Quit your job; become a teacher?

[HeavyPetter]

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.

As long as they weren't considering moving to the DC suburbs, the difference in cost of living probably would have allowed your mom to quit her job.

 

[awakeandready]

As long as they weren't considering moving to the DC suburbs, the difference in cost of living probably would have allowed your mom to quit her job.

Actually the cost of living was comparable. We were kind of surprised by that.

And my dad is also a teacher (although a professor). They were considering a move because he had a job offer at a university in VA and the salary difference was just as crazy for him. The salary he was asking for was more than some of their deans were paid.

 

[rjequalsmj]

As long as they weren't considering moving to the DC suburbs, the difference in cost of living probably would have allowed your mom to quit her job.

the only counties that pay well in VA are dc suburbs. A ton of my teachers in HS used to live in the boonies and drive 45min to an hour to work.

 

[TravelingDeacon]

Another con is the profession is pretty saturated. What subject or grade are you targeting?

I have a few teacher friends that are having difficult times finding jobs, too.

That's the problem as I'm contemplating some of this stuff.... I'd like to teach social sciences (History/Government, Graduated Poly Sci from WFU.) in high school. High school is hard to get a job and non-science jobs are rare. Plus I'd be coming out of a 4 year professional career and have no education background.

 

[rjequalsmj]

That's the problem as I'm contemplating some of this stuff.... I'd like to teach social sciences (History/Government, Graduated Poly Sci from WFU.) in high school. High school is hard to get a job and non-science jobs are rare. Plus I'd be coming out of a 4 year professional career and have no education background.

where do you live or want to live, and how will you get licensed, are you trying to do career switching path or are you going back to school?

 

[TravelingDeacon]

As for the money, I've given up on the pursuit of money as the reason to work. As long as I can have health insurance and live a lower/middle class lifestyle while backpacking, pursuing passions, educating myself, loving my future wife and kids, thats all I want/need. I want to do something meaninful, but primarily, I want to have a LIFE OUTSIDE OF WORK.

As for the work schedule, I'm currently in an untraditional job and work 65-75 hour weeks. Even a "normal" job with 40-50 hour work weeks prohibits a lot of LIFE OUTSIDE OF WORK. Teaching undoubtedly allows WAY more time than traditional jobs for time with family or pursuing life passions. You can attend your kid's sports games in the afternoons and you have christmas/spring break and more time than most any other job in the world to do whatever you want. You can attend courses, teach summer school, work random job for more $$ OR spend 2 months in the woods or roadtripping across America with the fam. It's a choice and teaching is a rare profession that allows such choices.

Am I wrong?

 

[TravelingDeacon]

where do you live or want to live, and how will you get licensed, are you trying to do career switching path or are you going back to school?

Not sure where to live. Totally flexible. Colorado, Washington State, Oregon, maybe somewhere exotic like Montana??

Looking at doing an alternative licensing program, but I could go back to school. Ideally, I'd teach on a "temporary" license for 1-2 years while getting full certification on the side. Seems like there are lots of programs for that sort of route. Or, heck, Charter school.

 

[awakeandready]

As for the money, I've given up on the pursuit of money as the reason to work. As long as I can have health insurance and live a lower/middle class lifestyle while backpacking, pursuing passions, educating myself, loving my future wife and kids, thats all I want/need. I want to do something meaninful, but primarily, I want to have a LIFE OUTSIDE OF WORK.

As for the work schedule, I'm currently in an untraditional job and work 65-75 hour weeks. Even a "normal" job with 40-50 hour work weeks prohibits a lot of LIFE OUTSIDE OF WORK. Teaching undoubtedly allows WAY more time than traditional jobs for time with family or pursuing life passions. You can attend your kid's sports games in the afternoons and you have christmas/spring break and more time than most any other job in the world to do whatever you want. You can attend courses, teach summer school, work random job for more $$ OR spend 2 months in the woods or roadtripping across America with the fam. It's a choice and teaching is a rare profession that allows such choices.

Am I wrong?

It definitely lends itself to more living outside of work that most jobs. My mom probably works until 5 or later most days and it definitely is more inflexible during the school year but growing up with parents that were both in education was definitely nice in the summers. My mom is usually totally off in the summer unless she's taking an online class or something small.

 

[seventwofour]

Not sure where to live. Totally flexible. Colorado, Washington State, Oregon, maybe somewhere exotic like Montana??

Looking at doing an alternative licensing program, but I could go back to school. Ideally, I'd teach on a "temporary" license for 1-2 years while getting full certification on the side. Seems like there are lots of programs for that sort of route. Or, heck, Charter school.

Check the AUSL program. That's all inner-city stuff, so you might not end up in mountains right away, but you work with a teacher for a year while taking grad school coursework and getting your full certification after a year. Not sure on your teaching obligations once you get your certificate.

Most alternative certification programs are in big cities or rural areas like the Mississippi Delta or Eastern NC.

 

[WakeTheNation]

Why you should;

-summer/holidays/spring break off i.e not getting paid during summer
-impact kids and be one of the cool teachers in high school being both is a tough assignment
-coach a sport Oh, heeeeeeeeeeell, no.
-education is SO important (i.e., meaningful job) but not well-paying
-7:00ish-3:30ish work day Hah!! You wish!
-time to do other things and be with family due to days off/work day hours That's a nice dream, son.
-have a real life outside of work It's your own fault if your job keeps you from having a "real" life
-good health/retirement benefits Ok, there's that.
-???

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?

Teaching is an honorable career but not very easy and not very rewarding, at least not tangibly. If you have a lot of successful students, that can be very rewarding in a prideful way. Teachers have my respect with all they put up with (bad-ass kids, constant job cuts, parents whose angels never do wrong, etc etc etc).

