Job ideas?

[Minnie]

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.

Most in the corporate world work 12 months/year.

OP - The BK manager works 2 months more a year than you to make those wages. I bet she's also working much longer hours, nights, weekends, and holidays...

Grass is always greener....

I highly doubt your going to find a career that is more "family friendly" than teaching. You might consider taking on a 2nd position and saving up $ to be a SAHM while your children are small.

 

[Ashes8380]

edited to add:Seriously, 2 specials a day plus lunch? Where is this at?

I want to know too! I also would love to work in the districts that get 2+ weeks off for Christmas and 3 months of summer vacation!

It's true though, teaching has an amazing schedule. I'm currently working as a public librarian, and although I love the work, went back to get my school library teaching certification so that I would have that option. Summers off, no mandatory evening and Saturday rotations. Sounds good to me! I can't recommend public librarianship enough as a career though. If you're up for getting a master's degree, it sounds like you could be a nice fit for youth services. But it does require a masters, just like being a school librarian requires teaching certification. Pet peeve of mine - assuming being a librarian requires NO training

I would try another school district before I gave up completely. From student teaching and subbing, I can tell you there were some districts that would make me miserable while I loved others.

Good luck!

 

[allyphoe]

I LOVE to read and wish I would have went to school for English so that I could work in editing or something along those lines. But, such is life.

Would have gone. Or better, had gone. Gone, not went, is the past participle of go.

Sorry to nitpick, but IMHO editing is best done by someone who is ferociously nitpicky about grammar. My notes from the last (professionally-published!) book I read include such winners as "peels of giggles," "digestive track," "ringing my hair out," "I whipped my watery eyes with the cuff of my coat," and the ever-popular "must of."

College English classes don't really teach you that much grammar. If it hasn't been beaten into you by junior high, it takes a huge amount of determination and self-study to pick up the fine points.

 

[muscarello4]

I am now in my 4th year and LOVE it. I do make choices each and every day to maintain my sanity. I have seen so many teachers leave the profession. It can happen so easily if you are not careful. I could arrive at 6 a.m. and leave at 8 p.m. every day and STILL not feel caught up. I leave each day by 5 and say "enough already." I do NOT bring work home, but I use my planning period and lunch period to my advantage. (You won't find me chatting in the teacher's lounge. Instead, I'm running around making copies and grading.)

I see other teachers spending time making fancy Power Points. I choose not to, as I know that a fancy PP presentation is not going to help my students better learn the material. My lessons are engaging, but I am not wasting my time making them fancy. PUHLEZ!

I hope you find a balance. My kids are learning. My parents are happy. My students are happy. My principal is happy. Most importantly, I strike a balance between school and my family.

Little choices every day add up. A balance can be struck. You need to get creative and seek help from veteran teachers. There are so many tricks out there to manage the chaos of the classroom AND maintain your sanity.

 

[tar heel]

I'll be another grammar Nazi chiming in by editing the hyphen out of "professionally-published." Unless the rules have changed, you don't hyphenate compound modifiers in which the adverb ends in "ly."

You don't end sentences with prepositions either. (i.e. "Where is this at?)

Editing isn't a good field to get into at the moment because there are too many unemployed journalists competing for the decent jobs.

 

[paysensmom]

I am a special education teacher for K-3. It is very overwhelming most of the time! I do not have grade level meetings or lesson plans to copy from other grade level teachers. I don't plan anything or get any help from other teachers. I am in a portable building, so I truly rarely see other teachers. I too, feel that I am not in the exact place I need to be. I think it is funny how the classroom teachers I deal with are more of a heartache for me than any parent or student. (don't get me wrong, it is actually just ONE teacher who is difficult, but it would make a world of difference if she wasn't!)

I have decided that starting this summer I am going to work toward my masters in communication and learning disorders (speech pathology). It will take me three years, but it will be worth it in the end for me.

So, long story short, maybe you could do something similar and still stay in education!

 

[tinkabella627]

Would have gone. Or better, had gone. Gone, not went, is the past participle of go.

