Career question about special education/ psychology?
I would really love to work with special ed. children. I am very interested in autistic and emotionally disturbed kids. I have extremely high grades and my parents are worried I am selling myself short if I go into teaching because I will not get paid very much. What kind of careers would I be able to work with these kinds of children but make enough money to be happy financially? Do private schools or boarding schools pay more? Should I go into psychology?
Any help will be greatly appreciated :]
jellyfishwich said,
Wrote on October 30, 2010 @ 2:16 pm
Absolutely do what you want. Your parents probably want to know that you can support yourself. There are good jobs working in that area–you can go as far as you want in that field. Loving your job is a true blessing. Don’t give up that just to go into a more lucrative profession.
Sue S said,
Wrote on October 30, 2010 @ 2:16 pm
Good for you! Developmental Cognitive Disabilities teachers are in high demand and you get to work with handicapped and autistic kids. Emotional Behavioral Disabilities teachers handle some autistic kids but mostly the children who cannot cope in the mainstream and can be very rewarding as well as extremely demanding both physically and emotionally. There are also Autism Specialists who can work in the schools or in clinics and hospitals. I am certain they make more money than teachers. If you want to know how much teachers in your state make, go to your state’s department of education website and look for teacher salaries. It should be in there someplace.
A School psychologist spends their time testing children and then explaining their findings to parents in meetings. They do not usually spend much time actually doing therapy with students. Psychology would be more therapeutic in the clinical setting and I am guessing would pay more.
I would spend some time on the internet typing your questions into a favorite search engine to see what I could find.
I hope this helps.
DH said,
Wrote on October 30, 2010 @ 2:23 pm
Well it depends what school district you go to work for your salary and different states pay teachers higher and then your qualifications. Now my opinion is that if you feel you could make a difference to those children you should do it now my uncle is border line mentally challenged and he brings a smile to my face everytime i see him because he is an amazing person P.S. my uncle is younger than me he’s 9, but if you want more money go into psychology it’s your choice and your life