New Mexico does not provide any additional pay for teaching in high-needs schools or shortage subjects.

Learn more about teacher salaries on Teach.com.

The New Mexico Educational Retirement Board (NMERB) provides retirement benefits to teachers whose years of teaching service and age total 80 (for example, teachers with 20 years of experience at age 60), teachers aged 67 with at least 5 years of service, and all teachers with at least 30 years of teaching service. Specific benefits, which depend on years of service, are explained in detail in the NMERB Member Handbook.

Learn more about benefits for teachers on Teach.com.

Teacher Shortage information was provided by the U.S. Department of Education’s Teacher Shortage Areas Nationwide Listings for 2020-2021, and was determined by examining the most recent data about unfilled teaching positions; positions filled by teachers certified by irregular, provisional, temporary, or emergency certification; and teachers teaching in subject areas other than their area of preparation.

New Mexico residents are eligible for the Applegate/Jackson/Parks Future Teacher Scholarship as well as the TEACH Grant, a grant that gives financial aid to students in return for an agreement to teach in a high-need field in a low-income area.

Learn more about how to finance your Master’s degree on Teach.com.

You can find a list of New Mexico professional learning opportunities for teachers on the New Mexico Public Education Department site.

It is no longer enough to just have years of experience in teaching. After No Child Left Behind and other academic quantification measures, the careers of teachers increasingly depend on their results in the classroom. A master’s degree in the field of education will give you more educational theory and classroom skills, as well as more hands-on student teaching experience with a mentor. After a master’s program, you may be able to achieve better results in the classroom and may have more job security, as well as the potential for higher pay.

Learn more about the benefits of a Master of Arts in Teaching vs. Master of Education on Teach.com.