Earning a master’s degree in special education will open doors to a variety of opportunities. Special education teachers can work at schools, hospitals, private practices and other venues to help students with disabilities learn new skills and succeed academically. As of 2012, more than 4 million children with disabilities were enrolled in schools across the United States and that number is expected to increase in the coming years. As demand for special needs teachers grows, so too does their average salary.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), a master’s degree in special education could increase your earning potential by $12,000 a year. In 2013, the median pay for special education teachers was $54,520 per year and job growth is expected to remain on par with the national average for all occupations through 2022. Master’s degrees in special education are available from many colleges and universities through online programs that allow you to earn your degree from home or around your busy schedule.
If you’re thinking about going back to school, earning a master’s degree in special education can help you land a higher-paying job or specialize your skills. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that the median annual salary for special education teachers is $58,980. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), there were over 535,000 special education teachers working in the U.S. in 2017.
Earning a master’s degree in special education can help you obtain a better salary and more employment opportunities than those with only a bachelor’s degree. According to NCES, almost all states require teachers to earn a master’s degree within a certain number of years after they begin teaching.
According to PayScale, the average salary for someone with a master’s degree in special education is $55,264 per year, which is 11% higher than those with just a bachelor’s degree in the field.
The average salary for a Special Education Teacher is $42,977 per year. A skill in Curriculum Planning is associated with high pay for this job. For the first five to ten years in this position, salary increases somewhat, but any additional experience does not have a big effect on pay. Most people with this job move on to other positions after 20 years in this career.