[I'm cannibalizing from a portion of the post I put on the class's discussion board today. My actual post had another five paragraphs of a similar length.]
I hate to say it, but the basest of reasons are my primary motivation to continue my education beyond the master level. For one, I would like to earn more money. Each time I have moved jobs, I have lost steps on the salary schedule. Currently, as a teacher in my 19th year, I'm on the equivalent of step seven. I do not regret my professional moves (other than the students and colleagues that I have left behind), but I also need to provide for my family. For another, I hope that this will help build a safety net for my employment (although I hope to only leave teaching when they pry the chalk, or its equivalent, from my cold dead hands). Again, moving jobs also means leaving behind tenure and sitting at the bottom of the seniority ladder. I hope that, with a higher degree, I will have more job opportunities that would keep me at a level of pay which can support my family. Also, if I'm being truly honest, I want an Ed.D. so I can be "Dr. Marks." I won't insist on anyone calling me that (well, maybe a little), but there's something about that level of prestige that really appeals to my over-developed ego.
I hate to say it, but the basest of reasons are my primary motivation to continue my education beyond the master level. For one, I would like to earn more money. Each time I have moved jobs, I have lost steps on the salary schedule. Currently, as a teacher in my 19th year, I'm on the equivalent of step seven. I do not regret my professional moves (other than the students and colleagues that I have left behind), but I also need to provide for my family. For another, I hope that this will help build a safety net for my employment (although I hope to only leave teaching when they pry the chalk, or its equivalent, from my cold dead hands). Again, moving jobs also means leaving behind tenure and sitting at the bottom of the seniority ladder. I hope that, with a higher degree, I will have more job opportunities that would keep me at a level of pay which can support my family. Also, if I'm being truly honest, I want an Ed.D. so I can be "Dr. Marks." I won't insist on anyone calling me that (well, maybe a little), but there's something about that level of prestige that really appeals to my over-developed ego.
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