Are Adult Education Degrees Right For You?

If you love to teach, work well with diverseA bachelor's degree program includes instruction on
populations, and exhibit strong interpersonal skills, youcurriculum development, communication, and the
may want to consider a degree in adult education inpractices and theories of adult education. It prepares
which you can teach and train other adults. Degreesyou to train others in corporate settings or teach
build upon an individual's work experiences andadults in postsecondary atmospheres, such as a
education, qualifying them to work and teach skills intechnical school. Corporate training managers and
a specific field. Educators can teach large classroomsspecialists create and execute on-the-job training
of students at colleges, universities, and vocationalprograms for employees. These programs may
schools, small groups of adults in corporate settings,include specific professional development, employee
or work with students on an individual basis.orientations, or teaching employees how to use new
They prepare you to present informative andsoftware. Government programs offering life and job
interesting lectures for your employees or studentsskills to underserved populations consistently hire
by promoting the skills and abilities necessary totraining specialists and managers to work with their
initiate, design, develop, organize, and implementclients and determine what type of training they
effective adult educational programs. These coursesneed. These programs vary from literacy skills to
also emphasize the development of the theoreticalbasic budgeting depending upon the clients they
and practical foundation for critical thinking andserve.
effective practices. These courses explain theHowever, most degrees are within master's
different ways adults can learn, enabling educators toprograms. This higher-level coursework includes adult
teach adults, plan learning experiences, and conducteducation administration, planning and executing adult
pertinent research.education programs, and adult education in social
Degree programs are designed for instructors,contexts. A master's degree in adult education
administrators, trainers, and others who teach or planprovides additional education and preparation for
adult educational programs in a wide range ofprofessionals seeking training or postsecondary
environments. Students come from a variety ofteaching positions, and is commonly a minimum
work areas, such as adult literacy, communityrequirement for teaching at the college or university
colleges and higher education, community-basedlevel. For example, a person with a college degree in
organizations, health care, business and industry, lawfinance who earns a graduate degree in adult
enforcement, government, and military. Theseeducation may go on to teach university courses in
programs equip students to teach adults in variousaccounting.
settings and fields.Professionals devoted to adult education that want
Associate's degrees focus primarily on the vocationalto change or influence policy, take on a leadership
education industry. They typically include courses inrole, or perform groundbreaking research, continue
adult psychology and human behavior. Vocationalwork onto their PhD. in adult education. These
educators can start their careers with an associate'sprograms focus primarily on research and graduates
degree and work experience in their field. Foroften pursue careers as administrators or professors.
example, a person with welding work experienceCollege and university administrators include
may obtain their associate's degree in education anddepartment chairs, deans, and university presidents,
then teach welding at a vocational school. Thesewho govern the school and supervise staff. They
degrees can also help prepare students for entry intospend typically spend time teaching, fundraising,
bachelor's programs.budgeting, and working in personnel development.