In the traditional route you get certified through a university-based teacher preparation program that places you in a year-long clinical setting with a cooperating teacher in a science classroom. In this type program you earn a Certificate of Eligibility with Advanced Standing (CEAS). These traditional preparation programs often involve multiple opportunities for working with students: fieldwork, internships, residencies—prior to taking on the responsibility of becoming a teacher of record. What used to be called "student teaching" is now termed clinical practice by the state of New Jersey and its teacher education programs

In the alternate route, you obtain a Certificate of Eligibility (CE) that permits you to be hired as a teacher of record in a science classroom and enroll in a teacher preparation program simultaneously. Alternate route teachers are those who learn to teach while drawing a full-time salary as a teacher of record in a public school in New Jersey. The state of NJ refers to these preparation programs as Certificate of Eligibility Educator Preparation Programs (CE-EPPs).

For individuals with existing science teacher certifications from other US states, or for those who are not U.S. citizens, there are other established pathways for becoming certified to teach science in NJ. See the NJDOE website for more details.

Regardless of the pathway you follow, all teachers must pass subject matter texts (currently Praxis Subject Assessments), a performance assessment (formerly the edTPA, but now each program has their own program), and two years in the Provisional Teacher Program and earn effective teaching ratings in their district's teacher evaluation system before being issued a NJ Standard certificate in their subject area.