Sorry to nitpick, but IMHO editing is best done by someone who is ferociously nitpicky about grammar. My notes from the last (professionally-published!) book I read include such winners as "peels of giggles," "digestive track," "ringing my hair out," "I whipped my watery eyes with the cuff of my coat," and the ever-popular "must of."

College English classes don't really teach you that much grammar. If it hasn't been beaten into you by junior high, it takes a huge amount of determination and self-study to pick up the fine points.

yea because I clearly think about perfect grammar when typing on a message board. Believe me I nitpick grammar all the time, just not on a message board. Usually if I am typing/reading on here I am doing it faster than I should be. And you are right, college won't teach grammar... I have learned more grammar from teaching than from being in any class, but unfortunately, degrees are needed. Regardless, like I said, 6 years ago it would have been smart to think about this, but not now.

The people that suggested librarian, I have thought about it time and time again, but those jobs are offered less than teaching jobs and really can't see paying for the degree and not getting a job with it. I am going to look into getting it added to my cert without a masters, but I am not sure that is possible.

To the first year teacher, I completely understand where you are coming from. We do have grade level meetings and we are SUPPOSED to share ideas, but our grade level doesn't do much sharing. So I am basically on my own as well. And last year was worse, but that is another story.

After talking to my husband we have decided that I am going to apply to the district that probably wont interview me bc of the no hire clause, just to see what happens. If nothing then I am going to stick it out for 3 more years where I am because it is a title I school and I will get some of my student loans paid off. After that I will see where I end up. Maybe by then I will be able to get my masters in library media spec. or something along those lines.

 

[Acklander]

I also would like to know where kids have 2 specials plus lunch every day... I get lunch daily and then a break on Monday, Thursday, and Friday. And while most people in corporate jobs get an hour for lunch, we are lucky to shove our food down our throats before we have to get our kids.

.

Maybe the kids have 2 specials plus lunch a day in the same town where the corporate jobs get an hour for lunch????
I've worked corporate forever and pretty much always eat at my desk while working. In the past year, I think I've actually "taken" a lunch (where I wasn't working at the same time) maybe 3 times. You know those people that everyone complains about who are on their cell phones talking biz while at Disney on vacation? Yeah, that was possibly me - BUT the only way I was able to go on vacation, was by keeping in touch with the office and being available by phone.
Don't get me wrong, I love my job - I'm competitive by nature, so love the hustle and bustle of it. I knew what it was about when I got into it, and accept it completely. It's not about the money (which can be nice), but the thrill of the job. But the reality is, it's hard work,long hours, and can be very cut throat. When there's a deadline looming it was pretty common to work from 5 AM until 10:30 or 11 at night. I think my personal record was a 36 hour marathon (without sleep) to complete a project. I wouldn't trade my job for any other - but it hasn't been the easiest on family life and no, not that many hour long lunches

 

[DisneyHead]

Sorry if I sound harsh, but I'm taking the other position. My focus in this post is to point out the positives to teaching. I realize teaching isn't what you expected, and doesn't fufill you at this time. I'm assuming you're young and this is your first real career job. In today's economy, people are lucky to still have jobs. You do have gainful employment with good benefits. Most have poor or no benefits. Comparing your salary to your fast food working friend isn't really a fair assessment. Does your friend work eight months and get a years salary? No, she works twelve months to get her rate of pay. You get all holidays off. Extended time off at Thanksgiving, two or more weeks at Christmas, a week off for winter break, and three months off in the summer. Plus, you don't have to work weekends. You are also part of a union, which means you have them to fight for your pay, benefits, job security, etc. Most of the working class are at will employees. They can be let go at any time, for any or no reason at all. I'm sure there are many more positives that can be added to the pro vs. con list.

Just make sure you really think it all through. Sometimes, in the midst of the negativity of one's situation, seeing any positives is nearly impossible.

I teach as well.
Three months off?

Are you serious? Oh it hurts! It hurts!

