Changing careers?

[dreamgirl]

I am in a funk. I am in sales and it is so tough these days. I know it's cyclical and ebbs and flows, but the stress is becoming too much sometimes.

I think my heart is in teaching. I actually started out my major in educationand was close to finishing but got discouraged with several things and decided to change my major last minute and have a field degree.

There are so many times I drive by the schools and so want to be there, with the kids.

I enjoy my job and love the flexibility as well as the good months of money. But with it all comes so many issues and struggles. I know every job has them, but I can't help but wonder if I was meant to be a teacher.

[gardengal]

I changed careers. Like, a 180 as I started off in an analytical, science-y field & am now in a creative field.

The process wasn't easy and I've taken a large paycut, but I wake up every morning excited to go to work.

[Deleted]

If teaching is your passion, I think you should go for it. But I would just caution you to really research your job prospects first. With so many states slashing budgets and baby boomers refusing to retire, many teaching fields can be very hard to break into. We're talking hundreds of people applying for one new position hard. One of my good friends has been trying to find a social studies position in north Jersey for THREE years. I think she is planning to give up soon. It's just brutal.

What kind of teacher would you want to be? Are you open to working in under funded schools? The latter would help a lot in a potential job search.

[ejpint]

I considered the same thing last year, and still think about it from time to time. I have a standing acceptance into a masters program, and I'm really interested in doing it.

My big concern, and I would encourage you to look very closely at this, is job prospects. As PP said, it's slim pickings out there in many states. For me, my desire is foreign language, but the only language I've studied is French. Sadly, there's not a huge demand for French teachers anymore. If I pursue this, I'd need to take additional classes in another area of concentration.

[cahabalily]

Violets has given great advice. In my parents' state, elementary ed teachers are a dime a dozen. Highly qualified high school math, science, and english teachers are hard to find, as are special ed teachers.

Counseling positions used to be hard to fill, but every single one of my friends got her MS in counseling, and now there are no jobs there, either.

But if you're seriously considering a career change- why not?

[dreamgirl]

That is definately a concern I have as far as jobs. Many of the teachers around here will be retiring in the next 5 years.

I want to do Elementary Ed and would do LD/BD. I was a para in that area for 2 years and LOVED it! I know it's hard work but I know I could do it.

I have also thought about just doing substitute teaching. Around here, there are many districts I could do and be busy pretty much 5 days a week, so there is that thought as well.

It would take me about 2 years to get my certification.

[tardyfortheparty]

As a teacher, I have a few thoughts. I agree w/ PP re: very competitive teaching market. Your likelihood of gettinga job depends highly on what you want to teach. Substitute teaching is a good way to get your foot in the door and especially to get some classroom management experience. It is not the same as it being in your own classroom but is a good start. I am concerned a bit about one thing you said in your OP "the stress is becoming too much sometimes." Certainly all jobs have stresses but teaching is generally regarded as one of the most stressful fields (student behaviors, high stakes testing, dealing with parents, etc). We see lots of career changers enter teaching after feeling burnt out by a previous career & they frequently find teaching even more stressful & don't stay in the field. Teaching can be incredibly rewarding but when it is tough, it is really tough.

[lolo]

I work in educational publishing, so I'm going to suggest that you consider whether a career in primary school publishing might marry the two interests. We have sales reps who work in schools and do interact with kids. Publishers are focused on educational outcomes as well as sales, which might be a good fit for you.

[dreamgirl]

May 14, 2012 11:53:49 GMT -5 lolo said:

I work in educational publishing, so I'm going to suggest that you consider whether a career in primary school publishing might marry the two interests. We have sales reps who work in schools and do interact with kids. Publishers are focused on educational outcomes as well as sales, which might be a good fit for you.

Tell me more. What do you do? I have never heard of this (unless it's called something different here)

[claudiakishi]

May 14, 2012 11:38:57 GMT -5 cahabalily said:

Violets has given great advice. In my parents' state, elementary ed teachers are a dime a dozen. Highly qualified high school math, science, and english teachers are hard to find, as are special ed teachers.

Counseling positions used to be hard to fill, but every single one of my friends got her MS in counseling, and now there are no jobs there, either.

But if you're seriously considering a career change- why not?

