Teaching as a goal? (degree, demand, license, universities)

[Juiceblox]

I recently received my B.S. in mechanical engineering and finding a job in the field has proven extremely difficult. I never gave it thought until now, but making the goal to become a college or high school professor in the math/science area appeals to me. Are teachers or professors like this in demand? How helpful would a master's degree be if it is?

[kodaka]

For teaching a colleges and universities, a master's degree would be not just useful, but necessary.

For teaching at a college/university level, you will need the 'terminal degree' in the subject you want to teach. If you want to teach engineering, the terminal degree is a Master's degree. If you want to teach mathematics, the terminal degree is a Doctorate. In addition, most institutions will require you have a minimum number of teaching hours. You should be able to get some teaching hours through student teaching while in grad school. But you will probably need more hours than you can get just from student teaching. You do this by teaching at community and vocational colleges, or even non-credit adult development courses.

To teach at the high school level, a master's degree might be useful but might not be necessary.

Usually schools require that you have a bachelor's degree in the field that you want to teach, plus a teaching certificate. So if you want to teach engineering in vocational classes at the high school level, the master's probably wouldn't be required. But if you want to teach math, your bachelor's degree in engineering would likely not be enough; you would need to get a master's degree in mathematics first. The teaching certificate isn't too hard; you might need to take a prep course on teaching, and then you get a temporary or initial license which is good for a few years, during which time you must meet certain performance requirements, and then you are granted a professional teaching certificate.

[Eeyore1]

Getting a university position is extremely tight these days. Some positions have hundreds of people applying for them. It may be easier to find work at community colleges, but those positions are also becoming competitive. This all depends on your field, but it is tough out there!

[Juiceblox]

Thanks Kodaka and Eeyore1.

So if a masters in mathematics is necessary to teach math, even at high school level, will a masters in physics be needed if I want to teach physics?

[lhpartridge]

There are alternate certification routes in many states. As long as you have a bachelor's degree in something, you just have to have a minimum number of hours in a given subject, then take classes and participate in professional development during your probationary period.

A program that we have here is the Mississippi Teacher Corps, housed at the University of Mississippi. Participants are selected in a competitive process and receive a Master's degree in two years, along with a computer, for contracting for two years in a high-needs school, usually in the Mississippi Delta or in the inner city in Jackson. Participants take part in intensive summer training and week-end classes. I have been very impressed with the quality of the teachers who have been placed at our school.

Here is the link if you are interested:

Mississippi Teacher Corps

[HappyTexan]

Originally Posted by Juiceblox

Thanks Kodaka and Eeyore1.

So if a masters in mathematics is necessary to teach math, even at high school level, will a masters in physics be needed if I want to teach physics?

Really depends on the state.

Here in Texas you only need BS degree.
For math my BS in Engineering is sufficient as they require 24 credit hours of math and I have that from my BS.

You might want to check with your state guidelines for teaching and what is required.

[kodaka]

Usually schools require that you have a bachelor's degree in the field that you want to teach, plus a teaching certificate. So if you want to teach engineering in vocational classes at the high school level, the master's probably wouldn't be required. But if you want to teach math, your bachelor's degree in engineering would likely not be enough; you would need to get a master's degree in mathematics first.

I just wanted to clarify my own statement. I reread what I wrote earlier and realized I wasn't really clear. I wasn't trying to say that you need more education to teach math than engineering. I was trying to say that you need education in the subject you want to teach. If your undergraduate degree is in another field, rather than obtain another undergrad degree, the logical step would be to obtain a graduate degree in that other field. There may be alternate types of additional training as others mentioned, but the point is, merely having an undergraduate degree in any subject doesn't usually qualify you to teach any other subject, even if those subjects are somewhat related.