A special education degree from NDUCL, is a great investment in your future. Whether you want to teach special education in elementary school or middle school, or want to earn a bachelor’s degree that qualifies you for many other exciting employment opportunities serving individuals with disabilities, we’ve got you covered. Here are the Top 8 reasons to get a special Education Degree.
1. Special Education Is Meaningful and Rewarding:
Most people who receive a bachelor’s degree in special education are committed to working with individuals with disabilities. Many of them regard working in special education as a calling, and they are excited to work in a rewarding career where they can be paid to do something that is emotionally fulfilling and personally meaningful. Helping students overcome difficult challenges is a reward unto itself, although this career path also comes with great benefits and job stability. A bachelor’s degree from NDUCL can help you embark on the rewarding career in special education that you deserve.
2. Special Education is Experiencing Unprecedented Mobility:
Program graduates with a bachelor’s degree in special education have a much easier time finding rewarding jobs. In fact, this is particularly true of special education teachers, whose expertise is identified as a major area of need nationwide.
3. A Special Education Degree Offers Many Career Paths:
Many people are unaware of the wide selection of career options available with a special education degree. Graduates of the NDUCL bachelor’s degree program in special education also can build exciting and meaningful careers outside of a school setting. Each program is committed to meeting the needs of individuals with disabilities, along with a wide selection of private, public and nonprofit organizations devoted to that cause. A special education degree can translate into a career as a case manager, a state supervisor, a program coordinator or a nonprofit director. Special education professionals may even go on to become CEOs or members of executive teams for nonprofit organizations.
4. Special Education Is a Team Effort:
A special education teacher is not alone in figuring out the best way to respond to an individual or a class. In fact, special education programs have always emphasized the value of a team approach. Individual Education Plans often draw on the expertise of many professionals, and special education teachers frequently work with classroom aides or other specialists who are vital and active members of the team. Family members also may work with the team to support a student’s education or find the best way to help that student move toward maximum independence.
5. Special Education Teachers Truly Get to Know Their Students:
Special education professionals often report that one benefit of a special education classroom is the small class size, which allows the teacher to truly get to know his or her students. In addition to smaller class sizes, special education teachers often have a classroom aide or other specialist in the room, so the teacher can take time to address an individual student’s needs without worrying that such one-to-one attention is taking away from the group as a whole. This degree of personal investment and attention to the individual is crucial in a special education classroom, and it creates lifelong bonds that both the student and teacher find meaningful and rewarding.
6. Special Education Offers a Lifetime of Learning:
One of the top reasons a special education career is so appealing is the fact that it provides a lifetime of learning. All education professionals are committed to learning, but in special education, a bachelor’s degree is just the beginning. Each student with special needs presents a unique combination of gifts and challenges – and a new incentive for his or her teachers to learn more. As we’ve seen with autism in recent years, scientific study and practitioners’ experiences result in new insights, which in turn encourage teachers to become lifelong learners. Sometimes special education professionals develop an interest in a particular subject and decide to improve their education in order to transition their careers toward this new professional focus.
7. Special Education Offers a Large Community:
A special education teacher often has the benefit of becoming very involved with other professionals who are dedicated to working with individuals with disabilities. In the process of creating a solid Individual Education Plan for a student, a special education teacher may develop close ties with family members and meaningful professional relationships with doctors, behavioral specialists, case managers, advocates and representatives of programs run by agencies or nonprofit groups. Aside from being an invaluable source of personal and professional support, this expanded peer group can lead to exciting career options down the road.
8. Special Education Is Engaging:
The last item on our list of top 8 reasons to gain a bachelor’s degree in special education is the simple fact that the work of special education is engaging. Because each student in a special education program has such unique goals and challenges, a special education teacher often has more variety throughout the workday than his or her peers in a traditional classroom. Special education’s person-centered approach makes the job as varied and unique as the individual students. Both compassion and creativity are at a premium in this field, which sometimes makes special education more challenging — but it also makes the career deeply rewarding.
A bachelor’s degree from NDUCL is just the ticket you need to embark on a fulfilling career in special education.
