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What is your end goal? That’ll help me to know if the masters is worth it for your destination.
I got a masters degree for the pay only. It is a $40,000 difference in my district where I am on our pay scale.
If I only had a bachelors degree I would max out at $60K after 10 years. Having a masters (+90) doesn’t make me max out until year 20.
Pro
You're asking about a master's in education, and I answered for that in a comment above (short answer: probably worth it unless you're close to retirement, but check your contract to make sure there's a pay bump attached).
But have you thought about another master's? Schools will usually give the same pay bump for a master's in counseling, curriculum, or educational administration, and one of those would also offer a route out of the classroom if you ever decide that's something you're looking for, while still staying in education. Even if you can't imagine wanting to get out of teaching now, it can make sense to keep your options open for later in your career.
Pro
If it doesn't come with a pay bump, the ONLY point in doing it would be to get a degree that lets you exit the classroom. No point otherwise.
Rising Star
My bachelor's isn't in education. I got my teaching cert in a master's program, and after certification, there was only a class or two more to get the master's. Definitely worth the pay bump. Got a post-master's degree to enable a move into admin, and that came with a significant pay bump, so mine have been worth it.
Look at the pay bump a master's brings with it, and look at the cost. Then think about how much longer you're going to be teaching. If a master's gets you $5K a year and you plan to teach another 20 years, that's $100K. In my district, the difference from bachelor's to master's is about $5K at the bottom of the pay scale and about $10K at the top, so it's probably going to pay for itself unless someone is near the end of their career.
But you need to look at what a master's will get YOU, and whether it's worth it in your situation.
In MA, you have to have a masters to keep your license. You can teach for 5 years with your bachelors, then you have to get the Masters. I wish it wasn’t necessary- I earned my M.Ed, but I am still working toward paying off the loan I had to take out to go back to school for it. I have not seen the benefit of the degree- there is a pay increase, but you have to get a CAGS to really make more money, at least in my district.
It's required in my state. Otherwise I would say its probably not worth it.
After pondering the question, I decided that overall, there have been many more pros than cons. Go for it!
Differs from state to state. Strong state teachers’ union, yes… others, not so much.
I got my master's degree after two years of teaching. It cost me, at the time, about 11 grand. Each year, my salary schedule has increased with raises, and now moving over to the master's column gets me about an extra 5 grand a year. So, for 30 years (not including retirement), I've netted over 150K. Well worth it. Has it actually helped in my day to day teaching? No, but it didn't hurt it. Do it for the money alone and play the game of your salary schedule. It's a no brainer.
I'm not a teacher, but social workers must have a Master's degree if they want to work in the school system
Seek grant money, district tuition reimbursement, etc. to see if you can cheapen it up. A lot of districts, at least in my state, have a separate salary scale for master's degree holders and it's a pretty decent bump
In my district having a masters is only 1000.00 more per year. A Phd. will get you 1500.00 a year. If you’re going to pursue an advanced degree here, either you want to become a principal or you’re planning on leaving the profession of education.
Yes, I got a 5K raise. Some you can do online in 1 yr. I had a friend who didn't even have to do a thesis for hers and still got her raise.
Unless you want to be an administrator, you'll barely make enough extra money to pay off your loans. I know in Texas you get $1000-1500 more a year for your Master's. IF it's in the subject you teach. If not, you get nothing.