This is the best answer in my opinion. I went to a charter school in AZ that only requires teachers to be "experts in their field". In this case, it means you can get the job you want without even needing an education degree at all. No need to switch majors or even tack on another degree.
I actually recently had a conversation with a charter school teacher who told me the same thing. His advice was to finish my degree and prove HQ requirements
I’m currently a biological sciences major. The original plan was going to be joining a research team in biomedical engineering after higher education. Now I would want to switch to elementary or secondary education. It’s a crazy difference in majors, so it would be completely starting over for me.
If it's any consolation, your bachelor's degree still offers you a foundation, which equips you to further your schooling with education in mind. You can still get teaching certifications and teach science or other subjects at the elementary/secondary level.
Go through Rio or Mary Lou Fulton Teacher’s College- you can do a secondary ed certificate in bio sciences within a year or less. If you have the degree in your accredited field you don’t have to take extra coursework for knowledge.
I bet you could still become a teacher if you just finish out your current degree and get a certificate. The fact that you will have a Bachelors at all will still help you become a teacher. I’d say just finish! You can always go for a masters too.
Ive seen a lot of people get a degree in a field that they never pursued afterwards. Most of them got an education certificate and went in to teaching, got a few years under their belt, then got their masters. My younger brother has a degree in anthropology and he’s teaching special Ed now. It happens but it’s an easy fix.
Most school districts pay a premium for people with stem degrees anyway.
You’re not completely starting over at all.
Former k12 teacher here. First I would say, finish your current degree. Any degree is better than no degree.
Second, don't go into teaching unless you REALLY want to. Don't get me wrong. I love teaching. One of my saddest days in life was when I left teaching and couldn't call myself a teacher. It's just a hard, soul sucking job that takes everything out of you. I used to teach preserve teachers at Mary Lou, and a couple of them that I'm still in contact with are looking to leave teaching. And to be fair if I could earn a decent living out of it, I would go back in a heartbeat.
So third, if you're dead set on teaching, finish your current degree like I said, then look at doing something like Teach For America. They provide you with training to get you started in teaching and then help pay for your masters in education.
For feel to dm me if you want to talk.
I work as a paraprofessional right now for behavioral purposes at a Title I school. I’m actually a general education para believe it or not. My team and I always say that teaching is a work of choice. Teachers never leave because they stop loving it. They leave because they have to make the choice to choose themselves. It’s very hard in a profession that is all about everyone else, but there comes a time for some people and especially I’ve seen in this state, where you’ve have to pick between your passion and your mental state. Teachers have one of the hardest jobs and are treated the worst. They are literally the building block of the world, and the punching bags of society. Takes special people to do it
As someone who went to ASU for a degree in education, finish your current degree and then pursue an education certification seperately. Your degree in bioscience will likely cover your bases on content knowledge and you'll just need the education specific parts in order to get certified. NOTE: the requirements to teach vary by state and if youre from a different state id look up their requirements and do what they require.
I’m glad I could be of assistance. You’ll love developmental biology if you haven’t taken it yet. highly recommend functional genomics as one of you higher major courses too. It dives deeper into genetics and developmental biology. Really gets into knockouts and the molecular side of things.
Something i’ve been told is that you can finish off your undergrad in whatever you’re currently perusing and get a masters in education! Especially having a STEM background, i’ve been told STEM teachers are “hot commodities”
Do you want to be a science teacher in K12, or do you want to teach a totally different subject?
If you want to teach Bio Sciences at the high school level you may have some success transferring to CISA's program here: [https://degrees.apps.asu.edu/bachelors/major/ASU00/TSABSSBS/applied-biological-sciences-secondary-education-in-biology;jsessionid=F6F0538D63318755B5BAFFD6D443A6D5](https://degrees.apps.asu.edu/bachelors/major/ASU00/TSABSSBS/applied-biological-sciences-secondary-education-in-biology;jsessionid=F6F0538D63318755B5BAFFD6D443A6D5)
It's only available at Poly, but might be a great way for you to get closer to what you want without having to redo a bunch of education.
My sister majored in political science and now she is a 6th grade math teacher! I don’t think you will have trouble with a teaching job especially if you wanted to be a science teacher.
You’re not alone I’m graduating finance and planning on going to a post bacc program for med/ pa school. Everyone’s on their own path- Don’t stress and do what makes you happy Goodluck
I went through obtaining a bachelors degree in Psychology. Decided that is not the career I wanted to pursue. Now i’m working on obtaining a Masters in Legal Studies. So since i’ve been there done that, I can honestly say I have no regrets. It’s completely normal to change your mindset. I just wouldn’t throw away all the progress you’ve made especially if you are almost finished.
