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MojitoSipper OP t1_iyyg60c wrote

Reply to comment by fxcassell in Massachusetts teachers, what should I know before becoming a high school teacher in this state? by MojitoSipper

I'm planning to teach environmental science. I have an Associate's of Art in General Studies, Bachelor's of Art in Environmental Science with a Minor in Environmental Anthropology.

One downside is: I graduated with a ~2.70 GPA, which is a B- average. I read that the minimum GPA to be a teacher in MA is 3.

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ohhgrrl t1_iyymp7w wrote

You won’t be teaching specific courses like environmental science. You will be teaching broad general studies topics like: earth science or chemistry.

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MojitoSipper OP t1_iyyoapq wrote

I'm perfectly okay with that. I graduated with a general track in it. I really enjoy talking about the natural science side of Env. Sci.

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niknight_ml t1_iz19h5d wrote

You can definitely teach full-time environmental science (my school of about 1,000 students has 2 full time environmental teachers), but there is no environmental science MTEL you could take for licensure. You would need to take either the bio or chem MTEL to get your science license.

While you should probably go for whichever subject you're better at, keep in mind that bio, by far, has the most applicants for any open job. Chem is much, much harder to find someone for. The last time we were hiring for a chem teacher, there were just two licensed teachers who applied. The last bio position we hired for had over 30 licensed applicants.

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MojitoSipper OP t1_iz34ryj wrote

That's strange, I noticed that too. The state's education website has a practice exam for environmental science and says they are supposed to have an exam for it. But there's no option to sign up for it on the Pearson website where people sign up to take the exams, there's no option for ES.

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moxie-maniac t1_iyyhtnw wrote

For a full license, you need practice teaching, pass standardized exams, and a master’s degree. DESE should have all the requirements and regulations online.

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ohhgrrl t1_iyymk34 wrote

You don’t need a masters to teach

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MojitoSipper OP t1_iyyproj wrote

Yeah, it's desired but not required. Only a bachelor's in the respective field is

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lotusblossom60 t1_iz03fvw wrote

A master’s degree is indeed required in MA. You have 5 years to obtain it after being hired.

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niknight_ml t1_iz1a2au wrote

Technically, you have 10 years after getting your initial license, since you can extend your initial license once by request. If you got a preliminary license first, you could delay the master's degree by as much as 15 years.

Edit: To be even more technical, if you go the route of Master Teacher certification through Pearson, you'll never need a master's degree... though I hope you like staying on the Bachelor's / Bachelor's +15 step 5 pay scale for eternity.

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ohhgrrl t1_iyypz9q wrote

Not quite fully accurate. You just need a bachelors depending on the job and the district. I’m a teacher from another state who just moved here and getting licensed for MA. My bachelors is not in my content area.

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