I am just beginnning my MS in Education at Capella and am considering a concentration in distance learning. Of course I wonder if I will be able to find a job with this degree after I graduate. Does anyone know who might hire me with a degree in distance learning? Anyone have any ideas on how much those positions pay, etc.? Any other thoughts on this will be very helpful. I still hesitate to even follow through with a non-residential program, let alone pursue a new/controversial field like DL.
Do you wish to go into educational administration or what do you intend to do? You would have difficulty teaching unless you have an appropriate degree in a discipline area. I have recently been approached by perosn with a similar degree out here - 1 is qualified in Law so that is OK, but the other has no core, is not a trained teacher, and is now going away to do a professional (here it is UG) degree in some field. Maybe not a held, but it is at least a reply and i hope starts the ball rolling. All the best ------------------ Peter French MEd MAcc(UNE)CMA Melbourne, Australia [email protected]
I'd suggest you visit the the USDLA web site for additional information http://www.usdla.org/ They have a number of links to companies and organizations involved in DL - from content producers to content providers, and equipments manufactures. Read some copies of "ED" (Education at a Distance) magazine. Also, consider looking into telemedicine opportunities (another wide-open market that many people seem to think is ready for major growth). The USDLA has a number of local (state) chapters throughout the country and hold regular meetings. It's a good souce for networking and finding out about opportunities in DL. The USDLA puts on two trade shows a year (I think that is still the case) - one on the east coast (DC area) and one on the west coast (LA area). Again a good networking opportunity and a place to content/equipment providers, educators, business mgrs, marketing folks, etc. There are literally dozens of positions available in DL. It's really your decision to determine what's best for you. Administration positions in school districts,...course development positions for k-12, or college level,...corporate training,...consultanting (check out http://www.hezel.com/ as an example, a good company run by a real class act of a guy),...product manager or product marketing for an educational telecommunication equipment manufacture (Nortel, Tektronix, PictureTel,...). This goes on and on. Several states have state-wide educational networks (I was involved in the ones in Iowa, NY, Nebraska, NC, and AL). These people are always looking for talent in a variety of positions. Good luck
Thank you both for your help. My background is not specific. I have a BA in Sociology from Ohio State. I worked for a year at Vanderbilt's Peabody College of Ed. for their learning technology center. I worked as an assistant/gopher/floater for the co-director. I worked this last year as a middle school case manager in Cincinnati for a program called Educational Talent Search. Right now I am a stay at home dad and attending Capella. Since I started college I have wanted to be involved in some aspect of education, but am really not sure what that area is. DL seems logical seeing as that is how I am pursuing this degree. I figured I would try to find a job with a university somewhere...I really have a very narrow scope of what one can do with a degree and who is willing to hire. Maybe that is why I am 26 and still feel as though I am flailing about with no direction. THANKS AGAIN for all your suggestions.
Would it be to my benefit to get a job in the DL field first and then pursue the master's? Many of the Capella learners I correspond with are already in paying positions and are tailoring their master's to their employers needs making them more valuable to the company.
I was a stay at home Dad and started my Master's, at Antioch, when I was 26 too. If you are working on your education and have a goal in mind as to where you want to be you shouldn't consider yourself as flailing. After a year of my DL masters work I secured a job in undergradute field, completed the masters and then went on to my Ph.D. and haven't looked back since. I think you will have the same opportunities as a traditional student but you need to focus on a degree that meets your personal and professional goals. John
