One idea: Start a tutoring service and try to get your name out in the homeschool market.
Certified teachers -- well, those in the big four: English, math, science, and history -- CAN find tutoring work fairly regularly, and it pays well; however, I see that as a sideline, not a career. It would come without benefits of any type. It's also fairly easy for teachers to find homebound jobs for students who are too sick to attend school.
The way to find these jobs is by getting yourself on the county/district's list.
Yea you are right the hours would be worse, not to mention she has been working there since we were in high school. That is the thing. I am not willing to make minimum wage for 10 years when I am trying to start a family. I think deep down I know I am going to be teaching for a while because there really isn't much offered right now.
I have a cousin the same age as me who dropped out of college to become a fast-food manager (she'd worked at the same fast food restaurant since she was 15). She worked her way up through the ranks and eventually made it to a regional job -- and she doesn't have a college degree. She put in more physical work and more sweat than I do as a teacher, and she made more money. BUT the other side of that is that she has no retirement except what she saves herself. She's done well for herself, but she's the exception rather than the rule. I am still glad that I took the route I did. To be honest, she caught some lucky breaks to get herself into that regional job -- it's not something that one could count on happening.
I am teacher. Teaching is definitely not for everyone - they do keep changing the rules and requiring more of us for the same or less money (our district is requiring furlough days). I do remember those first 3-4 years of teaching and I did dread going in to work some days. There was so much to worry about - lessons, discipline, meetings... After five years, though, that stress seemed to disappear. I had enough tricks up my sleeve that the day to day was not dreaded. I think it is really important that a teacher loves their job because kids can see right through us, I am just not sure you have given it enough time.
I could've written this.
You're right that teaching is not for everyone. You have to have the right personality, and it doesn't make you a good or a bad person -- just the right person for the job. If you don't have the right personality/emotional make-up, it's not something you can fake. If you really think that it's not the right option for you, it's better for you to get out now BEFORE you put in enough years that you feel you cannot walk away from your pension (which is, of course, the only real
financial benefit to teaching).
It's absolutely true that the first few years of teaching are SO HARD. Sure, you KNOW what you're supposed to do, but you aren't good at it yet. You're still learning the ropes. Then SUDDENLY it clicks (or you leave) and you learn how to head off most discipline problems before they happen. You have a backlog of old tests and activities in your file cabinet. You
never get to the point that you don't have to plan new activities (you'll always tweek a certain activity, add a new reading activity to an old unit, write a better version of your test, etc.), and you always have TONS of grading to do . . . but after 3-4 years you have "enough"
really good units at your disposal that you have some "rest" in between tough spots, and that makes all the difference. You learn how to schedule your class so that you're teaching an "easy unit" during the time that you have lots of hard grading to do in the evenings. You'll
never get to the point that you can just walk into school and do your job without planning, but it will get EASIER.
I really and truly think that teaching is the BEST job for anyone with a family. You will have approximately the same vacations as your child and you will get out of work at a reasonable time. You will be taking work home every day, but I learned to work through my lunch break and while other teachers are chatting when they arrive in the morning, I am a working machine. I get as much done during the work day as possible and then whatever I bring home I work on between 9pm and midnight after my kids go to bed. I have friends that don't even get in the door from work before 6:30 pm. I don't know how they are able to get everything done that they need to. They see their kids for an hour or two at the most before they are in bed.
Teaching HAS been a great choice for me as a working mom, and since my girls started school themselves it's been especially good for my family.
Does your friend work eight months and get a years salary? . . . Extended time off at Thanksgiving, two or more weeks at Christmas, a week off for winter break, and three months off in the summer.
Let's get the facts straight: Teachers work 10 months/year. 200 days exactly; 180 days with students, 20 workshops and workdays spread across the year. STUDENTS get extended time at Thanksgiving, two weeks at Christmas, etc. . . . teachers
always get less (actually, our students don't even get two full weeks at Christmas).
You are also part of a union, which means you have them to fight for your pay, benefits, job security, etc.
Again, let's get the facts straight: If you live in the NorthEast you're probably a member of a union and probably make a large paycheck (which you need because of the high cost of living); if you live elsewhere, you're probably NOT a union member and you probably make considerably less money.
However, dfchelbay, I do agree with your main point: There is no perfect job, and when you're dissatisfied it's very easy to overlook your job's positives and figure that "everyone" has those positives. The pension and the job security are the big positives for teachers.
I agree with this 100%. I get so sick of hearing all the teachers complain about their jobs around here (btw most of DH's family is educators). In PA, teachers get paid VERY WELL. They have every holiday off. They don't have to drive to work when the weather is bad. They get awesome health and retirement benefits. Maternity leave benefits are unmatched. Most school districts pay for continuing education. They have wonderful hours, especially if they have a family (ie they are off when their kids are off). Sure teachers may have to bring some work home in the evenings/weekends, but so do many of us. At least they have that option.
Perhaps things are very different in PA, but if you were looking at NC benefits, you'd be stretching the truth. We DO have good retirement benefits (but remember that it takes three decades of
small paychecks to get those good retirement benefits, and if we move out of the state we start all over again), but my husband has MUCH BETTER health benefits, our maternity leave is a joke, and we pay for our own continuing ed. Bringing home "some work" is an understatement, though you're right in saying that we can choose whether to do it after school or at home.
They made GREAT money with GREAT benefits. TONS of time off. Remember a teacher makes their salary for essentially 9 months of work, not 12. So while their salaries may not seem as high they really only work 9 months. Also, how much time is actually spent teaching. Kids have at least 2 specials a day plus lunch. Kids go to school for 6 1/2 hours/day, not 8. So the amount of time a teacher is actually doing their job is about half compared to others. Yes I get they take work home. Guess what so does EVERYONE else!!
My great money for 2009 was a tad over $40,000 -- that's for 17 years experience. No, it's not poverty level, but I could make more elsewhere. And like most people, you're vastly underestimating just what teachers have to do "behind the scenes": Preparing for upcoming classes, coordinating with team members, maintaining websites, tutoring kids who've been absent or who have fallen behind, contacting parents . . . contacting parents . . . contacting parents, managing mandatory after-school activities (for no extra pay), completing special ed paperwork (yes, even if we're not special ed teachers), monitoring kids at lunch, and the one thing that eclipses all the others: grading. Kids are in school for 7.5 hours here, but teachers are required to be in the building 8 hours -- and then we take things home. Yes, other professionals take things home too, but my husband doesn't bring home nearly what I do. Also, his work comes in spurts; mine is constant all school year.
Have you looked into applying at a private school or charter school? Often, they are able to make their own rules, so you could find one that doesn't do looping, and see if they're hiring for next year.
Honestly, I wouldn't go that direction. You'd have the same problems that you have in regular public school, and -- if you go private -- you'd make even less money. I think your realistic choice is to stay in teaching or find something else. I wouldn't go for a variation on what you're already doing.
If I could stand the kids I'd go back to school and be a teacher.
It's not the students -- it's the parents! I like the vast majority of my students, and I teach seniors!
Think about this long and hard before quitting your job. In fact maybe you could work at something in the summer months when your off to see if a new job would be for you. Good luck.
This is good advice. Try something else in the summer, and you don't have to let go of your job until you've tried that something else.
I appreciate my current position and think the benefits here outweigh the negatives, but it is nowhere ideal.
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