A Master's Degree in Education is a postgraduate degree people are eligible to obtain after obtaining a Bachelor's of Science in Education degree. Attainment of this credential qualifies educators to pursue counseling, educational technology, education policy, administration, organizational leadership and special education positions.

Degree/Specialty Categories

Familiarize yourself with job descriptions. Master's degree holders in: - elementary education learn and develop creative ways to teach young children basic math, language, science and social studies skills. - secondary education study how to help students continue to master skills they learned in the primary grades and may offer counseling in choosing colleges or supervise extracurricular activities. - special education master techniques to teach students with learning disabilities and may teach behavioral skills to help these students adapt to a variety of social situations. - education administration study how to develop or supervise "educational activities in schools, colleges, universities, businesses, institutions, museums, community organizations, and more," the WorldwideLearn Web site explains. - curriculum development master the ability to evaluate existing curricula, suggest changes, evaluate textbooks and other educational materials and teach educators how to use them. - higher education learn about leadership and administration at colleges, universities and trade schools. Other jobs outside the walls of academe also attract master's degree holders, including state-level departments of education, national educational nonprofit organizations and government agencies that focus on education policy and funding issues, Gradview.com points out.

Income Potential

Crunch the numbers. People with master's degrees in education earn, on average, up to $9,000 more per year than those without the credential. And, although teachers' salaries have lagged behind those in other professions--median incomes for teachers are in the mid $40,000 range--the National Education Association's lobbying efforts are pushing starting salaries closer to that level in many states. Average baseline salary for teachers is $49,026, U.S. News and World Report says. And teachers' salaries are expected to increase by 20 percent by 2018, WorldwideLearn reports. States are competing with each other for qualified teachers as well. Florida's Brevard County is offering $2,000 for qualified teachers to sign contracts; Utah is offering $5,000 in signing bonuses and Oklahoma will pay the cost of aspiring teachers' tuition if they agree to work in a particular area for a specific time period. There's also a strong demand for teachers to travel overseas to teach the children of Americans stationed abroad, U.S. News points out.

Demand

Teachers are needed in a variety of disciplines, and the demand is certain to grow extensively over time. "Between now and 2015, American elementary and secondary schools are expected to need 280,000 new math and science teachers," U.S, News and World Reports says. The Labor Department has estimated that an additional 2 million teachers will be needed over the next decade and, nationally, the need for elementary school teachers is expected to grow by 14 percent; that for college educators by 23 percent. Twenty percent more special education teachers will also be needed.

Source:

US News & World Report

WorldwideLearn

Gradview

Resource:

National Education Association: teacher income/incentives