[undertheironsea]

Okay, so I've got a stupid question for the general populace here in AR. I've talked about this with the college and fellow teachers, but I'd like the opinion of people in-state.

A year from now, I'll be done with my Bachelor's Degree in Middle Level Education after five years of school at Arkansas Tech. I'm a 23 year old man, I still live at home, because, well, it ain't worth it to live only 7 miles away from home and still pay for food, insurance, and rent. (And I'm a only child momma's boy. Sue me.) I'm considering going into either a Master of English or Master of History degree, both are 30 hours (I don't want to mess with the 36 hour Master of Ed--it's either Elementary or Secondary focus at Tech, both of which wouldn't be useful) I have a college fund, but that will SERIOUSLY cut it close. It will almost eat my parents' savings alive, especially since tuition is going up every semester.

I've got to tell you, I'm tired. And by December 2009, I'll be exhausted, especially after all that Praxis II's and internship. The GRE or MAT just adds more stress and worry to that load. I'm just bordering around a 3.1 GPA and not blowing the roof off in the grade department. But, a Masters degree gets me a pay raise (about 2-3K depending on the area) and a leg up on the competition. I planned on going right into graduate school in January 2010 and going full time until I completed the degree, not teaching or working at the same time.

But now, I'm wondering if it's worth all that extra money. I've been told by a couple other teachers that a Masters degree could present a budget problem for some schools. I'll have no teaching experience going out into the field, but a Masters and that's it....I've been told that the person with no Masters but at least a couple years might have the leg up on me since it costs less to employ that person. What's even stranger to me is that I'm looking at these classes, and none of them have over 2 or 3 people registered. Even classes last spring didn't have more than 3 people at the most. The only things I see people registered for are Teaching English as a Second Language classes--and I'm not really interested in that. Nor am I in Special Education. I also wonder, randomly, if my provisional teaching certificate will expire if I'm not in the classroom for two years.

I have an interest in places like Russellville, Harrison, Paragould, Batesville, Heber Springs, Clarksville, etc, etc. I'm sure that places like NWA have no problem with hiring Masters grads, but I am NOT interested in the area, but I wonder if places like the ones I've listed would have more problems. (I have no interest in towns above 18-20,000 anymore...the traffic in Russellville right now drives me crazy and no "you think it's bad..." comments...I'm from a farm in South Mississippi...I'm used to animals, not people, lol)

I also think about the economic troubles we're having. Would it be smart to go straight into the teaching field and secure a position immediately, and put up my earnings? Especially since we'll have to start selling body parts sooner or later just to pay for gas? I could have 40-50K in the bank if I stay at home and just teach instead of going to school, plus 1 1/2-2 years experience. My folks told me I could put every cent up if I wished to only teach. Even though my pay raise would be a couple thousand for a Masters, it would take a while of saving to have that kind of money in the bank. It would be a fantastic nest egg just in case the surprise of marriage or, GULP, a baby comes around when I'm 27, 28, and so on. It would definitely help for a down payment on a house after a couple years of apartment life.

So what do you think? I'm still 50/50 on this, so I'd like the opinions of those who are close to schools, or are teachers themselves. What do you think? Is it really worth the time, energy, and thousands of dollars?

ALSO: I forgot to mention the first time I sent this that I will be published at least once (they're telling me my second article was accepted too) in Middle Ground Magazine (National Middle School Assocation Publication.) I figure that adds at least a little to the resume.

[briansgi]

A masters in your profession will only gain you $2K per year, not worth it IMHO.

[undertheironsea]

Originally Posted by briansgi

A masters in your profession will only gain you $2K per year, not worth it IMHO.

You could be right.

After three years of teaching, if I'm not mistaken, they also pay for us to get National Board Certification and that gives us a bigger raise than a Masters.

[SwinerBock]

Teachers with Master's degrees will not exactly be beating down the doors to schools in towns such as you've mentioned (Clarksville, Harrison, etc). They will be wanting to get a monetary return for their educational investment, and will be heading to the large schools in NW Arkansas, private schools (such as Pulaski Academy, et al), and out-of-state to find that monetary return. I say get your foot in the door somewhere. Some places put more value on actual experience rather than a higher degree.

