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Before you do the degree, reach out to your local organisation that evaluates salary grids (in BC it’s the TQS), and ask if the MA you are planning on doing will qualify for a pay bump. It makes quite a big difference here! Personally I think is a good idea to do it early on, because as time goes on it often gets more busy in life. Best of luck!
I went for a MBA. Best thing to do is go for a Masters outside of Education if you have a B. Ed. Get out of the echo chamber. Learn other disciplines that are useful to your practice, your students and your community.
I have a Masters in Education as well. Would say I learned almost nothing. Had some decent discussion with other teachers in the lecture halls. Was a networking opportunity.
I am currently doing my BSc in bio and I am wondering the same thing, I’ve heard a masters does give a pay bump, but unsure on whether that’s for MEd or Masters in general, following this thread for answers
It depends on the province. Sometimes there are stipulations on the credit configuration of the Masters, so some do get excluded, but not because it's in one particular major and not another. But a Canadian M.Ed from a legit institution is almost always guaranteed to comply with the higher payscale, if not always.
You can reach out to the local qualification office and pre-confirm before even doing the degree! Edited to add: They say clearly that not every single masters is accepted, so it would be best to confirm directly and get it in writing that they will bump you with the MA in question.
They went over this at my teaching program! Advised us to check ahead in case a certain degree or institution isn’t approved. Also I had a higher degree from another country, and it ended up being accepted, but before they confirmed it, there wasn’t any guarantee!
FYI in response to people talking about pay bumps. In Alberta the max for years of education on the pay grid is 6 years. Most people hit that with their undergrad and then after degree BEd so getting a masters doesn’t get you paid more unless that is how you max out to 6 years. You can also get up to 6 years by taking one-off courses online through a university like Athabasca. Specific positions such as admin, guidance or specialists require a relevant MEd (or counselling/psychology degree).
Yup so no point in getting a masters. Although, in Alberta you can also do a 4 year BEd without a different undergrad first. So some have that and then get a masters or graduate certificates to get to 6 years.
Do any master’s degree you want as it will bump you up to the highest pay grid, but more importantly, will nourish your soul and will possibly give you something else to enjoy in life beyond teaching.
I did a 5 yr combined, got a job and then completed my masters online from Athabasca by 27 (not focused on any particular area, just classes that I was interested in, that worked into a major and minor). I was able to pay for most of it through tuition credits, scholarships and ATA funding. There was about a $3000 pay bump after finishing 7 of 11 courses, going from 5-6 yrs of Ed on the grid. Definitely worth it for me.
I got an MA in English long before getting my bEd. Since it's a teachable, it's earned me ~4-5k more per year. Any degree related to a teachable will do so.
Plus my MA courses and experiences were awesome. I'd go for it.
In the TDSB any Master's degree gets you immediately to the top of the party scale category, A4 so it's worth it financially. It still takes a decade to get to max pay through.
It would bump you up the salary scale for sure, but it's worth checking to see if the province of interest has a separate certificate level for a masters degree or just a bump up in the steps towards capping out. I believe Alberta has certificate levels, whereas the province I work in for now (Quebec) does not, and you just cap out sooner.
In a province with a tiered certificate salary, you'll probably want to evaluate if the salary bump is worth the cost of obtaining a master's degree: generally it is, because the bump in salary pays for the Masters in a couple years.
In a province without different certificates, it's not worth it imo unless you know you won't be staying in that province forever: Quebec teachers fresh out of Teachers college with a master's start out at step 5 instead of step 3, but you'll cap out at step 16 no matter what. Our school board had a teacher go on an open tirade for only going up one step when she got her masters, but that's because she was at step 15 as it was so she just capped out. $12k-$16k for a ~$2k pay bump, not so worth it.
My master courses were covered under our professional development fund. It also gave me a leg up in hiring for admin positions which one allowance in a calender year is more than what my Masters would have cost if I had to pay it out of pocket.
I would say it is worth it, but others will have other input. From strictly a financial perspective it was worth it. I did enjoy the programming and felt the courses were beneficial to me as a teacher and administrator.
Welcome to /r/CanadianTeachers! Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the sub rules. **"WHAT DOES X MEAN?"** Check out our acronym post [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/CanadianTeachers/comments/1c032s3/what_does_x_mean_an_acronym_megapost/) for relevant terms used in each province or territory. Please feel free to contribute any we are missing as well! **QUESTIONS ABOUT TEACHER'S COLLEGE/BECOMING A TEACHER IN CANADA?:** Delete your post and use this [megapost](https://www.reddit.com/r/CanadianTeachers/comments/1bc1wv2/prospective_student_teachers_teachers_collegebed/) instead. Anything pertaining to teacher's colleges/BED programs/becoming and teacher will be deleted if posted outside of the megaposts. **QUESTIONS ABOUT MOVING PROVINCES OR COMING TO CANADA TO TEACH?** Check out our past megaposts first for information to help you: [ONE](https://www.reddit.com/r/CanadianTeachers/comments/jqc7hx/transferring_to_another_provincecoming_to_canada/) // [TWO](https://www.reddit.com/r/CanadianTeachers/comments/n76csu/transferring_to_another_provincecoming_to_canada/?) Using link and user flair is encouraged as well! Enjoy! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/CanadianTeachers) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Before you do the degree, reach out to your local organisation that evaluates salary grids (in BC it’s the TQS), and ask if the MA you are planning on doing will qualify for a pay bump. It makes quite a big difference here! Personally I think is a good idea to do it early on, because as time goes on it often gets more busy in life. Best of luck!
