It’s easy to assume that all teachers are leaders. Teachers command attention from students, review pupil performance, and tackle hard conversations with learners and their parents. However, while leadership skills are essential to the teaching job description, teacher leaders have the ability to take on even more. With an advanced education, teacher leaders can demonstrate to their community that they are leaders within the classroom and in the field of education. So, what can you do with a master’s in Educational Leadership, or Teacher Leadership?
A master’s in Teacher Leadership is designed to help educators become change-makers, by giving them tools they need to reach students in even the most challenging situations. Earning your Teacher Leadership degree might prompt you to step outside of the classroom and into one of these adjacent, fulfilling teacher leadership careers:
- Career counselor
- Corporate trainer
- Curriculum specialist
- Educational administrator
- Educational consultant
- School principal
- Special education teacher
- University professor
Read on to discover what your future could look like when your master’s in Teacher Leadership lands you one of these positions.
Career Options with a Teacher Leadership Degree
1. Career counselor:
Want to help job-seekers find the perfect fit? Career counselors with a background in education make excellent coaches for people carving out a path to employment catered to their unique talents. Career counselors might work independently in private practice or at colleges and universities. Career counselors in the United States make $60,510 annually on average. A master’s degree in a relevant discipline, such as Teacher Leadership, Counseling, or Psychology, is typically required of career counselors.
2. Corporate trainer:
Not all teacher leaders are interested in working in traditional classrooms or school systems. Corporate trainers work in the business or non-profit sector, training employees. Corporate trainers with a master’s in Education are valuable thanks to M.Ed. coursework such as Leading Professional Learning and Instructional Coaching, which are rare assets in an environment of employees with diverse educational and professional histories. A corporate trainer might develop orientation programs for new hires, focus groups for departments or demographics of the employee base, or workshops for an identified learning need. Corporate trainers are estimated to make around $63,930 annually in the U.S.
3. Curriculum specialist:
This career is best for teachers who’ve spent time in school systems and gathered hands-on experience with curriculum successes and failures. A curriculum specialist can work for a grade-level school, college, university, or even the government, to write or oversee the content, consistency, and adherence of teachers to delivering the mandated or recommended lesson plans. Curriculum specialists are interested in research and the study of learning methodology, and they are knowledgeable about the standards required of the curriculum. The estimated salary of a curriculum specialist is $74,819 annually.
4. Educational administrator:
The education system is a vast network that touches millions of lives. According to Education Week, there are 130,930 public and private schools in the U.S. in just levels K-12. That translates to 49.9 million students as of fall 2022. Such a system requires a robust staff of leaders and supervisors to manage its budget, records such as student evaluation tracking, staffing, and scheduling needs, equipment, and resources. Educational administrators must be confident communicators because they liaise not only with teachers and local community members, but with superintendents, school boards, federal agencies, and funding sources. School principals are one type of educational administrator, but at the K-12 level, other administrative jobs might include vice-principal, assistant principal, and district superintendent. At the postsecondary level, admissions officers, registrars, development and advancement employees, and student affairs officers are just some educational administrator roles. K-12 administrators are estimated to make $61,236 annually on average. Postsecondary administrators make on average, $96,910 annually. Some roles require additional certifications after a master’s degree, so it is important to check on the specific requirements of the role you’re interested in, and the state in which you live.
5. Educational consultant:
An educational consultant supports the work of educational administrators. They apply research techniques to investigate how curriculum and policies are performing in schools, and meet with teachers, principals, school boards, and other administrators to advise on change and strategize for improvements. Educational consultants might be brought in as guests to evaluate and solve a problem. Therefore, a master’s in Educational Leadership background—including Teacher Leadership: Theory and Practice and Effective Learning Environments—is a perfect cornerstone for this type of work. Educational consultants are estimated to make $69,754 annually.
6. School principal:
If you’re hoping to bring equity and achievement to your school through policy, hiring, and operational improvements, becoming a principal could be the perfect role for you. Principals stand at the top of the chain of command. They advise teachers and administrators and support curriculum implementation. On average in the United States, school principals make $113,736 annually.
7. Special education teacher:
Special education teachers are highly skilled in the knowledge of child development and adaptive teaching. They develop IEPs, or Individualized Education Programs, for special needs student experiencing cognitive, emotional, mental, or physical learning disabilities. These teachers are constantly assessing student skills development and progress. This is an extremely hands-on and student-facing career choice, for which a master’s in Education is required. Special education teachers might work in a special education classroom, an inclusive classroom, or provide therapy for students outside of the classroom. On average in the U.S., special education teachers make $61,420 annually.
8. University professor:
Working with students beyond the high school level offers teachers the opportunity to become true experts in an academic discipline. University professors, or postsecondary educators, develop curricula for their degree or certificate programs alongside colleagues. They plan lesson plans for students and are expected to be engaged in academia through continuous study. University professors also take professional development seriously, for example, by writing for journals in their subject area of expertise or joining professional associations and earning additional certifications. A master’s degree in Teacher Leadership is a perfect fit for anyone with a bachelor’s degree who wants to take their skills background—whether it’s literary arts, technology, economics, chemistry, or political science—and educate the next generation of professionals in those subject areas. On average, university professors make $79,640 annually.
Careers like these are at your fingertips with a Teacher Leadership degree. Consider spending just 15 months of your time in a flexible M.Ed Teacher Leadership program. You’ll complete 30 credits at your own pace, online and part-time, and have the assistance of our career services team for your lifetime.
Request more information online, here!