It cost HOW much to go back to school?

[mary]

Holy crap.

I've been tossing around the idea of taking a few needed college classes. I could use some advanced hours in Math to help myself get a teaching job.

So I check out my Alma Mater's website, UTAlmost, to see how much cash I would need to enroll in 6 hours.

$ 1850.00.

WTF?

I swear, it wasn't THAT long ago that I was in school and I was paying less than that for 6 hours of GRADUATE courses.

I guess I was never in the "go back to school" race in the first place.

[ty]

Craaap. Can we turn this thread into a School or TV poll too?

I say buy the TV.

[Underdog]

You can learn more from a television than you can in a classroom...


(oh, wait - what did I just type???)

[Flacolaco]

Yeah, that's pretty disheartening.

I'd like to get my masters, but wonder if I'll ever be able to afford one.

[alby]

What can I say, somebody's got to feed his kids.

[jthig32]

Just another reason why I got out with my bachelor's and don't plan on looking back unless something changes. Thankfully I'm in a field where advanced degrees don't really increase your overall earning expectations, generally speaking.

[Kirobaito]

'tis why I'm all that more happy for scholarships. Otherwise I'd be paying $30,000 a year. Now I have to pay more like $2,000.

[Smiles]

Mary, I feel your disappointment.

I think I read that once you have a teaching license (for any subject), you can take a test to get one in another subject. I haven’t looked into it in a couple yrs tho.

If I were to teach high school or lower, I'd definitely want to teach math. But, I’d have to get my foot in the door by committing to biology or chemistry. Those subjects seem a lot more daunting when you consider all the “extras” teachers have to do outside of the classroom.

[chumdawg]

Six hours is $2400 at UTD!

[mary]

Originally Posted by Smiles

Mary, I feel your disappointment.

I think I read that once you have a teaching license (for any subject), you can take a test to get one in another subject. I haven’t looked into it in a couple yrs tho.

If I were to teach high school or lower, I'd definitely want to teach math. But, I’d have to get my foot in the door by committing to biology or chemistry. Those subjects seem a lot more daunting when you consider all the “extras” teachers have to do outside of the classroom.

I think you're right. If I have a teaching job, I can just go ahead and take the exams.

BUT, with my alternative certification program, they will only allow me to test for subjects that I already qualify for....which is making it a little bit harder to get a job.

I thought I could break in getting tested in Special Ed, but I still have to be highly qualified in the content areas....so that wasn't as big of a help as I thought it was going to be.

But I'm going to keep on trying!

[Smiles]

Speaking of the cost of learning: I would love to just sit in on college lectures (the only place I’ve found regular math or science lectures). But in TX you have to pay for that privilege. So sometimes I think that I'll just go back and take more classes toward my masters in biology – even get a PhD some day. It’s so extremely expensive though!

Sure, life is about sacrifices, and I can make “sacrifices” and spend the $ to go back. But most people don’t have the luxury of having anything left to sacrifice. For some, the land of opportunity (or simply their dream) lies somewhere outside their grasp.

[Smiles]

Originally Posted by mary

I think you're right. If I have a teaching job, I can just go ahead and take the exams.

BUT, with my alternative certification program, they will only allow me to test for subjects that I already qualify for....which is making it a little bit harder to get a job.

I thought I could break in getting tested in Special Ed, but I still have to be highly qualified in the content areas....so that wasn't as big of a help as I thought it was going to be.

But I'm going to keep on trying!

I didn't realize they looked at content areas so much with Special Ed. I am glad you will keep trying.

Math is definitely the hardest subject to qualify for. Even though I took extra math in college, and took math-based subjects like chem & physics, I still didn't qualify! A person with a business degree qualifies though, and it seems crazy (to me) to accept a business degree and not any science degrees.

No wonder there's a shortage of math teachers.

edit: I'm no financial expert, but maybe education isn't always the best investment.

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by mary

I think you're right. If I have a teaching job, I can just go ahead and take the exams.

BUT, with my alternative certification program, they will only allow me to test for subjects that I already qualify for....which is making it a little bit harder to get a job.

I thought I could break in getting tested in Special Ed, but I still have to be highly qualified in the content areas....so that wasn't as big of a help as I thought it was going to be.

But I'm going to keep on trying!

I'm not sure how things work where you're living, but in Texas there are ways to get the school you'll be working for to pay for your certifications (but you have sign a multiple-year contract and not mind starting your career at an "at-risk" school...)

[dalmations202]

Originally Posted by Smiles

I'm no financial expert, but maybe education isn't always the best investment.

It is always the best investment because it is the ONLY thing no one can take away from you.

The only way to take it is to brainwash you --- and then you aren't really you.

Now -- I am talking education -- not going to school.

[alby]

If you are looking at teaching as an investment, then you shouldn't become a teacher IMHO.

Especially with respect to K-12, teachers should be there because they want to help educate youngsters first and foremost.

With that being said, I've always wanted to acquire a teaching license sometime in my lifetime but like stated earlier in the thread, taking advantage of "the land of opportunity" is sometimes too unreachable.

[wmbwinn]

Get the education done. Acquire the job. You need the education to set yourself and your family in a decent situation.

Take the student loans as needed, but don't abuse them.

Later, buy a house. After you pay it down some and have equity, re-finance and take the cash and pay off your student loans. That effectively moves your loan under your house and doesn't hurt your monthly budget.

Also realize that you have the option later of "consolidating the loan" over 30 years like a mortgage. This serves to make your monthly payments negligible until you can move your loan under your house.

Despair not. You can do it.

[fluid.forty.one]

sucks that I want to be a teacher since having your masters is beneficial enough for me to want to get it, yet I'll always be poor even with it.

[dude1394]

Education and Health Care are in desperate need of some market reform. Desperate.

But it would be dollars well spent imo.

[ShaggyDirk]

Originally Posted by mary

Holy crap.

I've been tossing around the idea of taking a few needed college classes. I could use some advanced hours in Math to help myself get a teaching job.

So I check out my Alma Mater's website, UTAlmost, to see how much cash I would need to enroll in 6 hours.

$ 1850.00.

WTF?

I swear, it wasn't THAT long ago that I was in school and I was paying less than that for 6 hours of GRADUATE courses.

I guess I was never in the "go back to school" race in the first place.

Mary, UT Austin just started a Masters in Mathematics Teaching program in which they are paying 75%, I think. They break it up into summers and also have a "light" load class during the school year. Look into it for more details. I will try and find the link.

[wmbwinn]

Originally Posted by fluid.forty.one

sucks that I want to be a teacher since having your masters is beneficial enough for me to want to get it, yet I'll always be poor even with it.

Try a Masters in Public Health or something similar and get a job at a Medical University doing research and teaching medical students, Masters students, and PhD students, and Physician Assistants.

That pays better.

And, if you tire of teaching, you can get a job with a Health Insurance company that will pay a good salary for a desk job.

I am a few statistics classes and a thesis away from a Masters in Public Health myself. I view it as an eventual retirement from clinical healthcare in the future.

But, if your passion is teaching kids and/or teenagers...
then you are right. Your reward will be the job, not the paycheck.

[Smiles]

LOL. By "investment", I didn't mean "road to wealth" or even financial independence.

Shaggy, cool info on UT's masters in math option!

[dalmations202]

Originally Posted by Mary

It cost HOW much to go back to school?

too much