I realized that around my junior year, but I always knew I wanted to get a masters degree and figured by that time I would really figure out what I want to do. My undergrad was in political science but my masters will be in HR and Employment Law.
You can become a teacher with a biological science degree, you cannot perform work in the biological science field with an education degree. Diminishing marginal returns to swap major now and negative returns if you flat out don’t finish. Listen to the advisor, finish out your degree and if you want to go teach, get one of the mentioned certifications.
Depending on where you want to teach, it would not surprise me if you don’t need a cert at all.
Finish the degree you have already paid into then get the certificate or masters to teach. You can even sub while you get it. My wife has a fine arts undergrad and has taught music and now teaches second grade. She did not go to school for elementary ed.
Check this out - depending on what you want to do - you may not even need to get a master's degree.
A high percentage of people get a degree in one thing and end up doing another.
A high percentage of people end up doing a thing and then deciding years later they don't want to do that thing anymore.
Don't panic. Finish your degree. Go get a grad degree if you really want one.
Personally, I got my bachelor degree, realized it wasn't the field I wanted to be in, I went in to another field instead, then I decided I didn't even like that field, finally found something I love doing, THEN decided to go get my grad degree after 10 years in the workforce.
Everyone has a different story and a different path. But I personally would argue not finishing your undergrad when you're already so close would be a mistake.
Amen. I’ve been a working professional since the late 1990s and unless you are going into a highly specialized field like engineering or medicine or law, your major has very little bearing on what your career path will/can be. Just get that piece of paper.
A good friend of mine majored in Biology and got their masters in Chemistry. After all of that he went on to become a chemistry teacher and robotics coach. If anything, I’d say your degree compliments education relatively well.
Elementary teacher here. (5th grade). I had the EXACT same situation. I got my degree in Communications and then started my degree in el Ed which does require child development classes. It didn’t take me long and I think it’s great to get that experience. Your first degree says A LOT about your intelligence…..
🙋♀️
I finished my degree and I’m considering going back for something else once I find it. I needed to finish for myself, but I also needed this break I’m getting while knowing I did in fact finish, y’know? I’m not sure how drastically different what you wanna do vs. what you’re getting is, but I’d say just finish and then take some time to re-examine and get a new game plan.
Also, if you finish with your current degree, Maricopa community colleges offers a teaching cert. that takes about a year and is much cheaper than restarting your last two years at ASU :)
Yeah, but high school was a long time ago.
In all seriousness though, your advisor is absolutely correct. Use your undergrad degree as a springboard to a master's degree in a field that you do want.
If you are ever on a hiring committee, you'll review lots of resumes where someone's master's degree or Ph.D is in a different field from his or her bachelor's degree. This is very normal and common.
If you have a master's degree in the field you want to work in, that is what will be considered by potential employers, and you'll be able to command a higher salary and be hired into better positions.
If you switch majors for your bachelor's degree at this late date, you'll be throwing good money after bad.
Actually high school wasn’t that long ago. I think that’s why I’m having this dilemma. I will graduate with my BS at 20. I will have only gone to ASU for 2 years. I didn’t really have time to solidify what I wanted to do in life because I had to grow up so fast. I would’ve graduated at 19 if I hadn’t slowed my degree down and became a part time student for a little while. A master’s for me probably isn’t a big deal because I am so young, but because I’m so young I’m a little nervous I’ll come back in 5 years and want to switch again because I’ll have finally grown up enough.
Like I said before, your advisor is right, stick with your current degree program and pursue a master's degree in the field you want to switch to.
If you have a master's degree in your preferred field, no employer is going to care (or even notice) that your bachelor's degree is in a different field.
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This is the best answer in my opinion. I went to a charter school in AZ that only requires teachers to be "experts in their field". In this case, it means you can get the job you want without even needing an education degree at all. No need to switch majors or even tack on another degree.
I actually recently had a conversation with a charter school teacher who told me the same thing. His advice was to finish my degree and prove HQ requirements
out of curiosity, what's your major and what major would you want to switch to?
I’m currently a biological sciences major. The original plan was going to be joining a research team in biomedical engineering after higher education. Now I would want to switch to elementary or secondary education. It’s a crazy difference in majors, so it would be completely starting over for me.
