Pursue A Masters Degree in English Online
A Valuable English Degree Online
For many English teachers, journalists, and prospective English professors getting a master’s degree in English is essential. There are some emerging online master’s programs for those looking to find this type of degree. Unfortunately though,they are hard to find. A lot of colleges/universities that offer master’s degrees in English are standard universities. The possible reason for this is that reading and writing requirements are considered too much for distance learning. Typing keywords into search engines yields strange and usually unhelpful results.
I have researched high and low, and I have complied what I have found to be the best information out there if you are searching to get your master’s degree in English online (whether it be with education or not).
Online Universities
The following universities offer Master of Arts in English degrees online: (not education based)
- National University - Founded in 1971 with it’s headquarters in La Jolla, California.
- Mercy College - Founded in 1950 in New York. Very informative site!
- Morehead State University - I found absolutely no information on their program, but they offer it!
- Commonwealth Open University - Very little information about the university, but they list their course offerings.
Potential Jobs
After obtaining this type of degree online, you can expect to have a lot of the same jobs that you had with a bachelor’s degree in English! So what’s the difference? Job advancement, job security, and pay!
Jobs with a Master’s degree in English include:
- English Teacher
- English Professor
- Editor
- Writer
- Publisher
The most important part of obtaining your degree will probably not be the change in profession. You can become a professor with a master’s degree, but it does not necessairly open any other job titles. Instead, what a master’s degree will get you is an opportunity to make you more money, job advancement, and/or job secuirty. The general rule is that the more education the more valuable you become. People without a higher education are a “dime a dozen.” The higher your education the more unique and important you become to your employers. It also shows that you are invested (pun intended) in your career, and that you want to become more of a professional in your field.
Depending on your career it will also make you a more credible resource. No journalist wants their editor to be less qualified than they are. Nor does a reader want to read an article or book from someone who has not had the proper education in grammar, literature, or genres of written language. With your master’s degree you become the authority!
For most professions this will be the final step in your education. However, if your plans include becoming a professor or heading a journal, magazine, or newspaper than your next thoughts will be directed at getting your doctorate’s degree in English.
Salary
Finding what you can make with a master’s in English is confusing. Since the jobs with a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree are almost identical it makes any data collection information fuzzy. According to payscale.com, the jobs are listed as the same and so are the salaries. Those salaries range from the low $40,000s to the mid $50,000s.
As mentioned in my article about getting an online bachelor’s degree in English, the best way to find out accurate salaries is to look locally. There are so many factors that go into salaries that can vary from community to community. A good way might be to look onto job searching sites and type in the profession you are looking for to see what some employers are offering. However, you should definitely be making more with a master’s degree than with just a bachelor’s degree. Some job titles don’t reward higher education, but they should give you other benefits such as job security or room for promotions.
Resources
National University-www.nu.edu
Mercy College-www.mercy.edu
Morehead State University-www.moreheadstate.edu
Commonwealth Open University-www.commopu.org