 

[StephMK]

FWIW, here's my perspective. I worked in the business world for 15 yrs and just completed my first semester to get my cert/MA in Ed & teach. I cannot wait to graduate & love lesson planning, not looking forward to dealing with unreasonable parents. I raised my oldest DD working FT and luckily worked for a great company 5 of those years that was flexible with my schedule & allowed me to work PT some of the time. I quit when my 3rd was 1. I worked PT while they were young and went back FT when youngest was in school. It was hardest on me but they did just fine.

However, some of my other jobs over the years were not at all flexible, had bad office morale, most had 3 weeks of leave a year to include sick & vacation, etc. Those days go quick even if you split w/DH when you have more than 1 child or a kid that has chronic ear infections or other illnesses. I know this can happen as a teacher too though. I had some bad bosses, grumpy co-workers, overwhelming workload and the worst of which was complete boredom with the work and the feeling I was not truly helping anyone.

So I gave up my stable, boring job for the chance to go into debt & try teaching. When I left, they offered me the chance to work PT so I'm doing that to help pay bills while I'm in school. I'm not going in thinking it's going to be a bed of roses but I do feel I have something to offer a classroom and will get a greater sense of personal satisfaction (and more frustration, I get that). I know it's hard work, my mom is a retired teacher but there are negatives to any job.

It's a matter of figuring out which ones you can live with and what priorities matter most to you. You're smart to try things out now, it's harder when you have kids & more bills but still not impossible, just scarier! But don't ever feel you are stuck, I have held many jobs over the years. So what you do now does not mean you have to do it when you have kids, etc.

I guess I'm trying to make the point that no job is perfect, just hang in there until you have a chance to try out some other options. At my kids' school, they have 2 teachers that team teach, they both have young kids so it works perfect for them & they are both great teachers so it works well for the school. Maybe another district/school would be a better fit.

You do sound stressed but not totally hating your job, just hating the stress of wanting to do a great job. I think that makes you sound like a much better teacher than the ones that clearly don't care at all & hope you are able to find a way to be happier.

 

[Pigeon]

Dh is a public school teacher and each year it gets less rewarding to teach thanks to NCLB. I think you can expect for that to continue. It's not about education, it's about test prep.

As for the corporate folks who think it's totally family friendly, well, yes and no. In general, the hours and schedule are very family friendly, but there is a downside. Dh has never been to any of our kids' school events that are held during the day. I can take time off my job to do the plays, concerts, parties, open houses, parent-teacher conferences. He cannot.

I'm a breast cancer survivor. I had 8 rounds of chemo, two surgeries, eight weeks of radiation and a whole bunch of invasive tests. In all of that, dh took a grand total of two days off work to be with me on the days I had surgery. He notified the district according to contract ahead of time. In both case he got called into the principal's office and was accused of misconduct because his absenses were on Fridays and they assumed he was trying to get long weekends. I guess my surgeons were in on the conspiracy by scheduling by surgery on Fridays. And this for a guy who takes, on average, one sick day every 8 years and has 172 accumulated unused days.

 

[tinkabella627]

Dh is a public school teacher and each year it gets less rewarding to teach thanks to NCLB. I think you can expect for that to continue. It's not about education, it's about test prep.

As for the corporate folks who think it's totally family friendly, well, yes and no. In general, the hours and schedule are very family friendly, but there is a downside. Dh has never been to any of our kids' school events that are held during the day. I can take time off my job to do the plays, concerts, parties, open houses, parent-teacher conferences. He cannot.

I'm a breast cancer survivor. I had 8 rounds of chemo, two surgeries, eight weeks of radiation and a whole bunch of invasive tests. In all of that, dh took a grand total of two days off work to be with me on the days I had surgery. He notified the district according to contract ahead of time. In both case he got called into the principal's office and was accused of misconduct because his absenses were on Fridays and they assumed he was trying to get long weekends. I guess my surgeons were in on the conspiracy by scheduling by surgery on Fridays. And this for a guy who takes, on average, one sick day every 8 years and has 172 accumulated unused days.

I agree about the test prep and appreciate your acknowledging it. I also know that it will be hard to go to my kids school events being a teacher. Our principal is very lenient about those kinds of things and often lets teachers leave and come back. But honestly if my kids don't end up at a school 5 min away from mine then it won't work because I would end up having to take a half day.

