Question:
Hello Guidance Counselor,
I have been a classroom teacher for a number of years and have recently earned my master’s degree in education. I was wondering if you could tell me about the different kinds of teaching jobs out there for educators who have earned a master’s degree. I would consider moving out of the classroom. Thanks, Patrick
Question:
Dear Patrick,
I applaud you for taking your education to the next level! Earning a master’s degree in education is surely an accomplishment to be proud of. Many teachers earn an advanced degree to stay current in the field, increase their salary, renew their certification, become an expert in the field, or land a job with more leadership within a school. Did you earn your degree with a specific career goal in mind? Consider what is most important to you in this potential job change and read on to learn about a few teaching jobs for master’s degree holders.
Principal–While this teaching job often involves educating the teachers and not children, the majority of school principals began their careers as teachers. The experience inside the classroom helps create an effective leader because a princpal can often understand, sympathize, and anticipate the needs of his faculty. Principals need to be strong communicators, organized, and flexible, but authoritative.These characteristics often make successful teachers as well, which is one of the reasons it can be fairly natural for teachers to make the switch. As I’m sure you know, a principal’s salary can be more lucrative than a teacher’s. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average annual salary of an elementary principal in 2008 was $83,880. This is compared to $47,100 a year, which was the average teacher’s salary in 2008.
Curriculum and Instruction Specialist–Once again, many curriculum specialists have prior expereince as teachers. One of the major roles they play is to help improve the quality of education for the children in their schools. They often do this by becoming a mentor to the teachers and providing training for new staff. They also may look into purchasing new curriculum materials, make the decision to adopt a new textbook series, create curriculum maps, assist with lesson plans, and research new instructional practices. In 2008, according to the BLS, curriculum and instruction specialists earned an average of $56, 880 a year.
Department Chair–A department chair might be a great move for you if you are seeking a position with a little more leadership and responsibility, but would still like to continue teaching. Department chairs usually lead the team of teachers within a particular department or subject like English or social studies. Some duties include: creating class schedules, providing teacher mentoring, managing department budget, and interviewing potential teachers for vacancies within the department.
Reading Specialist or Learning Resource Teacher–Reading specialists and learning resource teachers often work one on one or with small groups of students. They work closely with classroom teachers and provide instruction that compliments that of the regular classroom. Typically reading specialists and resource teachers work with students who need extra support, but sometimes they provide enrichment opportunities for students working above grade level. Both of these positions are excellent for teachers with an advanced degree who are ready to give up having a class of their own, but would still like to work with students.
College Professor–Perhaps you are ready to see what it is like to work with postsecondary or adult learners? If you are thinking of becoming a professor, a community college is the perfect place to start. While it is true that most universities require a doctorate for employment, most 2-year colleges only require a master’s’ degree for teaching jobs within their institution. Ready for some more good news? Because college enrollment has steadily increased over the past few years, employment growth in this field should be faster than average, according to the BLS.
Wishing you the best of luck with your future career plans.
Overstock.com vs. eBay: online giants face off.(techknowledge)
Utah Business June 1, 2005 | Horowitz, Alan S.
FOR COMPUTER OPERATING SYSTEMS, THERE’S ONE BIG NAME: Microsoft. For Internet searches, there’s Google. Likewise with online auctions–eBay. All of these market behemoths have pretenders to the throne, and in the case of eBay, one of these is Salt Lake City-based Overstock.com. The question being asked in the online auction world is: Can Overstock.com succeed in gaining a significant online auction presence? here overstock coupon code
Overstock’s traditional business is buying items cheaply from manufacturers and retailers that need to get rid of extraneous inventory quickly, and then reselling the items (and passing on the savings) to consumers on its Web site.
A company like eBay, on the other hand, doesn’t take ownership of the items on its site. It provides a place for buyers and sellers to get together, just as a traditional auction house does.