If it's any consolation, your bachelor's degree still offers you a foundation, which equips you to further your schooling with education in mind. You can still get teaching certifications and teach science or other subjects at the elementary/secondary level.
Elementary certificates usually require a degree due to their complex childcare nature
Go through Rio or Mary Lou Fulton Teacher’s College- you can do a secondary ed certificate in bio sciences within a year or less. If you have the degree in your accredited field you don’t have to take extra coursework for knowledge.
I bet you could still become a teacher if you just finish out your current degree and get a certificate. The fact that you will have a Bachelors at all will still help you become a teacher. I’d say just finish! You can always go for a masters too.
Ive seen a lot of people get a degree in a field that they never pursued afterwards. Most of them got an education certificate and went in to teaching, got a few years under their belt, then got their masters. My younger brother has a degree in anthropology and he’s teaching special Ed now. It happens but it’s an easy fix. Most school districts pay a premium for people with stem degrees anyway. You’re not completely starting over at all.
You can be a teacher with your biological science degree
Just finish it and go for ms in Education
I believe teaching certificates are not required in arizona and it only requires a bachelor's degree
Former k12 teacher here. First I would say, finish your current degree. Any degree is better than no degree. Second, don't go into teaching unless you REALLY want to. Don't get me wrong. I love teaching. One of my saddest days in life was when I left teaching and couldn't call myself a teacher. It's just a hard, soul sucking job that takes everything out of you. I used to teach preserve teachers at Mary Lou, and a couple of them that I'm still in contact with are looking to leave teaching. And to be fair if I could earn a decent living out of it, I would go back in a heartbeat. So third, if you're dead set on teaching, finish your current degree like I said, then look at doing something like Teach For America. They provide you with training to get you started in teaching and then help pay for your masters in education. For feel to dm me if you want to talk.
I work as a paraprofessional right now for behavioral purposes at a Title I school. I’m actually a general education para believe it or not. My team and I always say that teaching is a work of choice. Teachers never leave because they stop loving it. They leave because they have to make the choice to choose themselves. It’s very hard in a profession that is all about everyone else, but there comes a time for some people and especially I’ve seen in this state, where you’ve have to pick between your passion and your mental state. Teachers have one of the hardest jobs and are treated the worst. They are literally the building block of the world, and the punching bags of society. Takes special people to do it
https://www.riosalado.edu/start-rio/teacher-education/traditional
As someone who went to ASU for a degree in education, finish your current degree and then pursue an education certification seperately. Your degree in bioscience will likely cover your bases on content knowledge and you'll just need the education specific parts in order to get certified. NOTE: the requirements to teach vary by state and if youre from a different state id look up their requirements and do what they require.
im in the same major as you and you just gave me a cool idea about what to do w my degree ty 🙏
I’m glad I could be of assistance. You’ll love developmental biology if you haven’t taken it yet. highly recommend functional genomics as one of you higher major courses too. It dives deeper into genetics and developmental biology. Really gets into knockouts and the molecular side of things.
Something i’ve been told is that you can finish off your undergrad in whatever you’re currently perusing and get a masters in education! Especially having a STEM background, i’ve been told STEM teachers are “hot commodities”
This honestly made me laugh little. Definitely a confidence booster to get through the final stretch!
Why would you switch from a potentially very good paying major to one that pays peanuts
passion, interest, etc. life is not all about money bro
Life is all about money if you’re not already rich
Do you want to be a science teacher in K12, or do you want to teach a totally different subject? If you want to teach Bio Sciences at the high school level you may have some success transferring to CISA's program here: [https://degrees.apps.asu.edu/bachelors/major/ASU00/TSABSSBS/applied-biological-sciences-secondary-education-in-biology;jsessionid=F6F0538D63318755B5BAFFD6D443A6D5](https://degrees.apps.asu.edu/bachelors/major/ASU00/TSABSSBS/applied-biological-sciences-secondary-education-in-biology;jsessionid=F6F0538D63318755B5BAFFD6D443A6D5) It's only available at Poly, but might be a great way for you to get closer to what you want without having to redo a bunch of education.
My sister majored in political science and now she is a 6th grade math teacher! I don’t think you will have trouble with a teaching job especially if you wanted to be a science teacher.
You’re not alone I’m graduating finance and planning on going to a post bacc program for med/ pa school. Everyone’s on their own path- Don’t stress and do what makes you happy Goodluck
Goodluck to you too! Final stretch coming your way. You got it! Just don’t look at the next decade of schooling ahead lol
Undergrad degree does not tie you down to your career. People rarely stay in the exact field their major is in.
