What Can You Do With a Degree in Secondary Education?

On-Campus Resources

The Magner Career Center has a wealth of information on everything you need to get started in your career, help with résumés, an internships database, job fairs, etc.

• The center hosts frequent career events, which include panels with Brooklyn College alumni, company and organization visits, and workshops.
• You can get matched with alumni with your major to learn about their experiences, seek career advice, and develop a professional relationship.
• Handshake serves as Brooklyn College’s dedicated job board.
• Kendra Lewis is the liaison to the School of Education. For more information or to set up appointments, visit the Magner Center’s website, call 718.951.5696, or visit 1303 James Hall.

Navigating Your Career

All students in secondary education must have completed a major (or the equivalent) in a subject area such as English, history, or mathematics. If you choose to become a New York City public school teacher, you will need to navigate the expectations of the New York State Education Department (NYSED), which will certify you as a professional, and the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE), which has its own unique professional expectations.

If you are new to education, you will be in a program that leads to both initial and professional New York State teacher certification. It is wise to begin to familiarize yourself with both state and local expectations for teachers at the websites of the NYSED, NYCDOE, and United Federation of Teachers (UFT). As a future secondary educator, it is valuable to gain experience working with adolescents. Regardless of what experiences you choose, whether working in a summer camp, after-school center, or religious school, working with young adults in a variety of settings will ease your transition from the classroom to the workplace by giving you both practice and confidence in working with adolescents in group settings. It can also help you to choose the grade level, subject area, and school environment you aim to teach in. It is often possible to change programs after a semester of study, as foundation courses are shared among many programs.

If you are already a certified teacher, you have the opportunity at the graduate level to add additional certification in teaching students in a different age range, specializing in teaching students with special needs or English language learners, or adding certification to teach in an affiliated subject area. Having multiple certifications can make you a more attractive candidate to smaller secondary schools.

There are, of course, other settings for you to work in with this degree outside of an NYCDOE public school. Mentors can help you learn about other options in which your degree in education may help you succeed.

Alumni Profiles

Sasha Roopchand, physical education teacher, The Brooklyn Green School (16K898)

Sasha Roopchand earned a B.S. in physical education teaching in 2016. Roopchand was a 2021 Big Apple Teacher of the Year Award winner. According to her principal, “Sasha is like no other physical education teacher I have ever met. She works diligently to change the narrative that physical education teachers are focused solely on physical education. She is a teacher of math and literacy, a leader in social emotional learning, instructional minded, and scholarly.”

Sergio De Mesa, English teacher, New York City Department of Education

Sergio De Mesa earned a Bachelor of Arts in secondary education and teaching and a Master of Arts in English/language arts teacher education. He has more than 12 years of experience teaching with the NYCDOE as an English teacher. He is also an adjunct professor at Brooklyn College and focuses on current theories and methods of teaching literacy in secondary education. De Mesa represents New York City Teaching Collaborative as an in-person selector.

Desmond Coke, science teacher, New York City Department of Education

Desmond Coke earned a Bachelor of Arts in biology, secondary education, and teaching in 2015. Coke has been a science teacher since 2016 and has managed and tracked the progress of more than 120 students per day throughout the school year.