Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Do teachers need advanced degrees?

cremieux.xyz

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 70 posts

Re: Do teachers need advanced degrees?

#21

Post by AndrewKemendo »

OccamsMirror wrote: post #13
EtienneDeLyon wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When you overpay teachers, people who hate teaching, and hate being teachers, will become teachers for the money. Is a good idea to select the people who hate teaching to become teachers?

When you overpay CEOs, people who hate leading, and hate being CEOs, will become CEOs for the money. Is a good idea to select the people who hate leading to become CEOs?

You say that as though it’s an option

CEO is selected by the investors for whoever will side with the investors 100% of the time over every other group including employees

What you suggest would subvert this and so it won’t and can’t happen

Re: Do teachers need advanced degrees?

#22

Post by codegrappler »

OccamsMirror wrote: post #13
EtienneDeLyon wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When you overpay teachers, people who hate teaching, and hate being teachers, will become teachers for the money. Is a good idea to select the people who hate teaching to become teachers?

When you overpay CEOs, people who hate leading, and hate being CEOs, will become CEOs for the money. Is a good idea to select the people who hate leading to become CEOs?

We call this new movement “involuntary CEO”. Bob you’re now it.

Re: Do teachers need advanced degrees?

#25

Post by CivBase »

No job "needs advanced degrees". They need experience.

If you want to get your foot in the door in a competitive market, degrees help. They offer some substitute for experience. But it's ridiculous to require them.

Re: Do teachers need advanced degrees?

#26

Post by Theodores »

erelong wrote: post #7

Shouldn't need any degrees tbh, only the ability to do their job

My mother was one of those teachers that had questionable qualifications. This was a problem from time to time as different government edicts and local authority changes made teachers effectively reapply for their jobs.

Eventually she did get a degree, albeit with my father writing up most of the assignments, however, I was underwhelmed by this. I felt that it was quite an indulgence for just a piece of paper.

Subject matter does matter. My mother was teaching art which might as well have been craft. What she brought to the class was experience, experience in crafts and experience existing as a money-making artist. She also knew a few people.

Few in academia could match her skill set and there were no complaints. It didn't matter that she was practically illiterate when it came to writing.

Re: Do teachers need advanced degrees?

#27

Post by goosejuice »

m348e912 wrote: post #2

Teaching salaries start at $48,112 on average. If schools want advanced degrees the industry needs to pay more, and that's beyond whatever adjustment the provide for holding an advanced degree.

All things considered, it's much better than it's made out to be.

Teaching is pretty stable, offers pensions, unionized, yearly adjusted for CPI, opportunities to increase pay schedule + extra pay with extra curriculars / duties, lots of time off, good hours.

Don't get me wrong. There are issues and it does depend on the district (US).

Now the aides..

Re: Do teachers need advanced degrees?

#28

Post by m463 »

class3shock wrote: post #19

It's funny that this is a question when every college STEM class is taught by people who have degrees that have absolutely nothing to do with being able to teach effectively.

I think a lot of teaching jobs are like that.

If you were good at teaching STEM, I think you could probably work nearby in a STEM job for more money.

Re: Do teachers need advanced degrees?

#29

Post by 1attice »

Such a ridiculous framing. Of course a teacher needs to provably know their subject, along with a solid practicum and a dollop of teaching theory, because, as with teaching oneself piano, bad teaching habits get engrained easily.

That said, some subjects are more difficult than others to teach, and thus require better education.

Re: Do teachers need advanced degrees?

#30

Post by rao-v »

My understanding is that, these days, a lot of advanced degrees held by teachers are in Education, not say Math or History.

I’d love to see this data recut by degree type.

Edit - wow we’re talking about 50-70% of the masters being in Education, Special Education or Admin fields. (Page 14: https://mhec.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/202510-MHEC-Grad...)

This data is basically telling us nothing about the value of a topical masters degree.

Post reply on HN