I Need Out Of Teaching...What Career Should I Switch To?

[/quote] I "peaked", if you will, as a teacher a few years ago and have since stopped caring. [/quote]

Doesn't sound to me like you are much of a teacher. A true teacher cares and is committed to his/her students. Either you are quite immature or you overestimate your ability as a teacher. And guess what, your next job will end up the same way....

justthefacts wrote:

Doesn't sound to me like you are much of a teacher. A true teacher cares and is committed to his/her students. Either you are quite immature or you overestimate your ability as a teacher. And guess what, your next job will end up the same way....

Who said I stopped caring about the kids? I said I stopped caring about improving as a teacher because there is no incentive to do so. Why should I spend my own time and money taking more classes, going to seminars, writing grants and adding to my credentials when Joe Gym teacher (who does nothing all day but play basketball) is making more than me and can't be let go simply because he has been a teacher longer. It's crap. Trust me, I am a very good teacher. My ability has zero to do with my desire to change careers. I am just sick of education, that's all.

Probably asking the masses who hate teachers is not the place to seek out the most effective post-teaching career advice. Education is a complicated game of propaganda with even those in the "know" caught in the headlights. Fortunately, as a teacher, the scope of your strengths and experience are vast, varied and transferable to other types of careers. Sales, research and teaching adult learners are all potential areas to explore. Just visualize yourself at a job you enjoy and go for it. Be passionate, take risks and make change.

Personally, after 10 years of post-secondary education and 4 expensive papers on the wall, i still can't land a teaching job. I've decided that unemployment rocks, money is unnecessary and trying to run faster is more fun than dealing with all that crap. Teaching kids is nice, too bad it has to happen in conjunction with all the rest of the nonsense.

On the other hand... isn't it called "work" for a reason? Maybe we could switch lives? Good luck dude. :)

I am also a science teacher. I will agree with many of the thoughts that you have. The thing that I guess I thought I could change is trying to get students to care about their own lives. The school I am in due to a lot of the politics at the school it is nearly impossible to have any discipline unless a kid hits you. I think the whole educational system of our country needs a complete revamping and needs to go to much more in the direction of asian countries

hey I am Joe Gym teacher but I can assure you I don't play basketball all day. The 50 to 70 inner city students I have in my classes can be demanding. I paid my dues these 25 years and continue to work just as hard. My job is not as secure as one might think but I don't mind as I know the harder I work, the more I get involved in every aspect of my school the more likely I am to keep my job.The fact that you bad mouth gym teachers suggest you are definitely in the wrong field. A fellow teacher should stick up for his/her colleagues whether they teacher art, resource, music, PE or any other subject.

I can empathize with you. Our education system is an abyss. It doesn't need more and more money thrown at it every year, so much as it needs a complete overhaul. You are a shining example of that. It fosters mediocrity and complacency, and we wonder why our kids aren't getting the skills to compete in today's rapidly globalizing world and incomes aren't keeping pace with inflation. Our education system is the ultimate form of protectionism and socialism. Unfortunately, that's the direction our entire country is headed and it won't be pretty.

The people badmouthing the original poster are probably the same people who either 1) have never had a job yet or 2) are mediocre at their current job

coach wrote:

...I know the harder I work, the more I get involved in every aspect of my school the more likely I am to keep my job.The fact that you bad mouth gym teachers suggest you are definitely in the wrong field. A fellow teacher should stick up for his/her colleagues whether they teacher art, resource, music, PE or any other subject.

Wrong, at least in the state that I teach. Firing practices are determined by one thing and one thing alone: the date you were hired. The union even makes the administration list all licensed employees as to their hiring date. I have seen some teachers go berserk when a typo was made and their hiring date was wrong.

As for the Joe Gym teacher comment...dude, don't get all offended. My point was that I have spent years doing the extras while Joe [insert teaching area here] who does nothing all day but [insert lazy action here] gets the money and job security simply because they have been teaching longer. You get my drift.

OP:

I understand what you are feeling. Teaching is tough (as are most jobs)and there are many days that I question my path. I have been in the same amount of time as you. I hope you have the courage to actually change paths unlike most teachers that are unhappy.