I considered switching careers to teaching as well, but there are no jobs in my state for teaching, and moving was not an option so I dropped it. It really sucks, I know people always say "follow your dreams" but it just wasn't a reality for me.

[HoneySpider]

My job is actually to recruit students for our alternative certification program who want to switch from their current career field into teaching. It's a grant-funded program from the U.S. Dept of Ed as part of their overall Transition to Teaching program. The focus is on bringing in quality teachers to teach high-need subjects areas. For us, those are math, science, special ed, and bilingual ed (I'm pretty sure math, science, and special ed are universal). Anyway, there are a lot of people like you who change careers midway through to pursue teaching. If it's something you're passionate about, I would go for it!

Are you in Texas by any chance? Because if so, I know a program...

[partiallysunny]

I would love to be a teacher, something I didn't realize until I started doing Girl Scouts. I'm smart enough to know that my odds of getting a permanent teaching position in my area are slim. Most of people I know who became teachers are layed off. The others are substitutes.

If it is something you are pasionate about, I say go for it, but do your research first.

[Deleted]

May 14, 2012 11:39:16 GMT -5 @dreamgirl said:

That is definately a concern I have as far as jobs. Many of the teachers around here will be retiring in the next 5 years.

I want to do Elementary Ed and would do LD/BD. I was a para in that area for 2 years and LOVED it! I know it's hard work but I know I could do it.

I have also thought about just doing substitute teaching. Around here, there are many districts I could do and be busy pretty much 5 days a week, so there is that thought as well.

It would take me about 2 years to get my certification.

Are you really just interested in childen/public education? Have you ever considered corporate training? If you have a background in sales you might be able to transition into training sales people. Just a thought. You also would get paid better (probably) and might be easier to get into.

[GailGoldie]

I was a teacher- and now i'm in sales (pharma sales, so IMO it's not quite as stressful as most other types).

I taught for 5 years - and loved it- but got out of it when i moved and nothing was avail- and landed a job at a software company's office... and realized i LOVEd the corporate world more --- less stress (teaching is the most stressful job - b/c it's so emotional + the daily demands)... more money, more respect (sadly), more perks.

I got into pharma sales after 2 years in that office- and have my 10 year anniv this summer.

Talk to some teachers --- visit a classroom for a few days if you can.... really really know htat you want to do it- b/c it's not all it's cracked up to be from the outside --- it's HARD WORK - and like I said- very emotional. I loved it - and was very good at it- and didn't really CHOOSE to leave- but once I left and realized that I could have a job that didn't involve a knot in my stomach most days - i was really happy.

good luck with your decision.

[amity]

I just graduated on Saturday with my masters degree in education. I am a transitional teacher and was a non-profit fundraiser for 10 years before I decided that I wanted to teach. My program was 14 months (full time and intense) and included student teaching and two summer semesters (I will officially be done in August).

I am now certified to teach 7-12 Language Arts and Social Sciences. I signed a contract for the 2012-2013 school year in March and will be teaching HS English in August. Believe me, I got all the same warnings you have gotten in this post, and I knew getting a job would be tough. I was willing to sub or do whatever I had to do to get into the classroom. I think that ultimately, I got a job because I pursued a masters degree and also because I went through a reputable and regionally well known university. Schools that I interviewed with seemed interested in the fact that I had work/life experience outside of teaching and it was very obvious that they appreciated the fact that I wasn't a 22 year old brand new college grad (no offense to the 22 year olds out there).

So, my advice is to go for it. I can honestly say that I have never been more professionally happy than I am now and I am so glad that I spent the time and money to change careers. It feels amazing to finally know what I want to be when I "grow up."

Best of luck to you!

[clickerish]

If you have done teaching and enjoyed it, it might be worth looking into and pursuing. If you have never actually taught but think it's a really nice idea, then don't. Teaching is hard work, very underpaid and not particularly respected.

I teach, and while I absolutely know it was right for me, I am surprised how many of my students tell me they want to be teachers "for the hours" (really? Because I'm grading all weekend sometimes), or because they always wanted to be a teacher (I wanted to be an astronaut but nobody is telling me to go do it now) or any number of other reasons that show their ideas aren't based in solid research.