It is disgusting that they wouldn't let your husband take off with you! But I can see it happening everywhere. I had to ask my principal a year and a half in advance to take off for my friends wedding because I was afraid they were gonna call me on it and make me show a dr note, since I will have to take sick days. Like I said, she is lenient, most others might not be.

 

[finz2left]

Would have gone. Or better, had gone. Gone, not went, is the past participle of go.

Sorry to nitpick, but IMHO editing is best done by someone who is ferociously nitpicky about grammar. My notes from the last (professionally-published!) book I read include such winners as "peels of giggles," "digestive track," "ringing my hair out," "I whipped my watery eyes with the cuff of my coat," and the ever-popular "must of."

College English classes don't really teach you that much grammar. If it hasn't been beaten into you by junior high, it takes a huge amount of determination and self-study to pick up the fine points.

She who lives in a glass house...should read her own prior posts!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1521404

 

[Mic]

I have a daycare, and I dreaded all the kids coming back yesterday, so don't think you're the only one dreading that. I changed my mind about teaching while I was student-teaching. I knew I still wanted to work with kids, just not the sassy old ones! I much preferred child development/early child education. When I had 4 kids of my own(in 5 years, no less), there was not a job in the world that would have paid enough for me to afford daycare, so I started my own! With your 4-year degree, you are qualified in most states to start your own preschool or daycare. If the idea of owning your own business is too daunting, you could apply at local daycares, preschools, and Head Start programs. Here in NC, there is a relatively new program (More at 4) for pre-kindergarten that has a demand for elementary teachers. Some programs last from 9 am to 1 pm each day, which might be better for you, and you will have an assistant. It sounds to me like your biggest gripe with your current job is the hours involved, so a half-day program teacher may better suit you. The pay probably would not be better, though, and the benefits would likely not be. If you could snag a job in a daycare center, you could take baby with you during your working hours. In defense of teaching, I have often heard it said that the first few years are the hardest. Here in NC, teachers have mentors(older teachers) assigned to help them through the first two years, and there are programs in place to help with teacher retention. I agree with a few other posters that teaching is the best job to have if you have a family, especially once your children are in school. My middle daughter and son had the same kindergarten teacher who planned her family so well that she should teach a class. She got pregnant at the beginning of the school year, with a due date of May 31. She had the summer and the first 12 weeks of school off for maternity leave, so her child was 6 months old when she returned to work after Christmas break. Then she worked 5 months and was off again for 8 weeks. When her child was 4, she decided to take a year off to spend with her before she started kindergarten. She had been saving a portion of her paycheck each month for about 3 years so the loss of a year's salary did not hurt so much. When her child started kindergarten, she was able to go back to work. Very few jobs offer that much flexibility, so consider what your situation will be in 5 years, not just next year. Good luck with your decision.

 

[jodifla]

As far as specials go, my son gets two almost every day. In addition to lunch and recess daily, he goes to music and gym for an hour twice a week, art for an hour once a week, and media and computer once a week for an hour once a week, and computer for a half-hour once a week.

 

[3boymthr]

I was a librarian's assistant, once, long ago (mid to late 80's), and I loved it; helping people, spending time with books, learning so much, an in on all the local gossip . But really the pay stank. I didn't even make minimum wage. Yes, it was a public library don't ask me how they got around that rule.

But it is like teaching a job that you love or hate. There were days when we would have patrons come in and I just wanted to hide; for example, the kid who would see an obscure topic on TV or hear it on the radio and who'd come in every other day and who ever got lucky would have to spend 2 hours trying to to see if we could find a book, any book that even mentioned his topic then we'd have to stay late to finish up putting away the books that came in because we couldn't leave until everything was shelved. Or the patron who'd get mad because the book we put on hold for him three weeks ago was no longer on hold because we only hold books for one week and his wait would now be another three weeks. Or the days when there was literally nothing to do but shift books to make room on the shelves for the new load of books. Or re-alphabetize because instead of putting the book back where they find it people would put them back on whatever shelf the were standing at (the only good part of this is I can alphabetize to the 26th letter now ). Or the time spent archiving magazines and find a mouse had made a nest in the National Geographics from 1975.

Also about the english degree and the editing thing. Yup, I've got my degree in english - and a minor's in teaching for secondary education - tried the student teaching thing - hated it. I decided I wanted to be an editor - you think teacher's don't get paid much . I was offered this great position as a junior assistant to the editor to a downtown Boston publisher. They wanted me to put in a 40 hour a week for 2 years at $0 pay then the pay would go to $20,000/yr. - "All assistants must serve an internship of two years" I said no. BTW this was one of I think 4 editing jobs with similar pay scales. Now things may have changed in the last twenty years. But I'm betting you'd still take a serious pay cut to be an editor at least at first.

You may be on the fence about your job right now but remember - No job is perfect.

BTW - sometimes the right job takes a leap of faith and a complete change of direction. I am now an insurance Underwriter. And while I don't love it as much as I did working in the library, the pay is really good and I am able to work mother's hours.

 

[Anne34]

As far as specials go, my son gets two almost every day. In addition to lunch and recess daily, he goes to music and gym for an hour twice a week, art for an hour once a week, and media and computer once a week for an hour once a week, and computer for a half-hour once a week.

Our area also has two specials per day besides lunch. We have daily gym and then alternate between art/music/library for the other days.

Also, teachers are well paid in our area, so I think this is different from a poor, urban school.

 

[tinkabella627]

I have a daycare, and I dreaded all the kids coming back yesterday, so don't think you're the only one dreading that. I changed my mind about teaching while I was student-teaching. I knew I still wanted to work with kids, just not the sassy old ones! I much preferred child development/early child education. When I had 4 kids of my own(in 5 years, no less), there was not a job in the world that would have paid enough for me to afford daycare, so I started my own! With your 4-year degree, you are qualified in most states to start your own preschool or daycare. If the idea of owning your own business is too daunting, you could apply at local daycares, preschools, and Head Start programs. Here in NC, there is a relatively new program (More at 4) for pre-kindergarten that has a demand for elementary teachers. Some programs last from 9 am to 1 pm each day, which might be better for you, and you will have an assistant. It sounds to me like your biggest gripe with your current job is the hours involved, so a half-day program teacher may better suit you. The pay probably would not be better, though, and the benefits would likely not be. If you could snag a job in a daycare center, you could take baby with you during your working hours. In defense of teaching, I have often heard it said that the first few years are the hardest. Here in NC, teachers have mentors(older teachers) assigned to help them through the first two years, and there are programs in place to help with teacher retention. I agree with a few other posters that teaching is the best job to have if you have a family, especially once your children are in school. My middle daughter and son had the same kindergarten teacher who planned her family so well that she should teach a class. She got pregnant at the beginning of the school year, with a due date of May 31. She had the summer and the first 12 weeks of school off for maternity leave, so her child was 6 months old when she returned to work after Christmas break. Then she worked 5 months and was off again for 8 weeks. When her child was 4, she decided to take a year off to spend with her before she started kindergarten. She had been saving a portion of her paycheck each month for about 3 years so the loss of a year's salary did not hurt so much. When her child started kindergarten, she was able to go back to work. Very few jobs offer that much flexibility, so consider what your situation will be in 5 years, not just next year. Good luck with your decision.

Thank you for taking the time to type all that. i have thought about daycare but I am not certified for it. I believe I may just have to take a couple classes/tests but I am not too sure yet. I would LOVE to start my own day care but I don't have the business mind, I don't think. I don't know where to even start with that. I think that the teacher you mentioned did a very smart thing and maybe that is what I need to do. I have talked to my husband about possibly taking his 2 off days during week days when we have a baby. He gets to choose his days off and if he can have 2 days during the week off I wouldn't feel as bad because the baby would be with their father, not a day care only. Plus my mom MAY consider/be able to work from home one day a week and would take the baby that day...meaning the baby would only be in day care for 2 days. That might take some of the guilt away. My husband has also agreed to help me with the little tasks of my job that he can help with, because he knows that I have a love for teaching and really want a family. I guess I may try to stick it out, assuming this new contract is something I can agree to.