crashtest

In your case it doesn't sound like a MAT is the right call. As a previous poster said, it's mostly a transition degree for non-certified people. If you think you might want to move into k-12 administration at some point (vice principal, principal, etc.) get a masters in educational leadership, as Econteacher said. Make sure it meets the requirements of your state to hold an administrative position. If you want to open the option to pick up an adjunct position at the local community college in the summer or night courses a masters in content is the way to go. If you are VERY lucky you may be able to get a full time position at a community college but those are very rare. This is also a good option if you really enjoy a topic and want to explore it. You mentioned history, do you really like history? If so a master in history (or any other topic you enjoy) would typically get you a pay raise at most public k-12 schools. Some high end private schools will not consider any candidates without a master in CONTENT but there aren't many schools of this caliber. Teachers with a masters in content are extremely rare in my experience but that may be a regional issue. I don't know how social studies fields are but most graduate students in math get teaching assistant-ships, it pays for your school and you get some college teaching experience at the same time. These opportunists are very rare for teaching degrees, which is a bit ironic. I can't really recommend the masters in curriculum unless you have some experience. I don't have personal experience with these degrees however, I know many people that have gone that route and they're pretty blunt when they talk about it. They claim it exist as an easy way to get the pay raise for a masters, designed specifically to be cheap and easy as Dracos implied in their last paragraph. If that's what you really want, maybe try out teaching first to see how you like it. It has no value outside of k-12. If you're seriously considering a masters in special ed, please understand this the hardest job in the whole system. It is not just hard to manage the students, it is absolutely emotionally devastating more often than anyone wants to admit. If you're not totally committed to this path, then give it time and see how things go first.

These methods run a serious risk of turning a debate into a popularity contest. In the US an idea that I see commonly expressed is that; popular ideas don't need protection by virtue of being popular alone and the real purpose of free speech is the protection of unpopular ideas. I want to use an example of something widely supported now but was extremely contentious in the recent past to put this into context. How about interracial marriage, in the US this was an unpopular (and illegal in some states) in the 60's. According to gallop polls in 1968 only 17% of Americans supported it. I have no doubts that the methods you listed that I've quoted above would have been (and probably were used) very effective in shutting down some debate on this issue. Does that really tell us anything about the merits of this idea, as you implied with the "good reason for it" comment? Or does it simply affirm the most popular idea of the moment? Fortunately, despite it's unpopularity, the supreme court struck down all prohibitions on interracial marriage in 1967. They were allowed to consider both points of view based on their merits alone. This is pretty much my point of view and I suspect that the author of the U of C letter was trying to imply this but that may be my own internal bias reading what I want to see.

1. Do you even like statistics? I ask because you haven't taken a course in it and I think before investing all of this time and money it might be wise to maybe try out a CC course in it. CMU is a 1 year program so you'll need a lot of prep for that. In addition the math stat course they require is very theoretical which you said you don't like.That said Statistics as a professional masters degree is popular at the moment which means you can probably do this despite having no statistics courses. For example Penn State has an online applied statistics masters. The only listed math prerequisites are calc 1 to 3 and linear algebra. I know nothing of the quality of the program I just found it and it seems like the type of thing you would want to research, it's the top google search result for "masters in applied statistics". 2. Your recent jobs used some mathematical skills, combine this with study for the GRE. After the GRE start reviewing material that are listed pre-requisites for the programs you are apply to. If you do take a stats class at a CC be sure to get an A. 3. Most of these professional type programs will be called either "masters of applied statistics" or "masters in statistical practice" or some combination of those word groups. These programs often have some form of consulting component either with real clients or simulated clients to specifically train you for real work. As with any professional degree they should be very focused on job placement by building connections with local business and putting resources into networking opportunities. Simply put; the goal of an MS in statistics is to further your knowledge and study of statistics, the goal of a professional stats degree should be to get you a job in statistics. These goals are not mutually exclusive and there can be lots of overlap. 4. I doubt it, there is not enough time in the program, see point 1. 5. I would be very surprised if the professional degree programs offered any funding. Some MS stats programs do offer funding but even those are rare. Most departments reserve funding for PhD students. 6. Yes. google "online stats masters". In addition some "online mathematical sciences" will have a statistics focus or option.

Competition. New York pays it's teachers well, which is a major underlying cause. On a related note I've been involved in hiring at a public high school, no one cares if you have a masters. That only matters for certification and politics. At the school level we only care that you're sane, concern about students and won't generate headaches for admin. The only exception I ever saw was the hiring of a teacher that was also expected to teach a dual enrollment course, offering college and high school credit. Then we could only consider applicants with a masters in content; a masters in education doesn't meet the regional accreditation requirements.