Education

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Choosing which level to teach at early in a college career can make key differences in a professional one.
Here are some important factors to consider:

Pay and Benefits
Pay and benefits for primary and secondary teachers is reported to start around $31,000 and the median salary is around $50,000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The top 10% earn on average between $75,000 and $80,000.

Postsecondary educators do see a small hike in median salary – it’s about $58,000 – but the scale is much wider. The middle 50% ranges from about $41,000 to almost $84,000. Rank, subject, and geographic location all influence these numbers, which are also factors to think about.

Credentials
Postsecondary teaching might come with slightly higher average salaries, but that’s because there is a distinction in the college investment. Primary and secondary schools typically call for a bachelor’s degree in education and in some cases a master’s.

College professors on the other hand are typically required to hold a doctoral degree, which can take anywhere from three to eight years of additional education, dependent on course study.

The important thing to consider here is not only what you’ll be paid after college, but the amount of time (and tuition) you’re going to spend getting there.

Job Scope
While there is no list long enough to describe exactly what teachers do every day, these are a few important pieces of the nature of their work that can help you in choosing which level to teach.

Primary Teachers (Kindergarten – elementary school)

• Work each day with young children
• Play a vital role in different stages of development
• Teach many subjects
• Teach one group of students each day

Secondary Teachers (middle school – high school)

• Work each day with teenagers
• Build upon foundational concepts and introduce more ideas
• Specialize in a single subject area
• Teach many different groups of students each day

Postsecondary Teachers (college)

• Work each day with young and middle aged adults
• Specialize in a single subject area
• Teach many different groups of students each day
• Can opt to work in research in addition to, or instead of teaching

The Classroom Ages
In addition to weighing the work environment, it’s important to consider the age of your future students. For example, working with young children can be extremely rewarding, but it also requires patience. If you have a desire to stimulate the minds of youth, remember that there will be minds on occasion that don’t want to be stimulated. As a college professor you won’t face these kinds of issues necessarily, but remember, in order to become one you must put forth the biggest initial investment.

These are all important aspects to teaching that should be weighed against each other. Ask yourself questions like “Do I want to work with kids every day?” and “Would I prefer teaching one subject or many?” Write down your answers – it will make you truly focus on what you’re thinking and reveal which factors are most important to you and your quest for choosing which level to teach.

Salary figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

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The day to day demands of a career in teaching have evolved along with the rest of the world, in ways that can make the teacher’s life both more satisfying and more challenging. Many of the old-time learning methods of rote memorization and drills have given way to classroom and multimedia tools designed to help students think in abstract terms and develop critical through processes.

But for every teacher, career skills that have been used to centuries also remain important. It’s as important as ever that a teacher have a good knowledge of the subject or subjects being covered in class, an understanding of how children at different ages think and learn, strong communication skills both for dealing with students and their parents, and an ability to plan out a variety of engaging lesson plans.

“A master can tell you what he expects of you. A teacher, though, awakens your own expectations.”
– Patricia Neal

You can learn the basic tactics of how to work in a classroom environment, including student motivation, testing methods and dealing with learning disabilities, in an accredited teaching degree program. But intangibles like creativity and an enjoyment of getting up in front of a class and performing can also serve you well in a career in teaching. Finally, one thing that never changes is the need for a teaching professional to be able to control a large classroom.

Starting Out
Although many teachers change their specialties as they grow and advance, it can be helpful to start your journey in teaching by thinking about what level you want to teach at. The four key areas today are:

• Pre-school & kindergarten, where teachers use storytelling, games, arts and other somewhat less structured approaches to give young children their first exposure to basic concepts of vocabulary and mathematics, and a very important early understanding of getting along socially.
• Elementary school, where one teacher generally covers a variety of subjects (sometimes acting as a team mate with another teacher), and increases student’s ability to work and learn more rapidly as they move from one grade to another.

