OT - Teaching jobs in MI and MA

As someone currently living in Boston, I don't think you are going to find it all that much cheaper than New York. However, if you like long commutes you can live far outside the city and rents get reasonbale. 

but, I'm guessing you know a lot about with the wife being from there and all.  I'm not a teacher, but my brother and Mom are.  One concern (that might not be a concern) is that your wife has masters and PHD, which means she would come in at a higher pay (I think, teachers can weigh in). This might make it harder for her to grab a job.  My brother entered during a tough market and ended up going to one of the poorest districts in the state.  His pay is lower than many other districs, but the state is going to pay off his student loans (I think), and he has been able to make a huge difference in the community.

Good luck wherever you go.  I know that teaching has become a lot tougher in the last 10 years with all the emphasis on testing.  We need as many good teachers as possible. 

The nice thing about Boston is that it's got colleges out the ears and there's a cultural value for education meaning teachers make decent (not great, but better than cold ramen) pay in many areas, which is why we live here as opposed to something like 40+ states riding the anti-intellectual movement.  But -- and if Mrs. bronxblue is from here this should need no explanation -- Boston is not a place you move to just for opportunity, no matter the opportunity.  There's opportunity here, unemployment rate is below national average, but property is expensive, commutes are terrible, it's oddly curmudgeonly in many ways (the average age is something like 80 in a lot of the wealthy areas) and you can't avoid certain amounts of crazy in your life.

The public schools I'm applying to in SE Michigan all ask for your teaching certificate ahead of time.  I didn't apply at DPS who are desperate but also not always paying their employees, they're the only ones who are desperate enough to potentially not.  Massachusetts is one of the best states in the country education wise and pretty highly regulated, I would guess they're very similar.  Private/charters she could probably manage.  Provisional certificate requires graduating from a degree program, so she's probably out of luck.

Job market depends on the subject.  Science she'd probably do pretty well, even after another year of school.  Her only issue might be that with a Ph.D she'd start a little higher on the salary steps so schools super concerned about the budget might hesitate.

If she was willing to go back to school, the MAC program (Master's and Certification) at Michigan would almost definitely take her.  It's intense, one year (starting in June), and if she were willing to work in high needs schools it's likely she could get tuiton paid for with a Noyce Fellowship.  The guy who runs the STEM half (and is lead science faculty, so she would have him all the time) of the program was my favorite college professor ever.

EDIT: Also if your issue with New York is that it's expensive and the commutes suck, Boston is probably not the best idea.

My wife and I left Michigan to move to Charleston, SC about 4 years ago. She was able to land a job at a public HS in Charleston without having her certification first. Her Michigan certification sufficed until she could apply for the SC cert. That one wasn't even a retesting. Then we moved to Orlando, and she had to apply for a teaching certificate again. It was again not a recertification process. Super easy, and she worked for a Charter school, and then this year she moved to a public MS. The only caveat is that she is a Spanish teacher, so I am not sure how that equates to Bio. I also work in the technology field, and I have found it pretty easy to get a job in each city that we have moved to. The nice thing about her new gig is that she can also teach full time for FL virtual school which effectively doubles her salary. I am not positive on MA, but I believe the schools up north are probably a bit more strict on the certification side of things because schools in the south are quite terrible. I know we did a great deal of research on the topic before moving but we ultimately just had to take a leap of faith. Good luck! 

With a PhD and no teaching cert, she should seriously look into teaching at a private/independent school.  Carney Sandoe (http://www.carneysandoe.com/) is the big head hunter for independent schools, so she could start there.  Independent schools will like the PhD; they may or may not pay a ton extra for it.  Positives about independent schools are many, though.  The independenty hiring season for teachers is early spring or even late winter, so she should get stuff together this fall and plan for a move next summer. 

I'll second the MAC program.  I know many teachers in the Ann Arbor area that are products of it.  You'll get your cert, which could lead to a higher-paying public job, but the program will probably run 40K.  Might be better to seek out independent schools instead (or while applying to the MAC as an option).

I work in public education, and have even moved to a different state and found a job.  I agree tha the most desireable places probably won't even look at her without an in-state license, or proof of the ability to get one right away.

From what I gathered from your post her degrees are Biology and not biology education degrees.  She should talk to different universities as many have different requirements and timeframes to complete the degrees.  It would be more helpful to have the degree and license in hand.

That said, there are certainly places that have trouble filling some science positions.  I have not worked in Michigan, but other states have alternative paths to licensure for someone in your wife's situation.  Michigan's is called MARITC.  

I hope this helps!

Edit: For hard to fill positions folks can get temporary licensure with one or two years to complete their degrees.  It varies by state.

If she wants to be a full-time teacher she'll need a ceritficate at the vast majority of the schools in this state.  (If a school doesn't ask for a certificate, that's a pretty large red flag.)  Working without a certificate basically means subbing or being a parapro.

Fortunately, U-M's School of Ed has a program -  which I went through myself - called Master of Arts with Certification.  It's a 12-month program in which you cover 40 credits and also observe and student-teach.  It's intense but only a year.  

If she's interested in secondary, here's the link.

For primary, the link is here.  

These are small programs and admission is competitive.  They run from June to June, so the new cycle has already begun.  They'll be admitting next year's in the coming months.

As far as actually looking for a job, this is definitely the best site. 

Virtually every public school is in their database.  For private schools, you have to hunt around a little more.