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Quit your job; become a teacher?

TravelingDeacon

TravelingDeacon

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Wherever "they" send me
Why you should;

-summer/holidays/spring break off
-impact kids and be one of the cool teachers in high school
-coach a sport
-education is SO important (i.e., meaningful job)
-7:00ish-3:30ish work day
-time to do other things and be with family due to days off/work day hours
-have a real life outside of work
-good health/retirement benefits
-???

Why you shouldn't:

-low pay
-dealing with obnoxious kids
-other things that are bad with jobs (bosses, work to take home, meetings)
-???

So, if you don't particularly value money above all things and you can find a job in a middle/upper class neighborhood school, it looks like teaching is a pretty awesome job.

What say you Pit Teachers and Ex Teachers and other Wise Ones?
 
Thinking you just work 7-3:30 is pretty laughable. My sister and my wife are teachers, and during the school year they put in more hours than most professions.
 
I am going back to being a teacher. It's monte, additional benefits:
-your busy in a good way (don't sit at a desk all day)
-usually a solid amount of hot babe co-workers
-I actually like working with lower class kids because you dont have to deal with as many annoying parents and the kids aren't nearly as snotty (although I worked in an elementary school this is probs different for high school)
-lots of opportunity for fun stuff (field trips, field day, etc.)

Some of the negatives:
-relatively inflexible if you want random days off or need to go the dr. etc. (you can get subs but most subs are horrible and I feel like it's a wasted day for the kids)
-if you are smart (as most wake grads are) you have to deal with a lot of stupid coworkers that got BS teaching degrees from scrub u.
 
Another con is the profession is pretty saturated. What subject or grade are you targeting?
 
Deacfreak07 said:
Thinking you just work 7-3:30 is pretty laughable. My sister and my wife are teachers, and during the school year they put in more hours than most professions.
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I worked 8-4 or 4:30ish most days, it depends on planning time and other stuff. you have good weeks and bad weeks like everyone else.
 
DiegoTiger said:
Another con is the profession is pretty saturated. What subject or grade are you targeting?
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kind of related to that, when layoffs happen due to budget cuts, the people laid off don't always make sense. things like tenure are often more important than ability. it sucks to think you could be a totally kick-ass teacher, but get laid off because somebody has been in the position longer.
 
Deacfreak07 said:
Thinking you just work 7-3:30 is pretty laughable. My sister and my wife are teachers, and during the school year they put in more hours than most professions.
Click to expand...

this;

also the summer off thing is misleading, especially for newer teachers. my friends usually are taking classes or working some kind of other job during the summer.
 
I'm sure it depends on the district, but there are tons of displaced teachers out there. You gotta go Special Ed, high school math and science, or foreign language to get a job in the Chi.

I'm with rjmj on teaching low-income kids. I didn't have the classroom management skills to hang in the hood here, but damn I loved those kids. Your military background would probably really help in that type of setting. I'd probably die in a suburban school.

I'm looking to get back into something with kids on a much smaller level, like counseling or something.
 
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DeacHoops said:
kind of related to that, when layoffs happen due to budget cuts, the people laid off don't always make sense. things like tenure are often more important than ability. it sucks to think you could be a totally kick-ass teacher, but get laid off because somebody has been in the position longer.
Click to expand...

ImTheCaptain said:
this;

also the summer off thing is misleading, especially for newer teachers. my friends usually are taking classes or working some kind of other job during the summer.
Click to expand...

Both of these things depend on where you work, if you are a kick ass teacher typically they will find a way to hold on to you or you can get a job at another school relatively easily. The summer off also depends on where you work/how much money you make/how much you value free time v. extra money. I would never teach in North Carolina because the budget, pay, security, and system is a joke. Also, the clear disdain that the NC state legislature has for education makes me uncomfortable. It would be one thing if I thought NC was headed in the right direction but they are clearly going backward.
 
I'd definitely be interested in being a math or science teacher. Gotta pay those student loans, though.
 
I have a few teacher friends that are having difficult times finding jobs, too.
 
awakeandready said:
I have a few teacher friends that are having difficult times finding jobs, too.
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Where do they live, what do they want to teach? It is hard to get into being a general ed. elementary school teacher in most desirable locations because there are thousands of 20 something girls that want those jobs. The key is to (1) look in a big city with multiple school districts (2) take a less desirable job in good system because this gets you experience and once you have a job it is easy to move to a new school/better job in that district. Also, another piece of advice I would give is get multiple certifications (a lot of places have programs that certify you for both gen ed and spec ed of a specific age range). If they like you the administration will let you switch positions as opposed to losing you.
 
TWDeac said:
I'd definitely be interested in being a math or science teacher. Gotta pay those student loans, though.
Click to expand...

There are loan forgiveness programs for many subjects and/or schools in certain socioeconomic areas. Cali has a good one that's about to get killed....the fed has a good one as well.
 
DiegoTiger said:
There are loan forgiveness programs for many subjects and/or schools in certain socioeconomic areas. Cali has a good one that's about to get killed....the fed has a good one as well.
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Just for federal loans? Or for private as well?
 
Pros: MILF's galore, access to illicit drugs
Cons: Dealing with high school football players, chicks getting their period for the first time in your class
 
HeavyPetter said:
Pros: MILF's galore, access to illicit drugs
Cons: Dealing with high school football players, chicks getting their period for the first time in your class
Click to expand...

I remember when I was in middle school, my female friends used to pull the period move especially on male teachers to get out of everything.
 
If you are a single dude, the scenery of your coworkers and parents is pretty unmatched.
 
rjequalsmj said:
Where do they live, what do they want to teach? It is hard to get into being a general ed. elementary school teacher in most desirable locations because there are thousands of 20 something girls that want those jobs. The key is to (1) look in a big city with multiple school districts (2) take a less desirable job in good system because this gets you experience and once you have a job it is easy to move to a new school/better job in that district. Also, another piece of advice I would give is get multiple certifications (a lot of places have programs that certify you for both gen ed and spec ed of a specific age range). If they like you the administration will let you switch positions as opposed to losing you.
Click to expand...

NJ mostly and elementary school. That's about all I know. I would imagine it is fairly difficult in NJ because they pay pretty well. My mom is a middle school teacher there and when my family considered moving to VA one of the reasons they didn't was because my mom wouldn't EVER make as much in VA as she was already making.
 
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