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“I touch the future. I teach.” – Christa McAuliffe

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• Middle school and high school, where the teacher will generally specialize in a single topic that he or she has an in-depth knowledge of. Teachers at this level begin to teach subjects that are career-oriented, or which will help students get into a college program. Middle school, in particular, is an area where a teacher who can effectively deal with teenagers is extremely valuable.
• Special education. Recent “No Child Left Behind” and other rules have put much more responsibility on schools to educate children effectively, regardless of whether they come with special challenges or special skills. As a result, special ed teachers are in demand to teach children with learning disabilities of many different types, and, at the other end of the spectrum, to provide advanced teaching for high-performing students.

Teacher Career Requirements
Every state in the U.S. requires public school teachers to have certification or a license to teach (private schools often do not require this). The rules differ from state to state, but generally speaking, to get started in your career in teaching, you need certification in the particular area you will be working in: elementary, early childhood, K–12 or special ed. A bachelors degree will, in most cases, provide you with certification upon graduating. Make sure, however, that you will be certified in the state you intend to teach in. If your school doesn’t give you a teaching certificate, you will probably be required to take a state certification test before you can even apply for a teaching job.

“To me the sole hope of human salvation lies in teaching.” – George Bernard Shaw

Teaching certificates can be a complex matter, because pay scales are often tagged to the specific level of your certification. In New York State, for example, a new teacher out of school will receive an “initial certificate,” based on completing certain specific classes in a college bachelor degree program. (An associates degree can qualify you to teach certain career-skill classes in New York such as cosmetology and auto repair). Working teachers are then required to perform a certain number of paid teaching hours and take certain specific training courses within five years to receive the more advanced “professional certificate.” Failure to complete this work in five years can result in you losing your certification to teach, though it is possible to apply for a time extension. Finally, New York also issues temporary certificates to teachers who specialize in subjects it’s hard to find qualified teachers. Your state government can provide certification rules for your state.

Master’s in Education
A masters degree can be helpful in terms of distinguishing you from other teaching job applicants. It isn’t necessarily required for employment in many schools, but the school district may require you to be in the process of getting your masters degree to continue teaching there long term.

There are well over 4 million teachers in the U.S. today, and opportunities are expected to grow in the field as the population continues to grow. For the aspiring teacher, career opportunities should only get better in the coming decades.

“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.” – Antoine de St. Exupery

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By Susan Ott
Many teachers who decide to go back to school for an advanced degree to move up the proverbial career ladder into a position as an administrator. Principals and vice principals form the largest group of administrators, but there are other senior jobs involved in the management of a school or district that involve dealing with organizational, procedural and financial decisions.

While not all teachers want to move into this type of work, there are benefits to a job as an administrator for those whose strengths fit the job description. Number one on the list of many who chose this career path is money. Administrators almost always make more money than teachers. Other benefits include: getting out of the classroom to make decisions that affect the whole school, having control over policies you see as beneficial based on your teaching experience, and, for some, getting away from constant interaction with students and becoming more of a business manager instead.

What Degree Do I Need?
Both a master’s degree can often qualify you for a position in administration, though some candidates also get a doctorate before trying this type of career move. It just depends on how much education you already have and how much more you want to earn. While the names of the degrees vary, most contain the words “administration,” “leadership” or “policy” within their descriptions.

Some common master’s and doctorate degrees that can qualify you for administration include:

• M.Ed. Administration
• M.Ed. Education & Public Policy
• M.Ed./Ph.D. Educational Leadership
• M.Ed. Instructional Leadership
• M.Ed. Teacher Leadership

What Courses Will I Take?
It’s important to be aware that almost all school administrators start out as teachers. That’s because it’s necessary to understand the unique challenges of the classroom before you take a position instituting policies that affect teachers and students. When you go through a graduate degree program for administration, however, the courses are usually a hybrid of educational policy & practice topics mixed with courses you’d find in a business management program.

Also be aware that most states require public school principals to have a school administrator license in addition to the proper degree(s). This is not something you earn during your master’s or doctoral program; rather, you must get tested separately by the state to earn your license. Some states require supervised on-the-job training as well. Private school principals usually do not have to meet this additional requirement. Even though it’s not a part of your coursework, your school advisor should be able to guide you through exactly which steps to take.