Best of luck. We only live once; you may as well live it on your terms if possible.

Give us updates in a year or two.

Oh crap, you mean it doesn't get better with time? I'm starting my second year of teaching and hate it. The pay sucks and the work load is unreal. I teach 3 differant subjects at a high school with the minimal starting teacher wage. I drive a crapy car with the paint falling off because I can't yet save to buy decent one. I rent, and barely have enough to repay my student loans and pay the bills. Furthermore, I feel like I absolutely have no time for a personal life. I wake up at 5 a.m. come home from school at 5 p.m. eat dinner, and by the time I'm done planning my lessons for the next day it's already midnight. Not to mention dealing with the kids and parents all day long. I thought things would get better, but I don't think they will. I have been thinking about going back to school and going into business. I just read an add for border patrol agent jobs starting at 45 K per year with a chance to earn 75 K after 3 years. It's going to take me 10 years in teaching to get to the starting 45k wage of a border patrol agent and you don't even need a college degree to work for them!! I just feel cheated in the teaching profession and it's nothing like I thought it would be. I now know I won't make it pass 5 years.

If you're thinking about teaching, STAY AWAY!!!

try the private sector of education: you can work for a company that does standardized testing and train people to grade standardized tests. then you'll realize that even folks with bachelor's degrees and teaching experience don't know what they're doing...

but if you get a full time job with a good company it can be a pretty good gig, i think.

You might be able to transition into teaching at the community college or junior college level. Depending on the state you may be able to find a full time job that pays well, or you may be stuck with part time gigs with no benefits.

Or go to Japan and teach English at a university

To the OP, you should try your new career in the summer to get a feel for it and gain experience before you switch.

I also will second the sales related recommendation. I had a buddy who taught school and also sold cars in the summer. He did a great job selling cars and made a bunch of money just working summers.

Consider doing this and see if you like sales then you can always transition out of teaching.

It doesn't have to be car sales it just seems like that is a great way to learn how to sell. Many dealerships will hire people without a previous experience.

To the OP, you should try your new career in the summer to get a feel for it and gain experience before you switch.

I also will second the sales related recommendation. I had a buddy who taught school and also sold cars in the summer. He did a great job selling cars and made a bunch of money just working summers.

Consider doing this and see if you like sales then you can always transition out of teaching.

It doesn't have to be car sales but it is a great way to learn how to sell. Many dealerships will hire people without a previous experience.

2nd year teacher wrote:

Oh crap, you mean it doesn't get better with time? I'm starting my second year of teaching and hate it. The pay sucks and the work load is unreal. I teach 3 differant subjects at a high school with the minimal starting teacher wage.

If you're thinking about teaching, STAY AWAY!!!

I was there, in the exact same spot. There is a terrible feeling of helplessness. I felt stupid for spending all that time and money at school only to go into a job I truely hated. I felt even worse when I'd talked to people about my new job, I didn't want to say "It sucks I hate it! I want to quit!" but that's exactly what I was thinking.

The best thing was that I realized I was not long for that career early, so I moved on. I pretty much quit in my mind not much after the Christmas break, so most of the Spring semester I made it real easy on myself and my students. I showed lots of videos, gave open book tests that I had them grade, etc.. My last 2-3 mo. were stress free. I walked out of there glad I was never coming back.

May I suggest that you stay with the career for a short while and develop a network so that you may reinvent yourself as a private tutor? You'd probably have to get into a hard skill like math, but once you get yourself established after a few years, the pay can be great with a lot fewer headaches and apart from the bloated bureaucracy that is our education system today.

To the OP, you should try your new career in the summer to get a feel for it and gain experience before you switch.

I also will second the sales related recommendation. I had a buddy who taught school and also sold cars in the summer. He did a great job selling cars and made a bunch of money just working summers.

Consider doing this and see if you like sales then you can always transition out of teaching.

It doesn't have to be car sales but it is a great way to learn how to sell. Many dealerships will hire people without a previous experience.

I teach and coach and I love it. Guess I am one of the only ones.