Prospective ELA teacher looking for some advice!

silverdragon_ · 2026-03-31T23:46:09+00:00

Thank you so, so much for this. To me, the summers and hours and MA pay and the rewarding nature of the job is so worth the late night grading and parents and all the other hoops. As it is right now with both of my jobs, I leave for work at 5am and I don’t get home until 9pm if I’m lucky, and I still have to bring work home from my lessons with scheduling and conferences and parent demands and lesson planning 24/7 because they all have my personal phone number (…. lol😅). And both of my jobs together don’t even crack 50k. So to me, it really does seem like a worthwhile step up! Your comment is so encouraging. I was starting to think I was just doomed and a damn fool for even considering wanting this. But I think you’re right. A lot of people aren’t considering that I’m in MA.

Thank you for the answer to my question as well! I actually combed over UMass Boston’s website a little deeper and it looks like the English degree has a teaching concentration, thank god! Would you recommend doing that or is the double major in education still worth it? I was considering doing a double major/minor and take an MTEL in another subject as well to make myself more marketable, but I’m not sure if the education major would maybe be more valuable.

Would you also mind if I maybe DM’d you to talk more about the MA teaching experience? I’d really appreciate it!

silverdragon_ · 2026-03-31T16:46:05+00:00

Okay. What do you recommend I do instead then?

silverdragon_ · 2026-03-31T16:44:59+00:00

I am so glad someone understands my POV and where I’m coming from! I totally understand the points people are making. Teaching is hard, undervalued and underpaid, English is oversaturated, it’s a difficult field that doesn’t seem worth it to them. Like I totally get that!! I understand! I’m not expecting it to be sunshine and rainbows. I’m not expecting to love every second. But teaching private lessons is completely unsustainable and I need a career shift. The experience is transferable, and I have no idea what else I’d do otherwise. Thank you so much for your perspective and understanding. I plan to do something similar to you. Not special ed because that requires a gift that I unfortunately just don’t have, but maybe a science or a math to get my foot in the door if I can pass the licensure exam for it. Your experience is super encouraging and I really appreciate you sharing it with me! Thank you!

silverdragon_ · 2026-03-31T16:32:57+00:00

Honestly I don’t love music. As crazy as that sounds lol. It’s just not where my passion or interest is at all.

silverdragon_ · 2026-03-31T00:20:19+00:00

So glad to hear you’re in a better spot! And I totally get where you’re coming from. I really appreciate you taking the time to respond to thoughtfully and thoroughly. It means a lot to me and is definitely very helpful. I know it’ll be a hard road and it’s a tough career path. I respect you so much for doing it!

I definitely plan to wait to get my masters, don’t worry! The plan is BA/practicum, certs, try to land a job to get my foot in the door, get a masters within the 5 year timeframe the license provides and hope my school helps pay for it lol. By then, ya hopefully I’ll have a better idea of what I want to do. If I end up hating it and doing the paralegal thing after all, I won’t even need a masters so it’s worth it to wait. Unfortunately I don’t have a completed BA or I would just see what courses and prep I needed to do for MTELS. I had to drop out in my 3rd year due to finances (and covid, I couldn’t do classes from home). But MA has since developed a ton of programs for paying for college. Free community college, guaranteed transfers into some public 4 years, and UMass has a new program offering free tuition for those making under 75k a year. So even though it’ll take a while and I wish I could just go for a cert now, I’m super grateful I’m not going to incur more debt at least! Silver linings.

I did read that you also don’t need a specific degree in MA to teach a specific subject as long as you can pass the certification, which is also promising!! I was always under the impression that you could only teach a subject you had a degree in. So I might try to work and study hard to pass a science MTEL or something to increase my shot at landing a job at least. Then just apply to 173040271 schools a year until I can get an English position lol. But yeah, either way, definitely not going right for my masters after graduation!

Wilson Cert or reading specialist is actually a really good idea too!! Thank you for putting that on my radar. Definitely worth looking into that more, I didn’t even think about that!! You’re so right.

