Are you considering a teaching career? We have gathered together some useful facts about careers in education, together with information about teaching careers and salaries to help you make a career decision.

1. Teaching is a highly rewarding career

A career in teaching will give you the opportunity and privilege of making an impact on the next generation by giving them core education and skills, while building their self-esteem and confidence.

Your teaching can have a positive impact on the children you teach and on the society in which they live. You will have a transferable skill set which will allow you to work anywhere in the world, and in return for your efforts, you will receive a secure paycheck, job security, good benefits, opportunities for advancement, and most of all, great job satisfaction.

2. Lots of opportunities for advancement

There are many different career pathways and you can choose whichever suits you. Teaching qualifications vary internationally, so you will need to research the requirements and options available in your location before you begin.

You may choose to obtain:

• Bachelor’s degree (BA) and post-graduate teaching certification
• International Baccalaureate (IB Certification) – A post-graduate teaching certification that is recognized internationally
• Master’s in Education (M.Ed) – A qualification for teachers who wish to advance to more senior positions in education. An M.Ed is essential if you want to reach a senior position in the field of education and increase your salary

The M.Ed. is a graduate-level program designed to train students for dynamic careers in education, childcare, and community leadership. The program gives you the opportunity to specialize in Elementary/Middle School Education or Secondary Education and excellent students will be given the opportunity to do an internship with International Baccalaureate schools.

An M.Ed will open up opportunities in senior and leadership positions in the education field and will give you a major advantage as you work your way up the ranks towards senior leadership roles.

According to Payscale, the average salary in the USA for an educator with a BA degree is $41,577 for an elementary school teacher, $45,055 for a high school teacher, and $46,402 for a middle school teacher.  In contrast, the average salary for an elementary school teacher with an M.Ed degree is $50,446, for a high school teacher $53,132, and for a middle school teacher $51,899.

An M.Ed. degree will also give you the opportunity to reach senior positions and to become a school principal once you have some experience under your belt.

The average salary for a school principal in the USA, according to Glassdoor, is $100,438.

3. Opens up a whole new world of diverse career choices

If you choose to enter into the field of education, you will have a host of choices and opportunities available to you. Below are some examples of the variety of career directions that you can take.

School Teacher

Early Childhood Education is the formal and informal education received from birth to age eight. It includes the parent-child relationship, baby, toddler, kindergarten, and early school years. This is a fundamental stage of development in which a child’s self-esteem, social skills, cognitive skills, and motor skills are being developed. An early childhood education teacher is responsible for helping children to develop these fundamental skills during these formative years through play, movement, discipline, and training.

An Elementary School Teacher teaches children between the ages of 5 to 11 (kindergarten to 6th grade) and a High School Teacher teaches children between the ages of 11 to 18.

TEFL Teacher

A TEFL Teacher teaches English to speakers of other languages. A TEFL teacher can teach anywhere in the world with a professional qualification and has the flexibility to live absolutely anywhere in the world and/or teach English online. If you want to travel the world, teaching English is the perfect way to earn money while you travel. There is a growing demand for TEFL teachers internationally due to the increasing need for international English education. In order to become a TEFL teacher, you will normally need a BA degree and a TEFL qualification. These courses vary internationally, and a selection of international TEFL/TESOL and CELTA teaching courses are available.

School Principal

A School Principal is responsible for school leadership, management, curriculum, administration, maintaining relationships with students, teachers, and parents, and upholding school discipline. In order to rise to the rank of school principal, a highly paid and highly respected position, you will need to have a Master’s of Education.

Special Education Teacher

A Special Education Teacher teaches children with cognitive, physical, and emotional impairments. This can include: autism spectrum disorders, visual, speech or hearing impairments, and developmental delays. As a result of today’s earlier diagnosis of disability and a lack of qualified teachers, special education is a field with growing demand. In order to enter this field, you will require a BA with a specialization in Special Education and/or a M.Ed.

Career Guidance Professional

A Career Guidance Professional gives students advice and provides them with information on career options and helps to guide them in the direction of their choice.

4. More vacation days than any other profession

One major advantage to working in the teaching profession is that you get more vacation days than any other profession.  If you have children, you will be able to spend time with them during their school vacation and will avoid the hassle or cost of childcare. Teaching is great for your work/life balance!

According to a survey by the UK Mental Health Foundation, when working long hours 27% feel depressed, 34% feel anxious and 58% feel irritable. A teaching day is shorter than an average 9-to-5 job with plenty of vacation days, keeping you physically and mentally healthy.

5. Opportunities to specialize in a subject or area of your choice

Teachers have so many opportunities to specialize and a variety of choices available to them. You can become a Special Education teacher and work with children with physical or cognitive disabilities or a Literacy teacher working with children or adults learning to read. If you love small children, the perfect choice would be to work as an Early Childhood teacher. You can work in a kindergarten or pre-kindergarten. If you excel in or enjoy a particular subject eg Math, Art, Music, Foreign Language, Science or English teacher, it will be a pleasure to teach it to others. If you have a particular hobby, like art or music, your hobby and skill can become your profession.

6. Teachers can change a child’s life

Teachers have the ability to guide, mentor, and provide a role model to children, as well as teach.  Children who have special educational needs, behavior or emotional difficulties can all be assessed, supported, and encouraged by a good teacher. This can, if done professionally and with empathy, change the child’s self-perception, self-esteem, behavior, social skills, and academic performance. A good teacher has the ability to change the direction of a child’s life by helping, supporting, and accurately assessing a child.

7. Enjoy workplace autonomy

Have your ever felt stifled in an office environment where you cannot use your creativity, your ideas, or make your own decisions?  Becoming a teacher gives you total independence and workplace autonomy by giving you the opportunity to shine by using all your creativity, inspiration, and ideas, and by making all your own decisions. You will no longer feel stifled, controlled, or micromanaged.

Workers with high levels of autonomy in their job also report higher job satisfaction, increased productivity and more happiness at work.  This is good news for teachers!

Choosing to go into the educational field can change your life by giving you a highly rewarding career with excellent benefits and a bright future. You can influence and change the life of a child by helping them reach their potential, increasing their self-esteem, building their confidence, and ultimately shaping their future.