One of the hardest things about being a new mom is deciding when to go back to work. Some moms stay at home for a few years, and some moms go back to work as soon as their maternity leave is up. There's no right answer, because it depends on the particular family situation a mom is in. One thing is certain though, moms everywhere want to have a good balance of work and family time, without sacrificing too much for either one.
For a lot of moms, working a typical 9 to 5 job just doesn't fit because they want more time with their families. They might be thinking about trying to find a job that suits the schedule and life of a busy family, including school, work, soccer and more. Moms who are trying to figure out a job that's more realistic for their lives may want to think about going back to school to get an education degree.
Getting an education degree may be the right move for moms who want more flexibility in their schedules. Being a teacher means a different set of working hours and days that better matches what their children's school schedule is. While a teacher still works from Monday through Friday, there are a lot of other days off during the year, too. Most of the days off that a teacher has match with the kids' days off, except for teacher in service days or other scheduled workdays when kids don't go to school, but teachers do.
For example, when the kids are home for summer vacation, you will be, too. The same goes for Christmas and Spring breaks. You won't have to worry any more about what you'll be doing during all those school holidays, because you'll be home with your kids. The worry and cost of finding childcare can be mostly a thing of the past, because you can largely be at home when they are.
There are a wide variety of education degrees that you can get, depending on what age children you want to teach. If you want to teach younger children at the pre-K level, you can go to school to get an associate degree in early childhood education in about two years. In many associate degree programs for early childhood education, the state certification process is included in the degree itself.
Teachers who teach at the elementary school level and higher need to complete a bachelor's degree in order to teach. Students who get a bachelor's degree in a particular subject such as English or history will also need to complete an education certification with the state they will be teaching in before they will be allowed to teach. Other aspiring teachers will work to receive a bachelor's degree in education, often with a specialized focus, like K - 5 education or science education. Your college will be able to help guide you in choosing your major and education specialty. Another good source of information is your state's department of education website.
Additionally, there are many grants and scholarships available to help pay for school for people who want to receive high levels of teaching accreditation in preparation for their teaching career. The TEACH grant is a federal program that awards money to students enrolled in teaching programs and requires graduates to teach at schools that are identified as having students from primarily low income families. TEACH recipients are required to teach for four years at one of the schools identified in the Department of Education's Low Income Directory. For teachers who are interested in making a big difference, a TEACH grant may be an ideal tool to help pay for school and giving teachers an opportunity to make a big impact.
