The National Center for Education Statistics estimates that there are 3.5 million elementary and secondary school teachers at work in the United States in the fall of 2021. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts another 1.9 million jobs opening up for teachers of preschool through postsecondary school between 2014 and 2024.
Teaching as a career seems to get more bad press than good, but it's undeniable that great teachers remain in high demand and that demand for good teachers will only grow in the coming decades. We have good reason to think that teaching remains one of the most fulfilling and secure professions out there, even if it has lost some of its charm in the public consciousness.
Today, we're making the case for the benefits of being a teacher for all people who are interested in making a difference in the world. Let’s explore four major benefits of being a teacher regardless of location, grade level, or district.
1) The field of education offers multiple pathways and many opportunities for job growth.
What we know about teaching and learning continues to evolve, leading to long-term career satisfaction and professional growth opportunities. As long as the field of education is evolving, your career in teaching can be evolving too, which allows you to take on new challenges and grow professionally.
A teaching credential is the first step to getting into the classroom environment. For those who want to grow professionally long-term, a master’s degree is typically needed to open up pathways to specialties and leadership roles within education. With a master’s degree, you can go on to work in school administration, curriculum development, special education, research and academia, and more.
2) A teaching career can give you stability, job security, and an outlet for human compassion and interaction.
When you work as a teacher, your job cannot be automated and includes many opportunities for you to show up as a complete human being, with emotional and intuitive gifts.
In an era where fear of AI and outsourcing is widespread, teaching represents a stable career with a lot of job security. Technology continues to improve methodologies and provide tools for learning and teaching, but teachers will always be needed. Teachers offer children compassion, inspiration, interaction, and adaptive responses that cannot be replaced by an automated process or advanced learning tool. Humane classrooms raise strong, brave humans who can and will change the world.
Most major districts recognize the importance of investing in educators; in 88% of the country’s largest districts, teachers with master’s degrees are given an automatic increase in salary. While in other fields, professionals wonder how to get ahead and what their next move should be, the field of education offers clear avenues for advancement, like getting a master’s degree.
3) Being a teacher allows you to make a concrete difference in the life of a child.
One of the most satisfying things about being a teacher is how concrete and noticeable your impact can be. In many career fields, professionals can go their entire lives without a lot of clarity about what they personally have contributed or done. They don’t see the clear fruit of their efforts.
With teaching, you have clear and concrete signs that your effort is resulting in social, emotional, or educational advances for your students, and this makes teaching a very appealing line of work, with built-in sources of motivation and positivity.
This is often the benefit that attracts future teachers to the profession in the first place. Most teachers can attest to the commitment to their students' growth as one of the most obvious benefits of being a teacher. Finding yourself here? This is what to do next.
4) Being a teacher offers you a high degree of flexibility and creativity in the day-to-day.
Your classroom is your kingdom. Of course, you have boundaries in the form of professional boundaries and student outcome expectations, but beyond these, you have the freedom to run your classroom in the way you think will best promote student learning.
You have mentors and support, but in your classroom, you are the authority. If you think of a new and brilliant group project, you can try it out. If you decide to switch up your lesson plan after gauging the mood in the classroom, you can carry that out. You are encouraged to take ownership of your work and your students. If you enjoy flexible, creative, innovative environments, you may enjoy running a classroom.
Explore Why You Should Consider a Career in Teaching in This Resource
These are four compelling reasons to consider a career in teaching, but there is much more to be said on this topic and related ones. Here at the University of San Diego School of Leadership and Education Sciences (SOLES), we're determined to work alongside the most talented, passionate, future teachers and leaders of society.
If you've been considering a teaching career, but you're not sure if it's the field for you, we've got a full resource dedicated to exploring that question: Should I Become a Teacher? Exploring The Untold Benefits of a Teaching Career.
Download the guide today and discover all the benefits a teaching career can offer you!
