Masters for Teaching College Courses

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Unfournatly, I only have a bachelor's and I know that in order to teach at college you need a master's.

The good news is that this is not necessarily true. Take at look at small and mid-sized private colleges, as well as technical training institutes (which award certificate, diploma and sometimes associate qualifications).

The bad news is that these colleges and Institutes are usually not of the highest calibre. But, what they will value more than university qualifications is your professional experience. Often, you can get a teaching position without a bachelor at all, if you have significant experience in a field (especially for fields such as IT/CS and HR/hiring).

The worse news is that generally, these positions are contract-based (i.e. you will be hired for that term, and that term only. If you're good, they'll probably offer you a contract for the next term, and the term after, and so forth.). Particularly for some colleges and institutes, you'll also be teaching in the afternoons or evenings - so hopefully you're not a morning person.

If you have little to no experience in teaching, these are a good first option so you can a) see if you actually enjoy teaching at a tertiary level, and b) get some experience and do some networking for better opportunities down the road.

I don't want to disparage these private colleges and institutes - there are plenty of people who teach at them for years on end as an addition to their full-time job, either because they want the extra cash, or simply really enjoy the low-pressure pedagogical environment and interaction with students. The pay is usually fine (not amazing, not bottom of the barrel), and while you'll have plenty of students who aren't really that invested in the course and just want to pass, you'll also meet some amazing diamonds in the rough (who you can brag later about having taught them). Chances are you'll have some really . . . unique colleagues teaching other courses at the school (because, frankly, they're too useless to ever be hired for anything more challenging, and are hired purely to hold the fort and nothing else), so it's also an excellent chance to excel and stand out from the crowd just by being competent. And if you're really good, you'll find opportunities opening up in no time.

If you want to use these positions as a stepping stone, make sure to note your KPIs while you're teaching the course (e.g.. 'improved average class grade from 56% to 72%', 'redeveloped curriculum to incorporate new segmenting and clustering techniques' etc etc) because this is what will help you to move into more permanent teaching positions.

As a general rule, to teach at a level, you need a qualification 'the next step up' - but professional experience can substitute nicely, especially in a time like now where practical knowledge is seen as superior to theoretical understanding.

Don't get stuck in the trap of thinking you need a zillion qualifications first and then you'll get the best of the best positions from the get-go. Your past teaching experience will count for way more - both to the hiring manager, and when you're in the classroom.