a question

[barnell09]

As you all know, i want to be a teach and im currently in the tenth grade. Well i was wondering which you thought would be best getting my B.A. and going straight to grad school, or getting my B.A and going straight into teaching, i will start going to grad school part time during my first year as a teacher. Luckly a masters is not required for teachers in louisiana

[jstbeachy]

In my opinion--had I had time to do it I would have gone straight to grad school. I swore I would work on my Masters my first year....this is my third since getting my BA. Problem is that a first year teacher has a TON on thier plate and time for school is very limited. It really would burn you out quickly.

However, you need to do what fits your lifestyle and time the best.

Hope that helps a little.

[RhotnSped]

If you can afford it... I would go ahead and get the Masters. It makes a big difference (at least here) in the pay. This coming from a 10th year teacher that just has a BS. :) I keep saying I am going back to school.. but time just isnt in my favor yet... Good Luck!

[TeacherRW]

In my opinion, you should get your BA and then look towards obtaining a full-time teaching position. Once you are teaching, you should look towards your masters. Why do I say this? There are some master's programs that require that you have actual classroom experience before being accepted. While doing my master's degree, we had several projects/assignments that we had to apply to our classroom or situational studies in which your experiences came into light. Additionally, I look at marketability. Which is a district more likely to hire a first-year candidate with only a BA degree with a starting pay of $30K or a first-year candidate with a MA degree with a starting pay of $35K? All things being equal except for the degree... I am thinking that the district will hire the "cheaper" candidate.

Once you have your teaching position, you can always take classes towards your MA. In some districts, there is a monetary compensation variance between teachers having a BA and a MA. My district pays about $3K more per year if you have a Master's.

[mscalculus]

Hello,
I'm a college freshman nad I had that exact same question in my mind. I would reccomend getting your B.A. and going str8 to grad school to get the MA/credential. You'll start at a higher pay and you'll be more prepared. Also, I don't think it would be a good idea to enter a Master's program while you're teaching. The first couple of years of teaching are very difficult (so I've heard) and to succeed you really have to give it 110%. There are alot of grants, scholarships, and loans for graduate students, esp. teachers. So you shouldn't let money be the deciding factor here. Hope that helped.

Best of Luck

[chemfemme]

Barnell -- not all states pay teachers more for a master's degree -- if you plan to teach in LA, find out first before you spend the time and money! TX used to, but does not any more. :(

[aelliott]

Not sure. I am currently a junior, and I'm thinking instead to go to be Board Certified instead of grad school..

[iteachsocialstudies]

Alot of schools will pay for your Master's...keep that in mind. Maybe start asking some of the districts where you want to teach at. Mine will pay for most of my Masters if I want to get it. It's really tough to teach and go to school at the same time (believe me, I've been doing it for 3 years), but if you're motivated and have few distractions (married? kids? etc) then it's doable. Plus, it's only a few years of your life. It ends eventually.

[sara52345]

I'd definitely wait until the end of your junior year to make this decision... think it all over carefully, you don't want regrets!

[mkreher]

I completely agree with chemfemme.....do your homework first. it might not be worth it. I'm also from tx and the diffence in pay is very little and to go along with what teacherRW said...I have heard of some people getting turned down because they had their master's here in texas because there was plenty of people with just a bachelor's...they don't want to spend more if they don't need to

[teacher333]

I would go straight into teaching, as many Districts will reimburse you for going to graduate school if you maintain a B average. This way I feel you have the experience to refer to in order to complete a lot of the grad work and it is not just "book knowledge" but actual hands on experience.