Two months ago, I did something really uncharacteristic - some might even say reckless. I left my somewhat stable, lucrative, upwardly mobile corporate life where I'd spent the last decade to pursue a career I've considered since graduating college, the one I wished I had majored in the first place. Surely my dear readers will agree that making a move into teaching is a fantastic financial move.
(crickets)
No, I have not lost my mind. Yes, I do read the papers. And OF COURSE I am concerned about the availability of teaching jobs in 2011 when my class graduates. Having two close friends who are newer teachers in Arizona and California, two of the areas hit the hardest by the recession, I feel the impact personally. Although my friends are exceptional teachers wise beyond their tenure, they both received pink slips this year for the second year in a row. They have subsequently been rehired, but the process is quite jarring.
Additionally, I feel as if when I excitedly tell people of my career change, they give me the same look as if I said I was planning to move to Alaska to sell ice to Eskimos. One of my relatives, who is not known for her tactfulness, told me that my decision to pursue teaching "is the dumbest idea she ever heard”.
Ouch. One of my biggest weaknesses is indecision (I'm working on it - maybe), and as a result of the discouragement for the profession I was considering finding another management job and dropping to a part time or even less than part time program. Or perhaps reconsidering my move into teaching altogether. After all, beginning teachers make less than half of my last corporate salary and being in a substitute or teacher’s aide position would barely pay for my student loans. My current part time job in a summer school pays minimum wage, a salary I haven't worked for in...well...ever.
Just as I was having second thoughts about my career change and feeling misguided, the universe dealt me a cosmic whack on the side of the head. A few days ago I was looking through my sent email file to follow up on a seasonal teacher’s aide position in my district. Because of my search criteria and the fact that I don’t keep many of my sent emails, I found something I had sent to a friend of mine over 6 years ago. At that time, I had told my friend that I was tired of my profession and strongly considering a career change to teaching. It wasn’t the first time I’d had that sentiment, and at that moment I wondered why I stayed in a career I didn’t particularly enjoy for so long. After all, it seems I have always wanted to teach.
My classmates, as well as the college administration in general seem to be cautiously optimistic about our career prospects. I feel confident – lucky even - in my choice of a teaching certification program as all of my teachers are exceptionally talented teachers and have a breath of knowledge.
While I may not find a teaching job right away, I've come to terms with the fact that I must pursue my dream of teaching - now. Life is too short to spend your days in a job you hate. Things have a way of working themselves out in the end, and Mr. Cents and I will be okay financially. The price of staying in a job you dread going to every day is far more than you could ever make in a "secure" job.
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