Online degree programs and distance learning options have been around for quite some time, but they definitely became more well-known during 2020, where studying online was the only option for many colleges and students who wanted to continue the learning process throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. With stay-at-home orders and lockdowns in place, students have been adapting to learning from home, which has taken online and distance learning even more mainstream and making it known to anybody who needs an alternative education option for furthering their career. Teachers are professionals that are in high demand right now, and if you are already a teacher looking to get into a more advanced role, or are considering this career path for your future, studying online can be a great way to achieve your goals and prepare yourself for teaching in this new era of virtual education. We’ve put together just some of the best reasons to consider getting a teaching degree online.

Range of Programs Available

With online learning now more popular than ever before, there’s an increasing number of colleges and universities adding online teaching and education degree programs to what they offer, with programs available at every level. Whether you are just starting out with training to be a teacher or are currently teaching and considering and advanced program such as these online EdD programs with no GRE requirement from Marymount University, there are countless options available for you to choose from.

One of the main benefits of studying online is that you do not need to live physically close to the college that you choose to study at, opening up more opportunities and providing you with more choice when it comes to what you decide to study. You can find general programs that cover a wide range of teaching aspects or specialist roles with a focus on a certain area that are ideal for getting into a relevant career such as educational leadership or educational psychology.

High Demand

Another main reason why more people are deciding on an online degree to become a teacher is that the demand for teachers is currently very high. If you are working in a career that you are not very satisfied with and want to change to something with better opportunities, demand everywhere you go and lots of opportunities to work in different areas, then teaching could be an ideal option for you. School is the norm for kids everywhere around the world, so training as a teacher means that your skills, knowledge and education are going to be in demand no matter where you go.

Work from Home Opportunities

If you have been working from home throughout the pandemic and want to continue this if possible, training as a teacher with an online degree can be a great way to do this, with more teaching roles now remote. As online learning gets more and more popular, the industry is going to be looking for more teachers that can lead online classes and provide a virtual education to students at every level, but especially for higher education programs such as bachelor’s degree programs.

Great Working Hours

The working hours available are another great reason to consider training online to be a teacher. While teachers don’t get the entirety of the school breaks off like the students, they do tend to have more paid time off compared to other career types, with longer vacations throughout the summer, fall, spring and the holidays. Working as a teacher allows you to take time off at the times of the year where you are going to want it the most to spend time with your family, since students are also enjoying a break so there is less work for you to do. The day-to-day hours of most teaching jobs are also appealing, with most teachers working standard business hours Monday to Friday and many getting an earlier finish compared to other career types.

Flexible Study Options

Whether you want to get started with training to be a teacher using an online degree program or are already teaching and want to utilize online study to further your career and get into a more advanced role, one of the best reasons to consider studying online is the flexible study options that are available. If you are changing your current career to get into teaching or want to advance your teaching career with an online degree, the best part of studying online is the high flexibility levels. Many online programs are completely flexible, meaning that you don’t have to be available at certain times of the day or days of the week to attend classes, and have full responsibility to choose when you’d like to study based on your current schedule and needs. This makes it possible for teachers and professionals looking for a career change to continue working full-time as normal and experience little disruption in their life when getting a degree.

Continue Learning

If you love learning and hate the idea of working in a job where you don’t get to learn very many new things, then you will be glad to hear that teaching is a career path that couldn’t be further from being like this. Working as a teacher provides you with an ideal way to continue learning more and more about your chosen subject since it’s your responsibility to make sure that your knowledge is up to date and correct when you share it with your students. Teachers are highly knowledgeable on their subject, but they do not always have all the answers, so researching and learning new things is an important part of this career.

Great Job Security

Teaching is a career choice that is always needed, and the demand for teachers tends to be high no matter where you go. Because of this, working as a teacher is an excellent career choice if you want to make sure that the line of work you choose is something that is easy for you to find employment in. As long as there are young people and adults who are required to or want to improve their education and learn new things, teachers will be needed. Working as a teacher will provide you with a stable career with a good job outlook, especially if you decide to become a teacher of a core subject such as science, English or math.

Career Advancement Opportunities

If you are currently working as a teacher or are ambitious and want to get into teaching and take your career further, then you’ll be glad to hear that the career opportunities for teachers are quite lucrative. When it comes to the things that you can do with your teaching career in the future with an online degree, there are countless opportunities to consider. Once you are qualified as a teacher, there are various online advanced degree options that you can use to get into a wide range of roles. You may want to continue teaching at a higher level as a college professor or consider getting into a management position such as leading a department within a school or even going for the top job as a principal or head teacher. If you enjoy getting to know students and guiding them towards success, a role as a school counselor might be the ideal choice for you. Or, you could consider getting into work as an educational psychologist if you are interested in psychology and want to use the principles of this field to help people succeed.

Business Opportunities

Along with a great range of career opportunities for those trained and qualified in teaching, there are also several business opportunities to consider if you are the entrepreneurial type. More and more parents are looking to hire private tutors for their children in a wide range of subjects to provide their child with additional access to tuition and guidance outside of school and improve their chances of getting into a top college, so this could be a successful business idea for you to consider. Along with this, online programs are now becoming more popular among people of all ages, with a range of non-degree options for people to choose from at sites like Udemy. When you are qualified as a teacher and highly knowledgeable in a certain subject, creating and selling an online course is another business option to consider that you could do full-time or as a way to make a passive income alongside your full-time career.

Make a Difference

Studies have found that aside from parents, teachers are the main adults in a child’s life that have the biggest impact on them as they grow up. If you are interested in a career where you can make a real difference to others and have an impact on future generations, working in teaching and education could be the ideal choice for you. As a teacher, you are not only going to be playing an important role in making sure that children and other students will get the education that they need to succeed, but will also give you the chance to be highly influential in the personal lives of students, the choices that they make in the future and how they handle situations. As a teacher, you will not only be providing information and education on your chosen subject, but also important life skills that kids need to succeed as they grow up.

Inspire Students

One of the most rewarding parts of a career in teaching is that it is a role where you can be an inspiration to others. Many successful people around the world today will say that it was one of their teachers who inspired them to focus so heavily on their chosen subject and become a success story. When you teach as your career, every day that you spend at work can be spent knowing that you are doing something good for your students by sharing your knowledge with them, offering advice and support to them, helping them realize their skills, talents and passions, and providing them with the resources that they need to succeed.

Excellent Salary Options

Teaching can also be a very financially rewarding career choice. As you gain more teaching experience, get advanced qualifications and take on more responsibilities in your career, there are often more opportunities to earn an even higher salary available. Teachers in certain subjects that are in higher demand than others can also expect to earn more, and working as a head teacher or principal of a school can be over double the salary of an entry-level teacher, with several lucrative opportunities available.

Follow Your Passions

One of the biggest benefits of working as a teacher and training to become a teacher using an online degree program is that it is one of the best careers out there for people who want work that allows them to follow their passions. Whether you are passionate about math, business, psychology, sports, literature, science or something else, there is likely going to be an opportunity for you to teach it to others. Teaching is one rare career in that it allows you to really focus on your chosen subject and requires you to base your career on it, unlike other careers where you will need to have a general knowledge of the relevant subject but do not get to study it in-depth and teach it to others every day. If you really love a certain subject and cannot imagine your life without it, teaching can be the best way to use and cultivate your passion in a way that benefits both you and others.

If you are looking for a highly rewarding, high-demand career with excellent progression opportunities, the chance to study online and a way of following your passions for the rest of your life, teaching could be an ideal choice. Whether you’re just getting started with training to become a teacher or want to take your education career to the next level, there are more degree programs available online to choose from than ever before.