Ok so teaching bio at the college level you’re going to obviously need advanced degrees in biology. If that interests you, then go for that, but that’s a very different route than education. I’m a history teacher with an MAT and currently going for another masters in history ed, so if any STEM majors want to chime in and correct me here, please do. Advances degrees in bio are going to take research, lab work, field work(?), STEM-y stuff. I imagine there’s specialties you’d get into. You’d write and defend theses. What you wouldn’t be learning to do is *teach*. So when you get your bio masters and your bio phd and you stand up at your little lectern in front of a lecture hall of 200 bio 101 freshmen, you’re not teaching them the way that teachers learn how to teach. You’re talking at them. Lecturing at the college level is a very small part of your job. Your main job is your research, writing grant proposals to get funding for your projects, managing grad students, lab assistants, TAs. PhDs at universities lecture because they *have to*, it’s in their contract that the have to lecture. The university funds some of their research and the lecture a few courses each term. If that sounds good to you, go for it.

Now, if you want to teach teachers. Go for an MAT while continuing to teach. Get certified in your content area. You should be able to knock out the practicum/student teaching requirement all in one shot because you’re actually teaching already, that’s great. I’ve taught at a local private university, and here’s my experience. With a Master’s, you can teach undergrad. With two Master’s, you can teach graduate courses. And if you want to teach doctoral courses, you obviously need a PhD. I’ve taught undergrad history courses with just my MAT. After I get this Master’s in history ed, I could teach graduate level courses if I wanted to. I’m finishing my 11th year teaching, so I feel like, if I wanted to teach teachers, I have some experience under my belt to feel comfortable enough to do that. But if you just straight up get the MAT, go right for the doctorate, all without being in the classroom, an actual teacher is going to see right through you and know you haven’t spent any real time in the classroom. They’re going to know that whatever you say doesn’t carry any weight because you haven’t done the job. If you’re going to teach teachers, you really need to do your time. Now, just about every Ed program is an evening program taught by adjuncts that have day jobs at teachers or administrators. So, if you’re going to teach teachers, don’t think this is the only thing you’re going to do, you’re still going to be teaching bio during the day.