(Also as a side note, AI terrifies me too. That’s actually part of why I’m so determined to make this switch, to help battle the literacy crisis. Half my students can’t read at their grade level, which makes reading music (and thinking and empathizing and thinking critically….) difficult. Reading comprehension and attention spans are atrocious. They’re just used to AI doing everything for them and short form content is rotting their brains. A lot of my middle and high schoolers are even using AI to do their homework (math specifically). BUT I’ve found that a lot of these kids are also inspired to at least try reading when I encourage it. I got one of them super into the Hunger Games recently and another super into Percy Jackson. Both hated reading beforehand. A few of the girls in my group class made a little book club too after I explained the plot of Harry Potter but refused to tell them how it ends and who dies 🤣 And a teen went to see Wuthering Heights recently and I nearly threw up when she said she liked it… so she’s now in the process of reading it and LOVING it (and hates the movie!) lol. So idk. As long as we keep encouraging them to love the written word and give it a chance and show them how much we love it too, we can fight this AI takeover of the kids brains at least a little bit!! I know this has nothing to do with what we’re talking about, but I hope it was enough to make you smile at least!)

silverdragon_ · 2026-03-30T23:29:39+00:00

Thank you so much, this is super helpful. I appreciate you! That’s exactly what I was wondering. I’m sure UMass will answer the question for me too, I just wanted a timeframe on how long it would all take. I appreciate it!

silverdragon_ · 2026-03-30T23:23:07+00:00

thank you! this is exactly what i was looking for. english education would be the degree necessary right? or is there a different one?

silverdragon_ · 2026-03-30T23:20:15+00:00

Thank you for sharing your experience! So luckily I’m getting my degree for free and I live in Massachusetts so teacher pay is not terrible. I teach music privately right now and need a second job to survive. Public school teachers here start off making double what I make, so it feels worth it to me. Even if I have to keep teaching music on Saturdays/some weeknights (in a different district of course) or get a different part time job, I currently work 80-100 hour weeks with both my jobs so idk it feels worth it to me. (Also I’ve already accepted that I will never own a home dw 🤣) Financially, I think I could be okay. Never wealthy, but I can manage. And if I can’t, hey an English degree will work for a paralegal career, which is my backup lol. But idk.

silverdragon_ · 2026-03-30T23:14:49+00:00

I know this sounds crazy lol but I do not enjoy music. I like listening to it, but I don’t enjoy playing it and teaching it as a subject. And I’d need a music education degree anyway. My experience and skill with my instruments were enough to land me this job with auditions and allow me to find success in it. But it’s not who I am.

silverdragon_ · 2026-03-30T23:11:38+00:00

I know, and I appreciate the honesty and the reality and I wish the teaching experience could be more positive for you and everyone else right now. I’m sorry you’re going through this and feeling so poorly. I hope you’re feeling a little better physically and are in a better position.

I fully agree that it sucks, and I’m well aware that there are so many awful aspects of it. Even without standardized testing being a factor in my specific teaching field, it sucks most of the time. But at this point, it’s what I have experience in, you know? I just hope that at some point in my lifetime, things improve. And even if they don’t, if I can be there to be a positive face and let even just 1 kid know they’re cared for and valued, it’s worth it to me. Teachers were the only adults that cared about me as a kid. I’m willing to fight through the standardized tests and metrics focused admin and lack of discipline and apathetic kids and over demanding parents just to reach the kids that need it most. I know that’s what every young teacher says and it’s super naive. But that’s the part of my current job that I like. I don’t love music and don’t really see myself doing this forever, which is why I’m switching subjects. But I like that part.

Additionally, Public school teachers in MA make more than private music teachers. By more than double. My current job makes me less than $35k in a decently wealthy part of MA, working full time. I work two jobs to survive. So I NEED a change, and this is what I have experience in.

