Now that you know I don’t have a degree in education, but still have a teaching job, what’s the plan?

Obviously, it’s possible to just continue on this path of not having any formal education and still working in the field of education. However, this isn’t just another job to me; this is hopefully going to be my career. The last thing I want to do is coast-along with the limited knowledge I have and try to keep up every year. For that reason, I have a lot of different ideas running through my head regarding the degrees I can get to become a licensed teacher. This all depends on an array of factors which I will be mentioning today.

For those who don’t know (aka everyone here), I am recently married and my husband and I are planning to have kids soon (within a year). Because of certain degree requirements, getting pregnant will impede on my applications to some programs, but I don’t really care. I went into teaching because I realized it’s a more family-friendly job than most, so I’m fine with limited program options. To remain as private as possible, I will be listing the programs and why they would or wouldn’t work, but I will not be providing names or details that could relay them back to any university in particular :

1. 2 year program; night and weekend classes; intensive; need to be employed at a school to be eligible. Although this program is an intensive, I would get my degree quicker than with a regular education program. The issue is that I need to be employed for the duration of my studies. If I’d like to apply for the upcoming 2026-2027 school year, that means I wouldn’t be able to get pregnant because I am NOT putting my kid in daycare before the age of 3 (or at least until they can speak full sentences). It is also possible that when I am pregnant, I won’t be immune to certain diseases that impact fetal development and therefore may not even be allowed to work in a school.
2. 4 year program; day classes; regular/full-time program. This program is fine. It’s the basic program that everyone can apply to, however you must follow your cohort. This means that if I need to lighten my course load, it wouldn’t be possible. I would absolutely need to complete the program in 4 years and keep up with everyone in my cohort. The issue with this is that being a parent requires flexibility on all fronts, and I could not be tied down to a program that would result in me possibly burning out and quitting.

3. 6 year program; day classes/online; part-time program. Clearly this is the best option, but I am definitely not a fan of the 6 year part of it all. Hopefully I can match some credits, but honestly it just seems like it’s the only feasible option if I want to grow my family and still start solidifying my career, I have no choice. I will say, hopefully some credits from my Bachelor degree are transferrable and therefore could reduce my course load. I also noticed the university mentioned the possibility of work experience having an impact on the course load, so maybe I can bring the overall time down to 5 years. The part-time aspect is really what’s most important, since I would be able to continue to work/raise a family while still taking steps towards completing my degree.

As you can see, my plan isn’t exactly clear, but I’m definitely going to try. The goal is to start applying tonight so stay tuned for the results!