I am currently a community college student on track to earn and associate’s degree in sociology by the end of this academic year, after which I plan to transfer to a four-year university. I chose to major in sociology largely because it’s a versatile major and I really didn’t know what I wanted to do career-wise.
More recently, I’ve been thinking that I would really like to be a high school teacher, and if I did this, I’d probably want to teach English. I’ve heard that getting a teaching credential is considered masters-level study, so I can choose to get one in whatever subject regardless of my undergraduate major. Is this true, or if I wanted to become an English teacher, would I have to change majors and earn a bachelor’s degree in English?
It varies by state due to state licensing requirements. However, what I am familiar with there is a pretty long list of required courses. You won’t have to be an English major, but there are many English courses you probably have to take. There are also lots of education classes you need to take. Most people I know who start down that path still take 4 1/2 years to graduate, because the last semester is as a student teacher, and it is tough to get all the other requirements done in 3 1/2 years.
I have a friend who graduated with a 4 year degree in IT, and then immediately went back to school to get his requirements in to become a business teacher. One of the classes he has to take for the business teacher certification is an intro to web page design class. He has taken the next 2 classes in the series, but skipped this one because it was very basic info he already knows. He is taking the class now, and probably knows enough to teach it.
So I would find out what is required in your state and see if you can use a few of your remaining classes at CC to knock out a couple of requirements you will have to get your teaching certificate.
In most states you need a certain number of credits in a specific field to teach that field. And for most graduate programs, you need to have taken some coursework in an area in order to get into the program. A person who majors in sociology and never takes an English class is unlikely to get into a graduate program in English education.
You should try to at least minor in English if you want to teach English.
Thank you all. As I suspected, it was a bit more complicated than what my mom told me. I will still seriously consider becoming a teacher, but I should probably choose a subject more closely related to the classes I’ve already taken.