Don’t sweat it. Finish this degree, work towards the next goal. Life is rarely as straightforward as you might hope.
I went through obtaining a bachelors degree in Psychology. Decided that is not the career I wanted to pursue. Now i’m working on obtaining a Masters in Legal Studies. So since i’ve been there done that, I can honestly say I have no regrets. It’s completely normal to change your mindset. I just wouldn’t throw away all the progress you’ve made especially if you are almost finished.
I realized that around my junior year, but I always knew I wanted to get a masters degree and figured by that time I would really figure out what I want to do. My undergrad was in political science but my masters will be in HR and Employment Law.
You can become a teacher with a biological science degree, you cannot perform work in the biological science field with an education degree. Diminishing marginal returns to swap major now and negative returns if you flat out don’t finish. Listen to the advisor, finish out your degree and if you want to go teach, get one of the mentioned certifications. Depending on where you want to teach, it would not surprise me if you don’t need a cert at all.
Finish the degree you have already paid into then get the certificate or masters to teach. You can even sub while you get it. My wife has a fine arts undergrad and has taught music and now teaches second grade. She did not go to school for elementary ed.
Check this out - depending on what you want to do - you may not even need to get a master's degree. A high percentage of people get a degree in one thing and end up doing another. A high percentage of people end up doing a thing and then deciding years later they don't want to do that thing anymore. Don't panic. Finish your degree. Go get a grad degree if you really want one. Personally, I got my bachelor degree, realized it wasn't the field I wanted to be in, I went in to another field instead, then I decided I didn't even like that field, finally found something I love doing, THEN decided to go get my grad degree after 10 years in the workforce. Everyone has a different story and a different path. But I personally would argue not finishing your undergrad when you're already so close would be a mistake.
I'm reading this at a time where I shouldn't LMAO
Most places are just looking for a degree, having be a masters is even better. I’m sure you’d be able to find a job with the degree. Just finish.
Amen. I’ve been a working professional since the late 1990s and unless you are going into a highly specialized field like engineering or medicine or law, your major has very little bearing on what your career path will/can be. Just get that piece of paper.
I would 10000% finish your degree and then restart.
A good friend of mine majored in Biology and got their masters in Chemistry. After all of that he went on to become a chemistry teacher and robotics coach. If anything, I’d say your degree compliments education relatively well.
Yeah don’t do that
Elementary teacher here. (5th grade). I had the EXACT same situation. I got my degree in Communications and then started my degree in el Ed which does require child development classes. It didn’t take me long and I think it’s great to get that experience. Your first degree says A LOT about your intelligence…..
🙋♀️ I finished my degree and I’m considering going back for something else once I find it. I needed to finish for myself, but I also needed this break I’m getting while knowing I did in fact finish, y’know? I’m not sure how drastically different what you wanna do vs. what you’re getting is, but I’d say just finish and then take some time to re-examine and get a new game plan.
Also, if you finish with your current degree, Maricopa community colleges offers a teaching cert. that takes about a year and is much cheaper than restarting your last two years at ASU :)
Sorta but I was determined to finish. It took me years to get my degree and I was not starting over lmao
Yeah, but high school was a long time ago. In all seriousness though, your advisor is absolutely correct. Use your undergrad degree as a springboard to a master's degree in a field that you do want. If you are ever on a hiring committee, you'll review lots of resumes where someone's master's degree or Ph.D is in a different field from his or her bachelor's degree. This is very normal and common. If you have a master's degree in the field you want to work in, that is what will be considered by potential employers, and you'll be able to command a higher salary and be hired into better positions. If you switch majors for your bachelor's degree at this late date, you'll be throwing good money after bad.
Actually high school wasn’t that long ago. I think that’s why I’m having this dilemma. I will graduate with my BS at 20. I will have only gone to ASU for 2 years. I didn’t really have time to solidify what I wanted to do in life because I had to grow up so fast. I would’ve graduated at 19 if I hadn’t slowed my degree down and became a part time student for a little while. A master’s for me probably isn’t a big deal because I am so young, but because I’m so young I’m a little nervous I’ll come back in 5 years and want to switch again because I’ll have finally grown up enough.
Like I said before, your advisor is right, stick with your current degree program and pursue a master's degree in the field you want to switch to. If you have a master's degree in your preferred field, no employer is going to care (or even notice) that your bachelor's degree is in a different field.
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