I have thought I might want to teach science ever since my sophomore year of college. I am now 25 and have bachelor's degrees in biology and chemistry and have had a number of science jobs. I worked in a lab for a while at a university and did a lot of molecular biology stuff, and I've also done field biology work quite a bit (several summers and autumns). I like the work alright, but I still think I'd rather teach. The only reason I didn't pursue that career right away is because I wanted to have other experiences first, both for myself and to make me a more knowledgeable and interesting teacher.
I have been thinking more and more about teaching the last year. I have been outside the country some, have spent time wandering the US living out of my car (for for fun), hiked all over, and I read a great deal. Quite a few people have told me I'm a great listener and someone they feel like they can tell anything too, even people I barely know, and three people in the past two months have told me I should be a teacher even though they didn't know that's the career I was thinking about anyway. I really think I'd do well at it.
The original plan was to go to grad school and get a master's, work a few years, and then become a teacher. I was hoping to get into a program that supported me through graduate school, but after applying to a few programs last year, it seems grad school would still cost me quite a bit of money. I'm seriously considering just not doing it and trying to become a teacher asap. I would then intend to get a master's online and/or during summers.
There's one catch. I have been talking to a professor at a university where I recently moved to and he said I would almost certainly be accepted into grad school there and would be fully supported through $20k/year stipends, but I'd have to apply next fall. This would set back my plans to teach, but I would really like to get a master's in my subject, both to increase my teaching salary and just because I want to. I'm not really sure what I should do though.
So my options are:
1) Go to grad school this year and lose about $30k over the next two years.
2) Get a job and try to get teaching certified and start teaching next year.
3) Get a job and apply to this other school, get a master's, then either become a teacher or stay in biology (in case I decide I'd rather do that than teach).
What is your advice?