But now Overstock.com wants a piece of eBay’s action. Adam Sarner, an ecommerce analyst with the Gartner Group, in Stamford, Conn., questions whether Overstock has much of a chance. He thinks eBay and Overstock.com shoppers are very different. “Overstock people go there because you can buy it right away and at a low price. Overstock is an outlet store. People who go to eBay like the gambling aspect of it. eBay is a flea market. I think they’re two separate markets.” Another analyst, Paula Rosenblum, a Miami-based director of retail research at Aberdeen Group, is also skeptical. “I’m surprised [Overstock is] bothering. They have a whole other market going on, the everyday low price phenomenon. They’ve done a great job with that,” she says.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The online auction business may, in fact, be detrimental to Overstock.com, suggests Sarner, “I think it can hurt. You muddy the value proposition. You go to Overstock for X, Y and Z, and now you dilute that by offering X, Y and Z, and A, B and C. Switching from outlet store to flea market can dilute their brand.” But Patrick Byrne, chairman and president of Overstock.com, disagrees. “We have tremendous traffic overlap.” he claims. “Seventy percent of our people also shop on eBay.” Byrne is realistic; he’s not expecting to topple eBay, just take a piece of its action. He claims Overstock.com’s online auction business is now more than one percent the size of eBay’s, based on the number of items listed. He’s aiming for about two percent by the end of this year and says. “I don’t think we’ll be 50 percent, but five or 10 percent in a couple of years would be great.” Driving Overstock.com Into Online Auctions One concept driving Overstock.com’s move into the online auction space is a perceived eBay weakness: unhappiness on the part of some eBay sellers. “There’s a fair bit of disaffection in the eBay seller community,” says Byrne. “Power sellers can’t get what they want. We designed our site to meet their needs.” Ina Steiner, editor of Auctionbytes.com, a Natick, Mass.-based Web site that covers the online auction industry, agrees. “I think [Overstock's] timing is right because there is some dissatisfaction with eBay and people want a choice.” The dissatisfaction is based, at least in part, on eBay’s increase in fees she says. “I think there is room for another player,” says Steiner.
Hani Durzy, a spokesperson for eBay, responds: “When we make fee changes, it is not to increase revenue. Our take rate”–the amount eBay makes from each transaction–”is consistent. We do it to improve the health of the marketplace. We believe the fee changes of February [2005] made for a healthier marketplace.” Michael Jansma isn’t looking to leave eBay, but he’d like another option. Through his company, GEMaffair.com, headquartered in Largo, Fl., he’s been selling jewelry on eBay since 1997. But in December 2004, he also started selling on Overstock.com. He says, “eBay is not a bad place to be, but their practices are becoming outdated. I have a lot of hope for Overstock and their new vision.” Jansma thinks that Overstock.com is entering the market in the “right way” and will surpass the barriers that Yahoo and others have faced.
As a “power seller”–selling about $250,000 worth of merchandise a month on eBay and now about $25,000 a month on Overstock.com–Jansma says, “eBay has a million tools for helping mom-and-pop sites to list their products. Overstock is after the professional. They are focused on medium to large sellers.” As another positive, Jansma cites the accessibility of Overstock’s executives to its seller community; the responsiveness of the company to issues faced by sellers, such as fraud or problems with invoices, is a plus.
Steiner thinks that Overstock’s move into auctions simply makes good business sense, a good way for it to expand its offerings. Rather than having to acquire additional inventory, as it does with its traditional business, by opening up an auction site, Overstock.com can, she says, “widen the range of goods they are offering without the risk [of buying the inventory]. The individual seller takes on the risk.” Not a Sure Thing Aaron Kessler, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based analyst for the investment banking firm Piper, Jaffray & Co., thinks Overstock.com faces some daunting challenges. “Sellers are looking for alternative channels [to eBay],” he admits. “Overstock is doing a pretty good job of getting sellers. The next step is getting buyers and that’s where they’re struggling. There are a lot of listings, but not a lot of buying activity.” He says that about half of the items listed on eBay are sold versus less than 20 percent for Overstock.com. web site overstock coupon code
It’s still too early to tell if Overstock.com will gain a real foothold in the online auction market, or go the way of many others who have tried but failed. Still Steiner is optimistic, “I think they have a good chance of success.” Says Byrne, “It’s a money-losing business for now. But the risk-reward ratio is worth it.” Ultimately, it will be the buyers and sellers who will determine the winner.
Alan S. Horowitz is a frequent contributor to Utah Business magazine.
Horowitz, Alan S.
Tags: becoming a teacher, career planning, master's degree, Teacher, teacher education
Filled Under: Teacher - Jill Paugys @ December 17th, 2010 1 Comment
ShareThis
Stumble!
Top 5 Teaching Jobs for Master's Degree Holders
RSS Link
Angela said @ October 2, 2011 at 3:37 am
What kind of career options are out there that require a master’s degree in adult education or training?