what kind of teacher makes great money

A teacher never makes "great money" but they make great impacts on lives.

I'll assume you're talking about teaching K-12. I've been a math teacher in California, and I've known many teachers over the years. Teaching is the kind of job you've got to love -- it's hard work, but also very rewarding. What you teach also should depend on what you like, because if you enjoy the subject, it's more likely that you'll enjoy teaching it.

Some teachers teach younger grades and so don't specialize in a particular subject. There's a different approach with younger kids, too. But since I taught in high school, I'll focus on that.

Assuming that you have subject that you love, and that you know you're not going into teaching to make a lot of money (it's not that kind of career), here are the things that could influence your salary (from my experience in California):

• The school district you're at. Pay could differ quite a bit from district to district.
• The subject you teach. There's a shortage in some subjects, like math, programming, and various sciences, and some schools will pay a bonus to hire you and possibly a salary premium.
• How much education you've had. If you've got an M.A., rather than just a B.A/B.S., your salary will likely be higher. Often, the more credits you've got from classes you've taken, the higher your salary.
• Teaching experience. The more years you teach, the higher up on the salary scale you go.
• Lastly, while private schools don't necessarily pay more than public schools (and sometimes less), at certain private schools highly qualified teachers could command more salary.

There may be other factors, but I think these are the major ones.

That's a really difficult question to answer, as the teaching field has many different directions you might take. A bachelor's degree and demonstrated excellence will serve you in good stead if you'd like to work in many good (high-paying) k-12 schools--a master's will be a leg-up. There is a definite pay ceiling here, though.

A master's will be required if you want to become a professor at the college level. And it will probably take a doctorate. I took that path, and I wouldn't recommend it--too much debt to take on without many open jobs at the end of it. Tenure and high salaries are harder and harder to find, as most universities are looking to use a dirt-cheap graduate and adjunct job force instead. This means that they are churning out more graduate degrees than ever before, but for fewer full-time positions than ever before. Not a great idea. That being said, if you can get one of those jobs, it will come with pretty great pay and perks.

The best dollar amount you'll be able to get in the education field is actually working as an educator in the business realm. Whether this is as an Instructional Designer, Trainer, Facilitator, Learning & Development specialist, or something similar, the base pay rate and ceiling pay rate tend to be much higher than in the other teaching fields. Directors of Learning & Development at companies with 2,500 plus employees tend to earn a salary in the triple digits. What's more, you can work at some companies that are doing real good for their community, if that's important to you. There are a lot of these jobs open right now, and I imagine they'll only become more prominent in an increasingly fluid and changing job market, where employees constantly have to learn or relearn how to do their jobs effectively and efficiently. If you want to enter the business field, you'll want a bachelor's degree and preferably a master's in instructional design, education, or something similar. That being said, I know quite a few people in the field who just have a bachelor's degree and years of experience as a teacher, trainer, or educator. This field is new(ish) and growing, which means the barriers to entry are much lower than they might be ten years from now.

Good luck!!