What Can You Do With An Education Degree?
SaveCheck out this article if you are thinking about studying education for either your undergraduate or graduate degree.
Education is a field of study that is often not covered in K-12 education. However, it is a historically popular field to study at both the undergraduate and graduate level. A curriculum for education majors can vary between programs and schools. Still, most curricula will focus on how to teach, including best practices and strategies, different social and geographical contexts of teaching and learning, and child development. There are a variety of focuses you can bring to your curriculum, such as a focal population or an emphasis on technology or entrepreneurship. If you are just starting to think about studying education for either your undergraduate or graduate degree, keep in mind that some universities may offer classes on education, but they may not necessarily have a fully developed major for either or both the undergraduate or graduate level.
A (Very) Brief History
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, education accounts for about 4% of college degrees. This has decreased significantly over the past two decades, where 8% of college degrees in the 2000-2001 school year and 21% of college degrees in the 1970-1971 school year were in education. However, the importance of and need for trained educators has only increased. While the COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the systemic issues and undervaluing of teaching, such as insufficient pay, guidance, and support, you can still do a lot of necessary and important work with an education degree. While the percentage of bachelor's degrees in education has decreased, almost 20% of master's degrees in the 2020-2021 school year were in education. This shows that students want to further their learning in the field of education for professional purposes and personal development. The goal of this article isn't to try to convince you to major in or study education, but to open the doors to what is possible career-wise with the skills you gain from either a bachelor's or master's degree in education.
Career Options
A teaching career is what most people think of when they think of education majors. This is one of the more straightforward paths and with the current teacher shortage, a career that is in high demand. Teachers of color, both men and women, are also particularly needed in the field. If you plan on becoming a teacher and you have a specific focus within education, such as literacy or ESL, find a way to gain these certificates either through school or you may have them paid for through other organizations, such as Teach for America or working at a university.
If you know that teaching isn't your calling, but you still want to work directly with children in schools, there are still plenty of other career or job opportunities. For example, you can work towards becoming a paraprofessional, school librarian, or a counselor within a school. You can also work in higher education. Job opportunities can span across administrative roles, working in student services and support, and academic advising within universities. Finally, adult education is often overlooked, but there are opportunities to work with adults on the GED, literacy skills, and work with hard-to-reach adults.
Educating is hard work. More and more organizations have come to value the skill of educating and training groups of people. Most jobs require some kind of training, and, more importantly, someone to do that training. Both for— and non-profits alike are often hiring for managerial, training, and HR roles where you can transfer your teaching skills. Moreover, these types of jobs are usually in a better financial position to pay you a higher salary than traditional teaching roles. There are countless of educational non-profit organizations with diverse goals, focuses, and populations served. You can also play a variety of roles within these organizations. You may wish to work on the ground with students in a youth-serving afterschool program. These educator roles typically provide more flexibility than working in a school. Or you may wish to work at a level above teaching and consult for the many organizations that are creating curriculum, guidance, and technology for educators in the classroom.
If you're particularly interested in early childhood education, working in childcare settings may be a good fit. Similarly, you can think more broadly about education and youth development and the role a teacher could play in other contexts. For example, you can be a sports coach, arts teacher, or lead other extracurricular activities with youth.
Considering Further Education
Finally, if you are frustrated at the state of education and wish to make an impact with research, a Ph.D. or Ed.D. may be for you. Most doctorate programs in education have a range of studies within education, with the emphasis of conducting research. You can choose whichever entry point you feel most passionate about and equipped to make an impact in the field, such as curriculum on a specific subject, teacher education, higher education, special education, bilingual education, art education, the sociology of education, and more. Even if you didn't study education for your undergraduate degree, graduate programs are typically open to all types of social science backgrounds. You will just need to make the case that earning a graduate degree in education will help you towards your long-term career goals. Further, in most cases a Ph.D. or Ed.D. is needed to teach at the college level or above. Similarly, an Ed.D. will be helpful if you want to pursue an educational leadership position, such as a principal or superintendent.
Though our society has failed to sufficiently value the role of teachers and the skills of educating, there is a lot of good work one can do with a background and training in education. Teaching is a transferable skill that can span between the public and private sector and almost all fields. Learning to teach well is also a lifelong skill — clearly communicating with different groups of people, whether it's through writing or verbally, is a critical skill for all domains of life. You can also make an education degree work for you through your other interests, skills, and passion. You are definitely needed in this field!
Melissa Ortiz
Melissa has ten years of experience working in research and administration in several nonprofits and higher education institutions. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from Loyola Marymount University and her M.S. in Education from the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education.Articles & Advice
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