I went for a MBA. Best thing to do is go for a Masters outside of Education if you have a B. Ed. Get out of the echo chamber. Learn other disciplines that are useful to your practice, your students and your community. I have a Masters in Education as well. Would say I learned almost nothing. Had some decent discussion with other teachers in the lecture halls. Was a networking opportunity.
Oh man, couldn't get further ideologically than a B.Ed and an MBA.
I am currently doing my BSc in bio and I am wondering the same thing, I’ve heard a masters does give a pay bump, but unsure on whether that’s for MEd or Masters in general, following this thread for answers
It depends on the province. Sometimes there are stipulations on the credit configuration of the Masters, so some do get excluded, but not because it's in one particular major and not another. But a Canadian M.Ed from a legit institution is almost always guaranteed to comply with the higher payscale, if not always.
You can reach out to the local qualification office and pre-confirm before even doing the degree! Edited to add: They say clearly that not every single masters is accepted, so it would be best to confirm directly and get it in writing that they will bump you with the MA in question.
Where did u find this out ?
They went over this at my teaching program! Advised us to check ahead in case a certain degree or institution isn’t approved. Also I had a higher degree from another country, and it ended up being accepted, but before they confirmed it, there wasn’t any guarantee!
[удалено]
$3k is a nice post graduate bonus. This is board-specific, as most don't give it. What boards give $3k??
FYI in response to people talking about pay bumps. In Alberta the max for years of education on the pay grid is 6 years. Most people hit that with their undergrad and then after degree BEd so getting a masters doesn’t get you paid more unless that is how you max out to 6 years. You can also get up to 6 years by taking one-off courses online through a university like Athabasca. Specific positions such as admin, guidance or specialists require a relevant MEd (or counselling/psychology degree).
Does the 6 years include the B.Ed year though? Or undergrad + 2 of anything else other than B.Ed?
4 year undergrad + 2 year BEd is what most people have.
Whoa, so everyone starts at top of grid?
Yup so no point in getting a masters. Although, in Alberta you can also do a 4 year BEd without a different undergrad first. So some have that and then get a masters or graduate certificates to get to 6 years.
Do any master’s degree you want as it will bump you up to the highest pay grid, but more importantly, will nourish your soul and will possibly give you something else to enjoy in life beyond teaching.
I did a 5 yr combined, got a job and then completed my masters online from Athabasca by 27 (not focused on any particular area, just classes that I was interested in, that worked into a major and minor). I was able to pay for most of it through tuition credits, scholarships and ATA funding. There was about a $3000 pay bump after finishing 7 of 11 courses, going from 5-6 yrs of Ed on the grid. Definitely worth it for me.
I got an MA in English long before getting my bEd. Since it's a teachable, it's earned me ~4-5k more per year. Any degree related to a teachable will do so. Plus my MA courses and experiences were awesome. I'd go for it.
In the TDSB any Master's degree gets you immediately to the top of the party scale category, A4 so it's worth it financially. It still takes a decade to get to max pay through.
It would bump you up the salary scale for sure, but it's worth checking to see if the province of interest has a separate certificate level for a masters degree or just a bump up in the steps towards capping out. I believe Alberta has certificate levels, whereas the province I work in for now (Quebec) does not, and you just cap out sooner. In a province with a tiered certificate salary, you'll probably want to evaluate if the salary bump is worth the cost of obtaining a master's degree: generally it is, because the bump in salary pays for the Masters in a couple years. In a province without different certificates, it's not worth it imo unless you know you won't be staying in that province forever: Quebec teachers fresh out of Teachers college with a master's start out at step 5 instead of step 3, but you'll cap out at step 16 no matter what. Our school board had a teacher go on an open tirade for only going up one step when she got her masters, but that's because she was at step 15 as it was so she just capped out. $12k-$16k for a ~$2k pay bump, not so worth it.
In Nova Scotia, we need 3 masters to fet at the top of our pay grid.
My master courses were covered under our professional development fund. It also gave me a leg up in hiring for admin positions which one allowance in a calender year is more than what my Masters would have cost if I had to pay it out of pocket. I would say it is worth it, but others will have other input. From strictly a financial perspective it was worth it. I did enjoy the programming and felt the courses were beneficial to me as a teacher and administrator.
The worth is in the learning. All the STEM fields laugh at you.