Thousands of aspiring teachers encounter few job offers at Oregon job fair | OregonLive.com

Thousands of aspiring teachers encounter few job offers at Oregon job fair | OregonLive.com

Thousands of aspiring teachers encounter few job offers at Oregon job fair

By Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian

April 06, 2010, 6:09PM

Doug Beghtel, The OregonianChristy Dunn, left, and Stephanie Ostlund were among the hundreds of aspiring teachers flocking to the job fair at the Oregon Convention Center, which continues Wednesday.

Christy Dunn, who earned a master's degree in teaching math last year, and Stephanie Ostlund, who got her master's in teaching English in 2008, stood together in a long, slow line Tuesday morning at the West Coast's biggest teacher job fair.

The two women, both with degrees from Portland State and the University of Portland, held a stack of resumes and thick portfolios packed with evidence of their teaching skills -- and tried to hold fast to their dreams of becoming teachers.

They were among 3,000 aspiring educators, most of them recent or soon-to-be graduates from Oregon colleges of education, vying for what