A master's in education: How important is geography?

Parents Forum
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<p>I know that some of my fellow parents will have expertise in this area!</p>

<p>I'm posting on behalf of a friend of my daughter's who's starting to apply to out-of-state colleges for a master's program in education. She stayed in-state as an undergrad for financial reasons and now has no debt. (Yay!) Anyway, this young woman would like to try living in another part of the country, so she's looking into several master's programs. My question: If she attends a program in Texas, let's say, would that mean she would be licensed to teach in Texas only? Do states give reciprocity? Is that hard to get? Thanks for any info.</p>

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<p><a href=“http://www.swarthmore.edu/Documents/State%20Certification%20Reciprocity.pdf[/url]”>http://www.swarthmore.edu/Documents/State%20Certification%20Reciprocity.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>This might have some more complete info:
<a href=“http://certificationmap.com/states/reciprocity-disclaimer/[/url]”>http://certificationmap.com/states/reciprocity-disclaimer/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>I would STRONGLY encourage her NOT to get a master’s degree until she has a couple years of teaching under her belt. Most schools will NOT hire a teacher with zero experience with a masters degree. Geography matters to a point but if she completes the licencing requirements for which ever state she teaches in she will be fine. Some states automatically accept a license from other state, many do not.</p>

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<p>Wow, it’s complicated, and I know nothing about this field. Thanks for the replies!</p>