 

[rjequalsmj]

Not sure where to live. Totally flexible. Colorado, Washington State, Oregon, maybe somewhere exotic like Montana??

Looking at doing an alternative licensing program, but I could go back to school. Ideally, I'd teach on a "temporary" license for 1-2 years while getting full certification on the side. Seems like there are lots of programs for that sort of route. Or, heck, Charter school.

I would look into each state's licensure options on their dept. of education's website. They will have more information on how much credit you can get as a career switcher and what steps to take. You can also call the licensure office and explain your situation and they can tell you the options. I would also say if you are really serious about it, one way to get "in" is to sub, if they like you and you tell them you want to teach usually when jobs open up they can help you get the provisional license that you would need.

Teaching fellows programs are another way to go although those are of course more competitive and in shadier neighborhoods.

 

[MBDeac08]

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.

Lower class kids do tend to be more willing to listen to you, but they also have a tendency to be more apathetic (especially when it comes to outside of class work)

Agree about the last comment. I feel so much smarter than most of my co-workers (I'm sure most Wake grads do in any job). I'm no longer amazed at the dumb questions that get asked in meetings or the dumb things some teachers say to students. Too many teachers with education majors instead of specific subject major and teaching to go along with it.

 

[MBDeac08]

The field is saturated because 1) lots of budget cuts means fewer jobs available and 2) more people trying to become teachers who left other careers. If you try to become a teacher, don't expect to just walk into a job. I had to sub for a year and volunteer as a coach while I finished my masters. That led to getting hired as a coach at another school and as a long term sub (for English, not my major). Then I got hired as a part time Social Studies teacher at another school (which meant no benefits). The school also hired me as an assistant AD, so that helped to get a little more money. Finally a few weeks ago I was told I would be full time this coming school year. Benefits plus I can get my student loans forgiven since the school is Title 1. Might get to join the Deacon Club sooner than I thought.

There are a lot of variables to consider. Location, subject area, school needs all impact how quick you can get a job. Even subbing is hard to get into in WS/FC now.

 

[OliveGardenDeac]

As for the money, I've given up on the pursuit of money as the reason to work. As long as I can have health insurance and live a lower/middle class lifestyle while backpacking, pursuing passions, educating myself, loving my future wife and kids, thats all I want/need. I want to do something meaninful, but primarily, I want to have a LIFE OUTSIDE OF WORK.

As for the work schedule, I'm currently in an untraditional job and work 65-75 hour weeks. Even a "normal" job with 40-50 hour work weeks prohibits a lot of LIFE OUTSIDE OF WORK. Teaching undoubtedly allows WAY more time than traditional jobs for time with family or pursuing life passions. You can attend your kid's sports games in the afternoons and you have christmas/spring break and more time than most any other job in the world to do whatever you want. You can attend courses, teach summer school, work random job for more $$ OR spend 2 months in the woods or roadtripping across America with the fam. It's a choice and teaching is a rare profession that allows such choices.

Am I wrong?

If you really want a life outside of work and to be able to maintain a lower middle class lifestyle while you pursue other passions, why not just work the high paying 75 hour a week job for 10 years and then retire forever to have exactly that?

 

[lbE08]

Teaching is an honorable career but not very easy and not very rewarding, at least not tangibly. If you have a lot of successful students, that can be very rewarding in a prideful way. Teachers have my respect with all they put up with (bad-ass kids, constant job cuts, parents whose angels never do wrong, etc etc etc).

when you said "i.e not getting paid during summer"... some credit unions will allow you to adjust your paychecks to spread your salary over the whole year. almost all the teachers i know do this.

 

[rjequalsmj]

The field is saturated because 1) lots of budget cuts means fewer jobs available and 2) more people trying to become teachers who left other careers. If you try to become a teacher, don't expect to just walk into a job. I had to sub for a year and volunteer as a coach while I finished my masters. That led to getting hired as a coach at another school and as a long term sub (for English, not my major). Then I got hired as a part time Social Studies teacher at another school (which meant no benefits). The school also hired me as an assistant AD, so that helped to get a little more money. Finally a few weeks ago I was told I would be full time this coming school year. Benefits plus I can get my student loans forgiven since the school is Title 1. Might get to join the Deacon Club sooner than I thought.

There are a lot of variables to consider. Location, subject area, school needs all impact how quick you can get a job. Even subbing is hard to get into in WS/FC now.

WHAT!??!?! I taught at a Title 1 school for 3 years, how do you do this?

 

[MBDeac08]

when you said "i.e not getting paid during summer"... some credit unions will allow you to adjust your paychecks to spread your salary over the whole year. almost all the teachers i know do this.

I assume a lot of school systems do this as well. WS does any way. I do this.

 

[WakeGal]

when you said "i.e not getting paid during summer"... some credit unions will allow you to adjust your paychecks to spread your salary over the whole year. almost all the teachers i know do this.

A lot of the NC school systems have done away with this over the past 2 years and it is no longer an option.

 

[awakeandready]

WHAT!??!?! I taught at a Title 1 school for 3 years, how do you do this?

I think there is a number of years that you have to work there before this can happen and from my understanding you have to be making minimum payments on them during that time. My SIL is doing this I think.

 

[MBDeac08]

WHAT!??!?! I taught at a Title 1 school for 3 years, how do you do this?

I filled out a deferment in anticipation of cancellation form before the school year begins. That defers the loan and then once you teach one year, they forgive a portion of your loan. Repeat this process for 5 years and your loans are gone. That is how they described it to me over the phone anyway.