Gardner says that she thinks all teachers should have at least a master’s degree these days. “I wouldn’t dream of not pursuing it,” she advises up-and-comers. “There’s too much new information coming out all the time.” In fact, many states require that teachers obtain their graduate degrees within a specified period of time after they have begun teaching. Most new teachers are hired on a probationary basis, sometimes for several years, and are required to pursue professional or master’s-level credits in order to renew their licenses and move up the pay scale or teach at a higher grade level.

Get a license.
State Boards of Education issue teaching licensures to all general education teachers, which most states require of all but private school teachers. Being licensed may mean submitting to a background check and fingerprinting. Licenses are maintained or renewed through competency testing in core subjects, as well as special-area testing for some states or districts.

Look beyond K-12 teaching opportunities.
Claire Stiles began her teaching career in New Jersey in 1968, earning $13,000 a year. Now she’s a tenured professor in the Human Development department at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, earning more than five times her original salary. Stiles says that tenure is difficult to earn—she had to wait for ten years before earning the job security and academic freedom that tenure provides. “But at a smaller, teaching oriented, liberal arts college, it is less onerous,” she says. “At large universities, it is more difficult and painful. The pressure can be enormous for younger faculty who must juggle teaching, advising, committee work, and research and writing.”