Your courses for this type of degree will most likely include variations of the following:

• School Leadership
• Educational Finance
• Education Law
• History of Education
• Curriculum Development and Improvement
• Educational Management (both business & financial)
• Cross Cultural/Racial Instructional Evaluation
• Educational Technology
• Instructional/Teacher Supervision

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Going back to school to get a teacher’s master’s degree is something many educators pursue during the course of their careers. Not only can obtaining a master’s result in a salary increase, but it can help professionally as well, opening doors to new and different career opportunities.

Earning a master’s of education online can be the most economical and convenient approach for teachers continuing to teach while they go back to school. And while teaching master’s degrees from some online schools require supervised classroom work (often called “verified field experiences”), there is generally no travel required to the actual college — all your classes are taken online. Programs of this type have grown in popularity, and there are now online master’s degrees across many majors including curriculum and instruction, math or English teaching, counseling, administration and special ed.

Save Time
Teaching is a huge job, which goes way beyond a traditional forty-hour workweek. From planning lessons and units to holding conferences and grading papers, teachers put in many hours in addition to their daily school schedules. So for many educators, going back to school can seem like an impossibility; but choosing to complete your master’s online will save you precious time and be more convenient than attending a physical school.

Instead of wasting hours commuting and sitting in classes, going to school online is as simple as turning on your computer. You can work and study at your own pace, from work or home, whenever you have the time. The convenience of being able to do some school work during a prep period, lunch break, or between school and conferences or after school activities is a big bonus. Many programs can be completed in as little as 12 or 18 months, depending on the pace you choose for your degree. Or, you may elect to take a bit longer to get your degree but complete your coursework during the summer months when you’re off, allowing you to do more classes at a time.

Save Money
For many teachers, a master’s degree takes a lot of extra money that they just don’t have. Not only can tuition and books be expensive, the gas money to commute and the expense of food on the go as you travel from your teaching job to your night classes can really add up. However, many online graduate programs can significantly cut these costs, making going back to school affordable, even on a teacher’s salary. Also, with teaching comes a lot of perks in many school districts. You may be able to get a very low-interest loan through your teachers’ credit union that you could pay off with the pay increase you receive upon graduation. You can also check with your state and the federal government for programs that cancel some or all of student loan debt for those who use their degree to teach for a certain number of years afterwards (the federal Stafford Loan Forgiveness Program for Teachers is one).

Avoid Burnout
Since teaching requires face-to-face interaction with other people all day long, having to attend classes with even more people can be a challenge. Many teachers just want to come home and relax in peace at the end of the day instead of answering more questions. Online graduate school is a great solution to this problem, since you can learn in the comfort of your own home, in your pajamas if you wish. By being able to fit school into your life, you can avoid feeling completely depleted, with nothing left to give. If you’ve had a long, stressful day, you can choose not to “do school,” and save the work for the next day or the weekend when you have more time and energy. The choice is yours. And since your job requires constant interaction with students, colleagues and parents, online schooling can provide a welcome relief by allowing you to learn and study quietly, without having to assert and defend yourself in yet another classroom setting.

Reach Your Goals
Obtaining a master’s of education degree means that you’re even more qualified than before, which can open up new and better career opportunities and also means a pay increase, even if you choose to stay in your current position. Therefore, earning a master’s can mean greater financial security, which is a huge benefit for all of your hard work.

Unlike other jobs in which raises can be subjective, public school teaching automatically increases pay for each year you work and each credential you earn (many private schools also increase pay for credentials, though the scale may be less objective). Think of the pay scale as a large chart: across the top is a list of degrees, from bachelor’s (required) to PhD, and down the left-hand column is the number of years’ experience. A new teacher with zero years’ experience and only a bachelor’s degree starts in the top left-hand corner, at the lowest pay. For every year you teach, the pay increases down the first column, and when you add a graduate degree, the pay increases across the chart as well. This means you can dramatically increase your earning potential when you obtain a teacher’s graduate degree.

And if you’re hoping to branch out beyond the traditional classroom or into new subject areas, a master’s in education online can help you do that. Whether your goal is to teach a new grade or subject, become a specialist or move into administration, a master’s degree can aid you in achieving it in a way that’s convenient for you, allowing you to keep teaching while you go back to school without losing your mind in the process.