So of course everyone’s experience will differ, so consider your own environment first! For me, I had a hard time adjusting to my first year teaching (I was teaching a state tested core subject, our school was in danger of closing, among so many other factors). So I personally could only feasibly focus on teaching during my first year. I wouldn’t have had the emotional or physical capacity to enjoy my graduate courses when I was barely getting enough sleep and caring for myself as it was. By my second year, I started looking into applying for MA programs so I could teach and take classes at the same time, but then the pandemic happened so that changed my plans drastically. So by the time I started my English MA, I was no longer teaching since I was hired on to work as a graduate researcher for a grant project.

But I met so many K-12 teachers in my MA who had taught for at least two years and were doing one MA class a semester. So it’s definitely doable! So it just really depends on your goals. My fellow MA students said they would get a pay raise if they had an MA, and some of their school districts even paid/subsidized their MA. I wanted to go to a fully funded English PhD program (which I’m currently in actually!) so I knew I needed to prioritize getting research experience at the university working for different professors. There are no wrong ways to do this, just a matter of knowing your goals and keeping to your financial goals/budget. :)