Options towards licensure besides masters

Hello!

I have posted on here before asking a similar question, but my situation has changed slightly. I am a rising junior in undergrad and while I was hoping to pursue licensure during my undergrad years, my mom doesn’t support my wish to become a teacher. She feels I would be “settling” and that I am “capable of so much more”. I have tried explaining my position to her, but she still is not very supportive. I wish I could say it doesn’t matter, but it does.

With that being said, I am considering just finishing undergrad without getting my teaching license, trying to find an entry level job after graduation for a few years, and then I will revisit trying to convince her that teaching is really what I would like to do. So, here are my questions:

1.) Is going about it this way even the right thing to do? I am worried that it isn’t, but I don’t know what else to do…

2.) While I know getting a Master’s is an option, I worry about the cost. Are there part-time (besides the student teaching aspect) night programs where I could still hold a full-time job to help foot the bill?

3.) Are there any options besides getting a Masters that could lead towards licensure?

For reference, I would have a science degree, am interested in teaching science, and am looking into staying in the MA/NH area

Take a look at your state education department website. What you’re looking for is “Alternate Certification” – people who become certified to teach after having already gotten a college degree. It’s certainly possible, but the procedure varies from one state to the next.