Teacher Education Grade Specific

Types of Degrees Teacher Education Grade Specific Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many teacher education grade specific graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	29,374
Graduate Certificate	4,646
Doctor’s Degree	431

What Teacher Education Grade Specific Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to grade specific ed and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Grade Specific Ed Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in grade specific ed should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Skills for Grade Specific Ed Majors

When studying grade specific ed, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Abilities for Grade Specific Ed Majors

As a grade specific ed major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

What Can You Do With a Teacher Education Grade Specific Major?

People with a grade specific ed degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education	7.4%	$58,230
Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education	8.0%	$55,470
Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	7.5%	$58,600
Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education	10.5%	$29,780
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	7.5%	$60,320
Self-Enrichment Education Teachers	16.2%	$38,720
Tutors	9.9%	NA

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Teacher Education Grade Specific?

This is one of the most frequently chosen graduate majors. It is the 5th most popular in the country with 29,240 students graduating with a master’s in grade specific ed in 2021. The major attracts more women than men. About 80% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of grade specific ed majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	974
Black or African American	4,085
Hispanic or Latino	3,582
White	17,469
International Students	438
Other Races/Ethnicities	2,826

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Grade Specific Ed, too. About 1.5% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• Canada
• South Korea
• Saudi Arabia
• Taiwan

How Much Do Teacher Education Grade Specific Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

The U.S. Department of Education found that students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a master’s degree in teacher education grade specific made a median starting salary of $45,662 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $41,732 (25th percentile) and $50,155 (75th percentile).

It’s important to note that just because the people reporting these salaries have a degree in grade specific ed, it does not mean that they are working in a job related to their degree.

Salaries According to BLS

Grade Specific Ed majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $44,960 to $62,200 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Teacher Education Grade Specific

Some careers associated with grade specific ed require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to grade specific ed have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	0.2%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	5.8%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	3.2%
Some College Courses	4.6%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	4.7%
Bachelor’s Degree	53.0%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	10.0%
Master’s Degree	17.4%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	1.3%
Doctoral Degree	1.0%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.1%

Online Teacher Education Grade Specific Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 1,892 schools offered some type of teacher education grade specific program. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	319	43
Certificate (2-4 Years)	14	1
Associate’s Degree	937	141
Bachelor’s Degree	456	121
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	1,569	309
Post-Master’s	140	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	81	10
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	2	2

Is a Degree in Teacher Education Grade Specific Worth It?

The median salary for a grade specific ed grad is $58,370 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 46% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $369,400 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Teacher Education Grade Specific

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to grade specific ed.

Major	Number of Grads
Educational Administration	45,458
Special Education	25,158
General Education	21,189
Teacher Education Subject Specific	20,616
Curriculum & Instruction	19,784
Student Counseling	13,840
Instructional Media Design	8,387
Teaching English or French	4,743
Other Education	2,513
Multilingual Education	1,672
Educational Assessment	1,215
Education Philosophy	421
International Education	257
Teaching Assistants	20

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Vgrigas under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.