What's the pay at those regional schools and community colleges? Is it enough to cover massive student debt?
What research opportunities are there at those colleges? Could it be that teaching was just a necessary evil required for the job they actually want to do?
I have a lot of experience as a software engineer in the industry, and used to teach public middle school. I would love to teach a course or two a year because education is a passion of mine, but only have a BA of Education, do you think it's worth applying to teach at my local community college? I saw my local college had a requirement of a master's degree in CS, which I do not have.
Doesn't hurt to try. I know people who have taught at community college with just a bachelor's degree in the subject. Hell, I only have a bachelor's in my subject area, my master's is in teaching, and I got a job before finishing my master's. College prep high school. The teaching profession needs all the enthusiasm it can get, because that is really what kids respond to. My high school students would ADORE an actual software engineer teaching them. So many of them want to be you. This why teachers should be paid waaay more, as those who are talented in that regard can't easily make ends meet.
Edit: excised a word that should not have been there.
Also also all your ACTUAL experience in the field is worth WAY more to a good school. The rec letters alone that you could provide to gifted students would pay for your salary, tho they won't tell you so. Sorry I didn't include that originally.
They are worst! They have no care or concern for their students usually, and they make that known. Way to turn off a generation of aspiring biologists, Dr. Pham.
In developing countries it's understandable that the state can't pay for education, but in a first world country (at least in the cold war era meaning) it's insane that education is FOR PROFIT.
In Europe the countries don't pay for education out of pure idealism. Educating a large percentage of the population is needed for a functioning and stable democracy (that hopefully doesn't fall for populism, although we're currently fighting with that too, still far better than the USA's Trump cult) and especially needed for staying internationally competitive in the long term.
Just a few days ago I've paid my fee for this semester, studying at a well known university (not worldwide but at least in my country and neighbouring countries) with a good reputation: 24.70€ (27.3$). I could also pay the same at an internationally more known uni but they're pretty similar quality-wise, the other just is in a bigger city = has more students = publishes more.
For international students from non-eu-countries it's ~750€ per semester, still not that much.