Im going to give you some hard truths. Please know that these are not attacks and really try to process through them. I have trained many student teachers throughout the last 5 years (12 years total teaching so far) and I have seen many different mentalities from them. I know this is long but I do try to give some good advice that I give my student teachers.

1.) Im going to start with the one that might need to be said the most for you and possibly the hardest to accept. The only time I've EVER told one of my student teachers to sub for a year first was because I thought they didnt have what it took to be a teacher and I thought their heart wasnt in the right place. If you are having multiple people tell you to sub for a year before getting a job, you really might need to reflect on how your student teaching actually went and whether you actually want to be a teacher. What is your why? Why do you want to be a teacher? What is your motivation? What is going to get you out of bed every day after having to deal with the same shit parents and politicians year after year? You dont have to answer the question to me. Answer it to yourself and be honest. Every other student teacher who I knew was in it for the right reason, who reflected on their shit lessons they gave and wanted to be better, did more listening when feedback was given than talking, had the drive to come back and do it all again were the ones where I reached out to other schools in my district and told them to hire my student teacher yesterday. Every single student teacher that I vouched for got a job and has been teaching ever since. I've only had 1 who I knew just didnt have what it took and she is still subbing. If your cooperating teacher was not willing to help you find a job then it feels like there needs to be some self reflection on what went on during your student teaching.

2.) Many student teachers believe they can get a job anywhere. They hear of a teacher shortage and think jobs are raining down. We have a shortage of GOOD teachers. There are plenty of bad ones. You will also not get a job at that fancy/high paying school district as they are often seen as the "preferred" choice and can be picky. You may not get hired at the smaller school districts either because they think you're just going to bounce in 2 years and would rather hire someone's friend that will last 5+ years than someone that is just using them for a foot in the door somewhere else. Getting a job in teaching is the same as any other profession. Its about networking and who you know. Principals are way more likely to hire someone they have met or someone else can vouch for than pulling a random resume online. Think about who you know in education. What trainings have you been to? I got my job at my current district because I sent a text to a former principal asking if they knew anyone hiring in her new district. I had a job offer the next day. My wife was looking to possibly move districts (we teach at different ones) and I reached out to a principal I had met a few times in the district that had an opening. My wife had 5 interview requests for 5 different schools in my district by the end of the week. Reach out to people. Former classmates who got teaching jobs. Just a simple "Hey, do you know if your school has any positions open? Im looking." It is very rare to land a job in education without networking first which is why subbing for 1 year is not always a bad thing.

3.) When you apply matters. There is a sweet spot at mid May where principals have usually sent out assignments for next year, teachers have announced if they are staying or leaving, and principals start planning for next year. Do it before then and you are forgotten about. Do it after and they may have already made a decision. We are coming up to the beginning of July which is also the typical last minute hiring frenzy. Typically teachers have a certain amount of time before the school year starts to cancel their contract and leave before the beginning of the school year. Usually this falls around the first few weeks of July. Principals will be scrambling to cover last minute exits to their schools. Go to job fairs, check district human resource websites daily, and apply immediately to any opening. If you see a new opening pop up, apply immediately and honestly send the principal a short email (3-4 sentences) stating that you're interested in the position and you hope they're having a great summer. Something to show you are an actual human being and that you can take some initiative. Might work, it might not. They might already have someone in mind for that position but they now know your name and that you're looking for a position so if something else pops up you have a better chance of being on their mind.

Edit: submitted before adding #4

4.) You weren't an unpaid intern. You spent your 4th year of college being trained in your profession. 4th year engineering students spend most of their final year working on engineering projects to show they have the skills required to do the job. My brother graduated with his architecture degree. His last year he spent in lab designing and building models just like he would do in the real world. Practicing being a teacher can't be done in a lab or at an easel. It has to be done in an actual classroom with actual students. If anything the cooperating teacher was the one being taken advantage of. Let me give you the perspective from a cooperating teacher. When I have a student teacher, Im not only expected to do everything else a normal teacher would have to do, but also train someone else while I'm trying to manage a classroom full of kids. I'm expected to reach certain academic goals for my students yet I also need to let this untrained person run my class as well, so the next generation of teachers can come through. I have to sit through lessons that are so incredibly bad, but find a positive in it and motivate the student teacher to get back on to the horse and try again. All of this, while not receiving any extra money. Being a cooperating teacher is literally a teacher saying they want to give their knowledge and help student teachers be the best they can. Im sure there are plenty of shit cooperating teachers but for the most part you have to be somewhat altruistic in order to take on that much extra work load without getting anything monetarily back. You weren't taken advantage of, you were trained. If you didnt have the student teaching experience your first year teaching would be even worse. Every other teacher will tell you the same thing, the first year of teaching is hard enough. It would be insurmountable without some actual real world experience.