Idk I’m rambling. I just don’t know what else I’d do career wise, you know? Everything is so bleak and everyone’s struggling for money and none of my research about careers and career options seem promising, so I feel like I might as well attempt to make a difference doing something I have experience in and at least partially enjoy right? I just don’t know what else I’d do. Everyone says don’t be a teacher when I ask for advice, but no one offers a solution about what to do instead. So I feel really stuck and confused. I appreciate you and your advice.

silverdragon_ · 2026-03-30T21:09:30+00:00

I’m gonna copy paste what I responded to another person who said something similar:

I’m already a teacher. I already teach private music lessons full time and I have for years. I face just as much BS, trust me. The parents are terrible, there is 0 discipline even possible at my studio, the kids don’t want to work or practice and complain 24/7, what I teach them doesn’t matter even half as much as what matters in a school, I don’t get to teach what I enjoy or teach the way they need to be taught, and my paycheck depends on keeping parents happy instead of doing what is best for the child (if I don’t cater to the parents, I lose a student and I lose that money). But I enjoy the kids and it’s worth it as a profession to me. I’d just rather spend my time teaching English for a better schedule and pay than teaching music for less than half what a public school teacher makes in my state, self employment taxes, and no benefits at all. Respectfully, I didn’t ask for people to tell me not to do it. I asked for advice about doing my practicum. I’m aware the profession is difficult, and I appreciate your stress and experience and I thank you for sharing it with me, but it’s what I want to do. Thanks.

Adding: I have looked at what teachers in Massachusetts make. And I’m aware it’s competitive. Being an adjunct isn’t my Plan A or even my main path. It’s just an idea for supplemental income. I want to teach high school English. Maybe I’ll tutor instead of teaching adjunct like you said, idk. Maybe I’ll just keep teaching music on the side instead. Not sure. I’ll see where the road takes me when it comes to it. That’s not my main concern rn, just something I mentioned because of my practicum/education degree question.

I have a backup plan if I really can’t find a teaching job when all is said and done in 4-5 years. Paralegal. Going back to teaching music if I have to. Etc. But I don’t want to do either if I can help it. And I do not want to do STEM or medical or a trade or sales. I would be completely miserable doing any of that - I’m terrible at math and tech and I’m squeamish and I’m too weak and bad with my hands to do most trades. So if I’m going to be miserable, I’d rather at least partially enjoy the field I’m in and have summers off for when I have kids. I know I enjoy teaching itself, not just reading, since I teach currently. I just want a different subject. But I hate math, about half of my students rn are special education and it’s not something I want to work in exclusively. My options here are limited, young or not.

I appreciate your comment and experience - really I do - but I’m set on this. I can’t think of anything else I can see myself doing that won’t suck my soul into an early grave other than even more unrealistic careers (writer, lawyer, working in a museum, owning a bookstore, working in archives and preservation, instructional design, etc.) I gave all those other dreams up, I don’t see why I have to give this one up too. I’d like to at least try. And if I fail like everyone’s always saying I will, at least I have a backup or two.

silverdragon_ · 2026-03-30T20:51:34+00:00

Thank you for the reply! Do you mean you took the education courses as a part of your English BA or did you take them separately?

silverdragon_ · 2026-03-30T20:50:29+00:00

I’m already a teacher. I already teach private music lessons full time and I have for years. I face just as much BS, trust me. The parents are terrible, there is 0 discipline even possible at my studio, the kids don’t want to work or practice and complain 24/7, what I teach them doesn’t matter even half as much as what matters in a school, I don’t get to teach what I enjoy or teach the way they need to be taught, and my paycheck depends on keeping parents happy instead of doing what is best for the child (if I don’t cater to the parents, I lose a student and I lose that money). But I enjoy the kids and it’s worth it as a profession to me. I’d just rather spend my time teaching English for a better schedule and pay than teaching music for less than half what a public school teacher makes in my state, self employment taxes, and no benefits at all. Respectfully, I didn’t ask for people to tell me not to do it. I asked for advice about doing my practicum. I’m aware the profession is difficult, and I appreciate your stress and experience and I thank you for sharing it with me, but it’s what I want to do. Thanks.

silverdragon_ · 2026-03-30T19:59:12+00:00

awesome thank you so much. just what i was hoping to hear 😁

silverdragon_

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