That’s what I’m in the process of doing. Actually, most teachers don’t require a masters in education. 4 year degree in the subject you plan to teach. :)
But sadly it is coming to that—needing a masters or becoming ‘highly qualified’. I am feeling pressure to get certified in a second content area. Sp. Ed. is barely enough these days.
I’ve been teaching English in public schools for 8 years now and I love it. My kids are now laboriously working away on a 5 paragraph argumentative essay while I leisurely post on FreeRepublic. As Montissori said, “The best teacher is one where the students work as if the teacher didn’t even need to be there.”
Since I’m a non-union state teacher, I also make less than most of those “lowest paying jobs”.
I imagine that is a state-by-state thing. I don’t know whether Virginia requires an education degree. I think they do. I know that people who quit working where I work to go into teaching went back to college to get an education masters degree, don’t know if that was required, or just the best way to get into the job market.
My daughter is hitting all the “right” notes. She’s double-majoring in Criminal Justice and English, she was going to minor in psychology, and then get a masters in education. She understands she won’t be making much money that way.
She could have done science, but she simply doesn’t like it, even though she was pretty good at it.
My son fell in love with chemistry. We’ll see how THAT job market works out.
Still, I think and keep telling them that it’s not just what degree you get, but also how well you do getting it, and then how well you can work once you land a job.