Advice: Master's programs vs. Master's in Teaching (career, degrees, business)

[Chanteuse d' Opéra]

Hi everyone, so I post pretty frequently here on C&U/Education forums. I am currently an English major with a concentration in American Literature. However, I am graduating next May (2010) & am looking to go to graduate school as soon as I complete my undergraduate career. I'm supposed to be taking the GRE in the fall...I have considered working after college but I would much rather get my Master's out of the way.

Anyway, I have considered being a teacher for a very long time & have been researching the M.A.T. (Master of Arts in Teaching program), however I have read that it is much more difficult to become an entry-level teacher with a master's versus an entry-level teacher with only a BA. The reason the M.A.T. is so attractive to me is because it is mostly a 1-yr program that rewards you w/ your teaching license & master's degree. My first question is: would you recommend the M.A.T. over an ACP (alternative cert program).

Furthermore, I am also highly interested in humanities & the social sciences & would eventually like to teach in a higher ed environment so I would also like to get a Master's in something I equally enjoy (I really like Sociology!). So I have also considered getting a Master's in Sociology as well but I know that this would take two years. The main objective for me is to finish my Master's ASAP. A family friend of mine graduated from Duke, went to UPenn right afterwards to finish her Master's & now she is a second-grade teacher.

So all in all I would like to teach & I am looking for advice on whether or not to obtain an M.A.T. (which I believe would be beneficial in the long run) or just obtain a regular Master's & go through Alternative certification instead? Perhaps, getting my Master's & doing Alt Cert at the same time?

Thanks for your help.

[skipcromer]

What school is offering you the M.A.T in one year?

Most schools will allow you to be eligible for your certification after one year, but then you must complete coursework after that to obtain the master's.

[Synergy1]

Originally Posted by Chanteuse d' Opéra

Hi everyone, so I post pretty frequently here on C&U/Education forums. I am currently an English major with a concentration in American Literature. However, I am graduating next May (2010) & am looking to go to graduate school as soon as I complete my undergraduate career. I'm supposed to be taking the GRE in the fall...I have considered working after college but I would much rather get my Master's out of the way.

Thanks for your help.

I would believe the alternative cert. would help most because doesn't it hold more weight? Look into your work paying or chipping in to your higher degrees...

[Mrs. 14th & You]

What's your undergrad degree going to be in?

If your goal is to teach, you might want to graduate and try teaching if possible. I saw this for two reasons: (1) Six years after earning my undergraduate degree in management and business I decided it was not at all what I wanted to do. I am so glad that I did not pursue the MBA I was convinced I was going to get when I graduated from college. (2) Teaching has a very high rate of attrition. Many teachers leave the profession after two years. This doesn't mean you shouldn't pursue it (I'm getting my M.Ed right now), but you might want to spend time in a classroom to make sure it's what you want to do.

I'm just curious why it's your goal to get your master's ASAP. Even in the one-year programs, the energy and time expense is considerable. Before you make that investment, you are best off if you know you are pursuing the field that will suit you best.

[TabulaRasa]

I would highly recommend taking some time working in the classroom before you commit to an education-related graduate degree.

[sandycat]

The pay thing is pretty much balony. I got my undergrad degree in Psychology and then went on to an MAT program. The pay for an entry level BA teacher normally isn't that much less than an entry level MA teacher. It looks good for schools to have teachers with higher degrees. I doubt you will have trouble finding a job based soley on the pay factor. It will depend on where you are looking for a teaching job and what your specialty is. Elementary teachers are a dime a dozen, but depending on the area, you could easily find a job. Yes, you should test the waters first to see if you want to teach. It's a totally consuming job, hard work, but fun and rewarding. Summers off rule, but when you're on, you're on. It's a hard job. Good luck.

[violent cello]

I went to grad school for a degree not in education, taught a bunch of classes while I was there, and did the alternative certification after that. Teaching in grad school gave me a ton of experience with being in a classroom and made me realize that I could do it, and so I was more confident in getting my alternative certification because I knew what being in a classroom would be like.

If you still have a huge interest in the subjects you majored in, do a Master's in one of those. Chances are you'll teach at some point, and you'll be teaching a subject you love. I taught about 350 different students during my MA. I had huge advantages during the alt. cert. process because I'd already been in front of a class, many of the other people hadn't

[violent cello]

Originally Posted by sandycat

Summers off rule, but when you're on, you're on. It's a hard job. Good luck.

Heh, summers off drove me crazy! I took a second, low-stakes job just to keep busy. I guess I'm a creature of routine. Plus, you know, the pay...