Bachelor's Degree in Education ....Need Advice on returning to college (1 Viewer)

[SandraA]

Hello Everyone, First thank you for taking the time to read my post. I graduated in 2009 with a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education not thinking that the field would be almost impossible to get into due to economic cut backs. So, at this point I am considering returning to college once more in hopes of investing in a career in which I can apply my skills and knowledge. I am not sure how returning to school works for someone that has already obtained a Bachelor's. I prefer to concentrate on taking something that I have a high interest in to ensure my dedication is sincere. My interest are writing and law. Not sure that those interest will help me get into a career but I could be wrong. I graudated with high honors and am confident that I can succeed. I just need a little guidance as to what are my best options for getting a career going. Sandra

 

[Patrick_S]

Welcome to the forum. Unless you stated an interest in a field that requires a specific degree like engineering I would only go back for graduate degree. You stated that you like the law so perhaps you should look into a law degree. Regardless of what you decide best of luck!

 

[SandraA]

If I went to Law school...do you know if I would have to start from scratch again? As far as my Master's I agree that is probably the best and smartest route however am I confined to taking a graduate program within the Education field being that my Bachelor's is in Education? Thank you so much for your input, it's hard to find answers at the college websites as they seem more interested in enrolling you and enrollment application fees more than anything else.

 

[Carl Miller]

I was a teacher, got my B.A. way back in 1986. The field was pretty tough to break into back then as well. About 300 applicants for every 1 job opening. So I worked as a substitute teacher for a year, impressed a few people, and was able to land a permanent teaching job the following year in the same district I subbed for. I didn't like teaching all that much and eventually went back to school while I worked as a teacher. It took a long time but I got a Masters degree in Accounting which required 60 credits at the time.


I'm not 100% certain about this, but I would imagine you could pursue an advanced degree in some fields without starting over from the very beginning. I don't know if Law is one of those fields, but I think you'd probably be best off visiting some local colleges if available and speak directly to staff there. I remember doing that myself because the publications, brochures etc, the colleges offered didn't answer nearly enough questions. Having two kids in college now, the web sites don't seem to be much better. Good luck!

 

[Citizen87645]

I'm pretty sure you don't need to start from scratch with law school. It's essentially a graduate degree program, or at least that's how I've always perceived it. My cousin went to law school after getting a degree in public policy management, which was sort of related, but not really a formal "pre-law" program.


Depending on where you live (or wind up living) you may also need a Masters in Education and a certification to be qualified to teach and sub, at least in public school.


If you are interested in keeping K12 education as a possibility with a career, you might think about speech pathology. There has been an ongoing shortage of speech therapists overall, so you could work with kids or adults depending on which demographic most interests you. You would probably need to take some pre-requisites, however, since I doubt you took much science for your Bachelor's in Ed. But as I understand it, you'd be getting another Bachelor's and then would have to get into a grad program for speech pathology.


I would also recommend talking to a school's admissions / career counselor, given you already have a degree and would need to weigh the cost / benefit of additional schooling.

 

[Patrick_S]

Of course you would not have to start over if you decided to go to Law School. You need to take the LSAT and apply to schools. I think it would be a good think to go to a Law School and talk to the admissions if you are interested.

 

[SandraA]

Thank you to all who have answered my post you have all given me excellent advice. I will utilize all of your tips. Thank you again.

 

[DaveF]

With respect, you might take a look at the market for lawyers and lawyering before diving into another degree that's been eviscerated, from what I'm told, by the recession. But perhaps it is or will rebound faster than public education.