Career Change to Education! HELP! Eeek!

In My Humble Opinion
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[sub]Wow, first I ask for computer help, and how here I am asking for life advice in IMHO. Sad, but y’all are a smart bunch, so…[/sub]

Quick Issue: I want to quit law school and pursue a specialized Master’s degree in education. Is this a bad idea? For those in the know: are some programs better than others? (For example, I hear that Harvard School of Education (SOE) is viewed kind of dimly by people in the field for its touchy-feelie politics, even if it is Hahvahd and USNews rates it #1.) I’ve done basic Web research on the issue, but no one site seems to offer the “Straight Dope.” The SDMB, in fact, seems to look dimly on some graduate education curricula. So what should I do?

Extended Details: I am currently a 2L at a certain nameless law school–we’ll call it the Yooniversity of Shigako. I hate it. I’ve hated it since I started. I was never very keen on law school to begin with (see below), my grades are awful, I’m bored by class, I can’t get a job, and I hate my classmates. I was talked into attending law school–'Nuff said.

My background before law school included a lot of teaching experience, some good, some bad. (Bad: ESL in Providence, RI; Good: Calcutta, India and Asian immigrants in Utah and elementary school kids in Shikago). And I loved it! I was planning to become a teacher before being talked into a “more financially rewarding” profession by several people that I love. :frowning:

Now, I was suffering through law school because I thought that it was too late to change careers–but of course I’m wrong! Not only that, but deadlines for M.Ed. programs aren’t for another month! Furthermore, I can get a near-perfect score on the GRE, and my profs from college have promised to back me up with recommendations–so I’d imagine that I’d have a fair shot at just about any school in the country. But I need to know the best places to apply/go…

So, teachers, career-changers, and all Dopers! I’m trolling for advice! How do I become an ESL/Speech Pathology teacher with a degree that people will actually respect? How do I tell my dad (paying for law school :eek: ) that I want to bag it after 1.2 years and $40K of tuition? How do I sleep at night with the fear and excitement? How do I pay for all this? :confused:

Gads, I sound like a kid. But at least I’m happier now than in the past 1.2 years.

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I know a couple of people who have done this, including one who had been all the way through law school.

One went into a fairly conventional MAT program (at the University of Richmond). The other went into a specialized program that farmed you out teaching pretty early and gave you lots of field experience. I am not sure where that one was–NH or VT.

As for Harvard. Well, in my field (higher ed, not K-12) their education school is seen as a Master’s diploma mill. My guess is, you want a school who specializes in the program you want, and that might very well end up being a place you’ve never heard of, perhaps a former Normal School. What’s important is that future employers know it’s a great program (which they will), not that people you mention it to in the grocery store nod and say “wow.” It doesn’t do any good, at any rate, to go into a great Education School overall if the particular program you want isn’t very well-staffed or supported. Heck, that happens here at Michigan: We’re always in the Top Three for Higher Ed, but we are not a good student development place. Anyone who comes here for that will be miserable (and they are)–ratings don’t help. Also, Harvard’s application deadline is approaching fast–their Ed School deadline is like a month earlier than other schools I looked into.

As for your family, etc. You can’t put a price on happiness. No matter how lucrative your future law career might have been, if you’re not happy there is no point. Look at what you are doing as “cutting your losses” before you waste more tuition. You can tell the doubters you can always go back to law school if this ends up being a mistake. I think there’s a “trend” of people going into education as a second career or after an unconventional educational path. You will not be the first. And it’s a noble calling. Truly.

Good luck!!

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There’s lots of reasons to go into education.

Money’s not one of them. I wouldn’t even THINK of going into debt to get a to get an Education degree at a high-dollar, prestige school like Harvard. You’re better off finding a good state program which specializes in the field you’re interested in, and save your money to make a down payment on your house (several times over.)

YMMV, but academically speaking, my School of Education (U. of Hawaii) was a pathetic waste of time and classroom space. My time spent in a classroom, thankfully, was not. :slight_smile: