Second guessing my career choice

[Miss_Jiffy]

I'm seeking advice from educators everywhere!!! I graduated May of 2007 with a Bachelor's in Elementary Education. During student teaching, I felt I lost all passion for working day-to-day with elementary students. The experience itself was awesome. My supervising teachers were veterans in the school system and were remarkable role models, the students were absolutely amazing, and the administration was bearable. After graduating, instead of applying for teaching/substitution positions, I returned to the daycare I've worked at for close to 7 years now. I've become discouraged at the prospects of what a degree in education without the desire to be in a classroom holds. PLEASE HELP!! Any advice as to other jobs in the education field that involve impacting the lives of students, but without the daily classroom, would be greatly appreciated.
(I know I'm not a "New Teacher". I wasn't sure what other forum topic I should post my plea under.)

[Chef Dave]

May I ask why you don't like teaching? Was it the age level? You could always go up or down.

Do you have doubts about your ability to teach?

Why do you like preschool more than elementary school? Have you thought about going back to school for an endoresement in early childhood? You could always become a daycare director.

There are all sorts of interesting jobs for people with degrees in education.

You could for example, work at the Sylvan learning center as a tutor.

You could be a director of children's activities at a resort hotel or on a cruise line.

You could work as the educational facilitator at a children's hospital.

You could look for a job with a curriculum publishing company. Such companies are always looking for curriculum writers and sales reps.

I was an elementary teacher for 17 years. I went to culinary school, got some industry experience, and am now working as a high school chef instructor.

[ginger11]

I second guessed my career after my first year of teaching. But once I get to a better school i know I will be ok

[Spectre]

I'm seeking advice from educators everywhere!!! I graduated May of 2007 with a Bachelor's in Elementary Education. During student teaching, I felt I lost all passion for working day-to-day with elementary students. .
()

this is puzzling.

From reading your post it would appear that you were dissatisfied with the age or grade level. Am I right? Other than that, everything you mentioned was a positive.

I, too, started out at the elementary level; curiously enough, my student teaching was in grade four also. I eventually moved up to middle school (something I swore I would never do!) and have been there ever since. :)

[Ms.Champion]

I have no advice for you, dear. I am a first year teacher. Majored in elementary education (k-6), swore I never would teach anything higher than 3rd grade, and here I am teaching 6th.

Spectre---you give me hope with being a middle school educator! Don't get me wrong, I love 6th grade, but I miss the babies. I wouldn't mind staying in 6th grade, but feel I would be missing out if I never teach what I went to school for. Sorry, I got off topic!!!

Anyway---I like the suggestions that ChefDave gave. Esp. the one about becoming a daycare provider. Good luck to you!!!

[MsCoffeeLover]

Currently, I am fourth year teacher, and I have discovered you really do pull everything together and come into your own and who you really are as a teacher. Everyone tells you that, and you wait for it, but you can actually feel it coming together at just the right time. They say that you have to be a teacher for a few years just to get your feet wet, and the first three years are the hardest, and (whoever "they" are) they are right. Of course, it is often difficult to retain teachers in the early years.

This is the first year I am saying to myself, "Hey, do I really have a good group of kids? or am I actually getting better at my job?" Who knows as I have been shuffled around to different schools, and this is my first year in a new county. Either way, this year feels really good, and so many things are coming together even more.

You aren't the first person to second guess your career choice. In fact, it doesn't even really matter what career you are in because everyone at some point in time has wondered if their chosen career was the one for them. That question pops up from time to time. You have great days where you can't imagine doing anything else, and then you have some not so great days where you are wondering why you chose this field. You also have to learn to "pick your battles" and that will change over time whether you are at a new school or have a new administrator. That is the sad part of education. Placement of positive and negative energy takes time to figure out.

There are other positions you can do, although tutoring is a very good one, and there are lots of tutoring companies out there. Some of the jobs in education require you to have been teaching for at least three to five years, so there are all kinds of specialist jobs, liaison jobs, evaluators, kit trainers, IT people, and whatever pops up. One thing our county does is sends a mass email whenever a position is vacant. The email describes the position and qualifications. Have you ever considered a part time teaching? Some of those jobs have benefits as well.

After my second hellacious year, I really was ready to quit the field. Then a few family emergencies happened, and I decided to sell my house and be a substitute teacher at a really good school for a year. For me, it was great. I was that schools primary sub, and it really felt good to go into school and actually teach and then go home and not have to think about the paperwork. That was a wonderful feeling, and a chance for me to really think if I wanted to leave the field.

Before I left, I decided to get clearance in a neighboring county and signed on for one more year because different things happen in different counties. This is my first year teaching the same subject twice, I have a pretty amazing team and an administrator that really supports me.

Before you give up on the field entirely, you may wish to go back and examine why you chose that major because you did choose it for a reason and sometimes we lose sight of that along the way. After a few years in teaching, a whole host of doors opened in the field of education that I didn't even know existed.

I had such a hard time in my previous county, that I have become inspired to be an evaluator because a support system is essential.

Good luck to you!

[chele]

I am going to begin my 4th year of teaching and feel that I'm overworked to the point of exhaustion every year. Is teaching suppose to be this way? Are we suppose to feel the anxiety and depression associated with the excessive work load teaching entails? Could it be that I have 3 kids and a husband to attend to after a long day's work? I'm beginning to feel that teaching is not for me either and am hoping that there is something more out there besides being in the classroom.

[MsCoffeeLover]

I can honestly say that after a long day at school, there are many days I am forever happy to come home and be single. How folks can be teachers and have families is beyond me. I really don't know how they do it.

[Bananas]

You pick a really good, supportive spouse who isn't just "babysitter" to the children, but an active parent! You limit what you do with your time, and you realize you won't accomplish everything.

[chele]

Thank you Bananas! I am fortunate to have a wonderful husband who cooks, cleans, babysits (entertains and disciplines) and all. I should be able and ready to tackle this career again.

[busbus]

Hi,

It appears that you have had a positive experience in the short time you were in the classroom. It also appears that you enjoy working with young children - working in a daycare center. So, I do not understand your dilemma.

As Chef Dave said, there are many different ways you can go. However, there are opportunities in schools and within school districts that are non-classroom positions. Of course this means that you might have to work in a classroom for a bit before you are eligible to apply for certain ones.

One teacher friend, who I met when she was teaching second grade on "Special Assignment" in my school district, is now teaching Pre-K. What happened is that at the end of the school year, those teachers who were assigned a position after a certain date, had to select a new assignment for the following year. Since she was so far down on the list to pick a new assignment, I went with her to let her know a little something about the schools left on the list. Well, I saw my former school listed. The administration is great, the teachers are supportive and fabulous, the neighborhood is relatively safe and the students' behaviors are not extremely challenging. But, the opportunity was for Pre-K and this was not an age or "grade" in which she wanted to teach. She had been a director of a daycare center in another life. Well, to make a long story short, she loves it. :) Before the end of her first year in the position, her only concern was that of keeping the position. This is her third year with these little ones and she is constantly singing their praises and thanking me for the suggestion. By the way, her degree is in Early Childhood and she is planning on getting her Masters majoring in something having to do with pre-schoolers.

Sometimes you have to give it a shot before giving it up. You'll never know unless you try. But this is a decision that you must make for you. What will make you happy? That's the important thing!

Finally, unfortunately, there are many teachers in classrooms across our country who would rather be doing something else. Some, you'll never know that they wish to be anywhere other than where they are. They put their hearts and souls into the job. They put the students first! Others, you can tell from the get-go. Everything about them screams, I'm just doing this for the pay.

[chele]

As Chef Dave said, there are many different ways you can go. However, there are opportunities in schools and within school districts that are non-classroom positions. Of course this means that you might have to work in a classroom for a bit before you are eligible to apply for certain ones.[/I][/B]

What other positions are out there for experienced teachers besides being in the classroom? I need all the suggestions I can get at this point before signing on a contract to be a classroom teacher. I'm passionate about cooking and have been thinking of culinary school. Thing is, we don't have a nearby culinary school in south Texas (and I'm not about to commute have 3 school aged kids). Have been thinking of opening my own catering business from home and see where it takes me. It's a frustrating situation having all these thoughts and dreams and not being able to fulfill them. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

[busbus]

What other positions are out there for experienced teachers besides being in the classroom? I need all the suggestions I can get at this point before signing on a contract to be a classroom teacher. I'm passionate about cooking and have been thinking of culinary school. Thing is, we don't have a nearby culinary school in south Texas (and I'm not about to commute have 3 school aged kids). Have been thinking of opening my own catering business from home and see where it takes me. It's a frustrating situation having all these thoughts and dreams and not being able to fulfill them. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

At the school level, you might have the opportunity to become a School-Based Teacher Leader. In this position, you work with teachers and other staff members on school district initiatives. You keep up with the data on the students and provide professional development to name a few things that you might do. Of course, you attend school district professional development for School-Based Teacher Leaders and bring the information back to your school. In this position, you work closely with your school administrator and the school's leadership team.

At the district level, you might investigate positions in the department of Curriculum and Instruction. Positions in this department might cause you to do research and help to plan and facilitate districtwide professional development. Oftentimes, people working in this department receive a lot of training, either through the district, state or a national organization.

Lastly, there are district coaching positions working with select groups. I work with new teachers, others may work with folks who have a degree in an area other than education who are entering the teaching force.

These are only a few; but, I am certain that if you investigate, you'll find other kinds of opportunities.

[MrsAtkinson]

I'm so sorry you feel this way! I am by no means qualified to give you any advice except that I went from having a strong passion for being a teacher to wanting to make more money. Then from that to wanting to do something for the USA and became a Marine. All arrows are pointing back into the teaching field and I am excited to get back into it. I just recommend that you do something you are really really really happy with! I love all of ChefDaves ideas. Maybe look into those!

[dangercat]

I've become discouraged at the prospects of what a degree in education without the desire to be in a classroom holds.


I've actually heard similar things from my friends who have finished the program recently. I know that one of them is considering maybe going back to school and adding an endorsement.

No one can really tell you what you should do though. You have to make that choice for yourself. I myself was a educational psych major who changed to nursing and then to elementary education. I knew I always wanted to work with children, but was afraid that I would't be a good teacher. I've thus far had good experinces in my methods classes and can say even with the bad days I haven't changed my plan to teach. Now, when I am at the end of the program that too may change :p I just can advise you to hang in there and make the choice that you really feel is best for you.