Are you someone who is considering a career in teaching?
Well, it’s a career that is often high up on the young aspirants list. A recent survey on the Gen Z generation reveals that teaching takes the 5th spot amongst the top 10 of their dream jobs. However, 59% of the educational vacancies are hard to fill and there is a drop of 20% in the new aspirants who want to become a teacher.
So how do you leave a meaningful impact on your career as a teacher?
There are many reasons why your education doesn’t have to end with a bachelor’s degree, regardless of your objectives. Take into account these seven factors to understand how a college education might significantly influence your teaching profession.
Top 7 Reasons Why Higher Education Is Fruitful
The field of education is always progressing and changing. Hence, pursuing degree courses to enhance your qualifications can allow you to gain better and high-paying prospects.
Other reasons include:
1. It Is Necessary To Jumpstart Your Teaching Career
Almost certainly, a bachelor’s degree is required to become a qualified public school teacher. While secondary school teachers normally require a degree in the subject area they wish to teach, primary school teachers typically need a degree in elementary education. Secondary school instructors sometimes double major in both their field of study and teaching.
After completing your bachelor’s degree, you could require a master’s degree or higher depending on what you want to accomplish as a teacher. With any luck, your baccalaureate degree will help you better understand where and how you want to go as a teacher, allowing you to plan out any necessary future steps.
2. It Can Lead To Better Salaries
As per the Teacher Contract Database of the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), 88% of sizable school districts compensate their master’s degree-holding teachers more. The extra compensation only rises with time because more than half of those districts—exactly 63%—pay more by years of expertise. A set supplementary stipend is provided by the remaining universities. Many instructors make more money with a higher degree, even though that might not be the case where you live and work.
There are several master’s degree options available to you, including those in curriculum and instruction, teaching, education, and teaching. Acquiring a postgraduate degree might prove to be a valuable financial investment, perhaps augmenting your justly earned salary as an educator.
3. It Can Make You A Better Teacher
Acquiring a second degree may broaden your understanding and proficiency, regardless of the subject you study—teaching or education in general. Creating classes, supervising students, communicating with parents, tracking student progress, and other topics are all included in teaching degrees. These abilities may increase your self-assurance in the classroom and help you become a more knowledgeable and productive teacher.
A master’s degree pushes teachers to think critically about their current teaching practices and allows them to engage with new ideas. Each of our students has a distinct learning experience, and we must have the tools and expertise to accommodate their various learning preferences.
4. You Can Create A More Meaningful Impact
Ultimately, the success of your pupils is a direct result of your performance in the classroom. While an advanced degree does not guarantee superior teaching, it certainly can do so. You can make a bigger difference in your student’s education and life when you have additional resources and expertise at your disposal as a result of your degree.
This can also be seen in less obvious ways. For instance, a fourth-grade teacher with a literacy specialization or degree may be more equipped to assist their 10-year-old pupils who are having difficulty reading than a teacher without additional training.
Teachers will be able to design lessons that support the achievement of all of my diverse learners with a qualification in education. To provide every student with access to a just and equitable classroom, educators need to gain knowledge on how to differentiate instruction, evaluate and apply curricula, and develop a range of evaluations.
5. You Learn Specialized Skills
You may learn new skills from a higher education that will affect the kinds of jobs you can apply for. Pursuing a focus in educational administration, for instance, may open doors for one to advance beyond the classroom and assume leadership roles within schools or districts.
Even while a master’s degree may not be necessary for some specialized positions, earning one, only broadens your options for what you may achieve as a teacher. If you’d prefer to work as an ESL or literacy specialist than a regular classroom teacher, an advanced degree might be just what you need to complement your current training and land these sorts of jobs.
6. It Can Create Better Networking Opportunities
Any degree program will eventually bring you into touch and need ongoing connection with other students, instructors, advisors, and other support personnel. In the job market, having a network of individuals in similar fields to you may be very helpful. For example, a professor might write a recommendation letter for you or a colleague from the university could provide a reference for you.
Whether this is your first teaching position or you have years of experience in the profession, alumni groups may also be a great place to network and many of them provide career services to assist you find your next post.
There are also a ton of fraternities and groups with an emphasis on education, whose major goal is to establish a network of contacts and resources for aspiring teachers. You will undoubtedly find that you have more opportunities open to you when you have more contacts.
7. There Are Several Degree Types Available
There is no doubt that educators should think about returning to school to earn a degree. There are a plethora of education degrees available, including those focused on technology, leadership, or certain subject areas. It’s possible that you already know what you want to study, but one major reason why working instructors might be reluctant to pursue a second degree is the difficulty of finishing it while employed.
With the variety of learning styles available today, you’re sure to find something that fits within your schedule, just like she did. There are also different ways to obtain a degree, such as online, asynchronous, in a community college, or a university classroom.
Achieve Your Dream Career With Degree Courses
Taking up the role of a teacher may be very fulfilling. Many individuals who have completed an MA in Teaching feel fortunate to work in a field that allows them to impact future generations and give back to the community, as it can truly give one a feeling of success.