If you’re an educator or aspiring educator, you may wonder about the value of an advanced degree and how it could help to advance your career. While it’s true that a master’s in education often leads to a higher paycheck, it also offers a wealth of professional and personal advancement. We’ve rounded up some of the top ways earning a master’s in education, such as an MSEd, can make a positive impact on your life and the lives of your students.
The Top Five Reasons to Get Your Master’s in Education:
Reason 1: Master the Science of Teaching
All teachers—even veteran teachers—should invest in their own professional development. An online master’s in education, such as an MSEd or MAT, can help improve the skills of even the best educators by providing them with new or enhanced skills to engage with students at a higher level. When an educator possesses both subject expertise and critical instruction skills, students tend to be more engaged and ultimately perform better.
Reason 2: Develop Your Specialty
A master’s degree in education helps to establish your authority in the field, enabling you to develop instructional skills in a specific area of interest. Whether it’s learning how to teach a particular age group or creating a niche by integrating two areas of study, graduate degrees offer unique specializations to help achieve better student outcomes. Some popular specializations include Special Education, STEM Education, Reading and Literacy, Technology, and Teacher Leadership.
Reason 3: Transition into Administration
Earning a master’s in education is the first step toward transitioning into school administration. Administrators must understand the real classroom experience as well as leadership, curriculum development, and how to best engage students and parents. An on-campus or online master’s in education supplies the knowledge and credentials necessary to tackle the demands of this position. A popular degree to pursue for this career path is an MS in Education with a specialization in Educational Leadership and Administration.
Reason 4: Enter the Corporate or Nonprofit Sector
While many in the education field may not regularly think about it, the science of teaching can be applied outside the K–12 classroom. A master’s degree in education can prepare teachers to transition into the corporate or nonprofit sectors as training and development professionals.
Reason 5: Maximize Your Earnings
It’s a well-known fact that advanced degrees can lead to higher incomes. In fact, on average, a teacher with a master's degree earns between $2,760 - $7,358 more each year than those with a bachelor's degree.1 Some school districts even offer automatic wage increases for teachers with a master’s in education. Whether you decide to enroll in a campus-based or online degree program, holding a master’s in education can make you a top pick for promotions and other professional advancements.
Those wishing to learn more about the impact an advanced degree in education might have on your career should consider the results from an independent study, Master’s Degrees and Teacher Effectiveness
Walden University is an accredited institution offering a number of online master’s degrees in education. Expand your career options and earn your degree in a convenient, flexible format that fits your busy life.
1Source: https://www.nctq.org/blog/How-do-school-districts-compensate-teachers-for-advanced-degrees
Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission, www.hlcommission.org.