With that being said, if your goal in life is to be a teacher and nothing else, you may be ok, but if you desire to move up in the administrative ranks later on down the road, then you will be at a disadvantage.

I would suggest going ahead and getting a job, while pursuing a masters on the side at a leisurely pace. There are several schools that now offer online programs, so you don't necessarily need to reside in the same city as a college now.

[undertheironsea]

Originally Posted by SwinerBock

With that being said, if your goal in life is to be a teacher and nothing else, you may be ok, but if you desire to move up in the administrative ranks later on down the road, then you will be at a disadvantage.

.

I do want to eventually work in adminstration, but not sure if I want to extend that beyond Vice Principal. That's one of those decisions I know I can't make without having spent at least a couple years as a regular classroom teacher and finding out what it's REALLY all about.

[Huckleberry3911948]

no i dont think it is. there are vocational training programs cheaper and pay better.
my favorite RN entirely jr college or military with no student loans.
can be done in 3 years or less. i am very concerned about all these non dischargable big fat student loans that do not lead always to higher employment.

[J Arp]

That is a hell of a question. These are just my observations.

I am pretty sure you can teach with a masters at the college level can you not? I know quite a few instructors that don't have the Phd hanging on their wall so I assume they just have masters. If I was ever brave enough to teach I would definitely go for the college level.
As far as climbing up to vice principal or principal in public schools...the only people I have seen do that have been teachers in the trenches for years at the same district before they finally could move up after the former principal retired or died.

I think now the masters degree is almost the equivalent to what the bachelors was 10-20 years ago, but I'm not in the teaching field so I don't really know.

[undertheironsea]

Originally Posted by J Arp

I am pretty sure you can teach with a masters at the college level can you not? I know quite a few instructors that don't have the Phd hanging on their wall so I assume they just have masters. If I was ever brave enough to teach I would definitely go for the college level.

I've actually thrown that around in my head, but to be honest, I hate college kids. I'm around them for classes all day and the highlight of my day is shutting the car door before I hit the road to go home, haha. I'm more interested in dealing with late elementary (4th/5th, etc).

[Sam I Am]

I think Swinerbock has the right idea...get your foot in the door, get settled, and then pursue the Masters program if you wish. You may find a rural school that could help subsidize like they do for some medical professions - doctors, pharmacist, nurses...lots get some of their education paid for in return for teaching in a certain area for X number of years. I don't know that there's anything like that, but it's worth looking into. I can't imagine there's a run on teacher's slots in Dumas or anything.

FWIW, which isn't much, I had the 9 year college "professional" who turned the 4 year degree into the 6 year "art of education", then went to law school. He wanted to pursue an LLM in law but suffered burnout (I guess so, with 23 of his 28 years in school). Now he's too busy to go after it, not to mention hauling around a butt load of debt from law school at Michigan (we paid for undergrad), but he says he wishes he'd just done a spin down and continued on while he was still in learning mode.

On a personal note, don't kill your parent's savings...get loans and do it yourself. It's hell being 50 and cleaned out due to your progeny's education. You'll get to experience that one day as well. Ah, children....

[paramour]

Originally Posted by J Arp

I am pretty sure you can teach with a masters at the college level can you not? I know quite a few instructors that don't have the Phd hanging on their wall so I assume they just have masters. If I was ever brave enough to teach I would definitely go for the college level.

This depends upon the program and the university. For most colleges, they want a PhD, not a master's degree, for their professors. However, there are sometimes positions available, usually adjuncts, where they may consider someone with a master's degree. And, if you only want to teach at a 2-year college, then those institutions are a bit more flexible and may hire people with a master's (more than the traditional 4-year colleges). Unfortunately, even many of the 2-year colleges are now wanting people with doctorates, so you simply have to look around to see what's available (and sometimes how desperate the school is for an instructor).

Of course, as with anything, it always helps to know people. The university where I earned my master's from usually wants someone with a PhD for their instructors. However, they periodically allow graduates from their master's program to teach as adjuncts. These individuals often are in the community working in some other position and want to do something else on the side (like most adjuncts). The program already knows them and will give them the opportunity to teach a few courses each semester.