<p>Thank you ^^ will check it out.</p>
<p>My husband has taught math in the same h.s. for 32+ years, but he didn’t always “want to be a teacher.” In fact, he got a B.A. in Economics from Stanford and then went on to get his MBA from UCLA. This was all in the '70s. His intention was to be an accountant. Well, after a year of doing that, he decided it wasn’t what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. So, he went to San Jose State and got his Single Subject (Math) teaching credential. He’s been teaching math ever since. No, he doesn’t make nearly the amount of money he might have had he stuck with accounting or finance. But, he’s happy with his career. He also coached track and cross country and had an 8 year stint as athletic director. He was a top runner at the same h.s. when he was a student there.</p>
<p>Oh, and when he was at SJSU in the credential program, he was appalled at some of the students who were being trained to become teachers! Not too bright. It was a head-shaker, for sure. That’s too bad. So, if someone tries to tell you that you’re “too smart” to teach, just let them know that this exactly what we need–smart teachers!!</p>
<p>Hmm, for me, I would consider that I’m wasting my talents/intellect if I teach at high school or below, whereas I would be (somewhat) fine being a professor or the like.</p>
<p>I hope that you become a teacher. You have always wanted to, it sounds like you will be a great one. En route to your career you will have ample opportunities to be in the classroom, so you’ll know if it’s for you. We need teachers who want to teach, so please do it. </p>
<p>Regarding $, both my husband and I are teachers with many years in our respective schools. Literally more than a thousand people would need to be laid off before either of us would lose our jobs. That security is nice, and we make excellent money together. When our kids were young, my H used to take summer jobs (camp director, for example), and he or I have often had pretty substantial second jobs. Now that we are higher up on the pay scale we don’t do that. We have taken fantastic vacations because we have time off together, and our kids were never home alone after school for more than maybe 20 minutes. Teaching is great if you love it. I was like you, always wanted to teach–I used to line up my dolls and “teach” them.</p>
<p>H and I are both in the performing arts, and we have NEVER been out of work. We do what we love, and we live comfortably. </p>
<p>If you want to make more money there are plenty of ways to supplement your income, and save money by being frugal. Also, if you get your master’s in administration, you could go on to be a principal or superintendent. They make plenty of money. </p>
<p>Teaching can offer you more time with your family, which is important. No one looks at their life in their old age and wish they had spent more time making $. Usually they regret not spending enough time with their loved ones, not following their dreams, or not playing an instrument or not dancing or not singing or traveling or doing art.</p>
<p>We save lots of money on vacations by exchanging our house. We have the time off to do that (like the French or the Italians…)</p>
<p>BTW, starting salary in my district is $42K and goes up past $80k, teaching 184 days per year. </p>
<p>Best wishes, and I hope you follow your dreams wherever they lead you.</p>
<p>Thank you everybody for all of the replies. You all have some great tips and have presented many things for me and others in the same situation as me to consider. It is greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>
Yes, in fact, I have. Since my sophomore year, my school’s Spanish National Honor Society (of which I am a member) goes to an elementary school made up of mostly under-privileged Hispanic kids and we read English books to them and help them understand it using our Spanish communication skills.</p>
<p>Also, I’m a TA (teacher assistant) at my school, so four days a week I am with a teacher for an entire period (50 minutes). My TA job description consists of just about anything from laminating posters, copying assignments, taking class attendance, and even teaching the class. I’ve done two class-teaching sessions and the teacher let me even help develop the lesson plan for that day and choose what material we’d cover and how I’d go about doing it. This is a rare opportunity that I would have never imagined having while still in high school. Granted, it was a bit weird teaching those who are roughly my own age and are essentially my peers, it was still a fulfilling experience. It was very daunting, and I even have a new-found sympathy for first-time substitutes and even new teachers who have a tough time managing an entire class of 16-year-olds :p. In the end though, I made the best out of the experience, and I look forward to doing even more when I have another opportunity to teach the class.</p>
<p>These experiences have given me great insight as to what teaching is all about. Usually people want to teach because “they like kids.” But there’s so much more to it, and I’m seeing that. It’s making me more and more interested in the profession. </p>
<p>
I’m definitely geared towards secondary education, namely high school. I have no idea what the teaching atmosphere is like, but the only tip I’ve received in that aspect is that West Virginia (or was it Virginia?) has one of the highest-paying teaching programs in the country. Not sure though.</p>
<p>
Actually, I’ve considered this and briefly mentioned it and they were indifferent to the idea. But I just don’t know enough about being a professor. It’s obviously way different than K-12 teaching, so I need to scope out some resources and identify the pathway to becoming a professor.</p>
<p>Knowing what I do, I probably could end up being a college professor. PhD has been embedded into my brain by my parents ever since I became cognizant of what college even is. Being a college professor, I take it, requires a great level of intellect, which I have. My main concern: Is college teaching really as boring as it looks? Several hours of lecturing per day, reading long papers, and nothing more? I am certainly research/knowledge-oriented, so yes, it’s interesting stuff to me, but I can imagine it getting old…</p>
<p>Another thing to consider: Perhaps my parents and generally everybody around me is so aversive to me becoming a teacher because I’m a male. Obviously female teachers outnumber their male counterparts, and maybe people haven’t gotten over that socially-implanted gender role division? One of my mom’s friends is an elementary-school teacher and she hates it; not because she doesn’t like teaching, but because the way the county runs things just isn’t her style. She said more male teachers are needed. I’m not sure how much of a drive there is to get more males in the field, but I think it’s yet another reason I should pursue this dream of mine.</p>
<p>I have done both college teaching full-time as well as all other levels. It’s not better, it’s different. But, reality check here: There are thousands of unemployed PHD’s. The colleges couldn’t possibly absorb all the PHD students out there. Also, you are quite likely to make much less as a college teacher, particularly in the beginning. When I left my assistant professorship at a major university and ended up teaching in the public schools the following year, I made 10K more. It depends upon your field. In K-12, teachers will receive the same pay no matter what subject they teach, but in college it is often according to the discipline. For example, who would teach engineering if their students make more than they do when they graduate? So engineering profs make quite a bit more than the history profs., usually. And who makes the most? Did you guess right? … the football coach, of course.</p>
<p>Also, teaching at a university is very much about bringing in big grant monies to the university, publishing your research, and not very much about teaching. Community colleges focus on teaching, but with budget cuts, most job openings are part time, no benefits, very low pay. If you decide to try for college teaching, be prepared to move to wherever the job is–usually in a state you had never considered visiting, let alone living there. You HAVE to move to where the job is, in most cases. There will usually be approximately 200 to 300 applicants for each full-time teaching position, especially if it’s in a “desirable” location.</p>
<p>Someone posted about some peers in a school of Education not appearing to be top level academically…so I am wondering, how does one discern a high quality school of Education?</p>
<p>Isn’t it sad that we have a neverending discussion about what’s “wrong” with teachers in this country, and then smart students who want to be teachers are given such a negative message?</p>
<p>My husband, whom i consider to be brilliant (totally objective, of course :)), left the medical profession, after great success and some acclaim, mid-career to be a high school teacher in biology. I don’t think he’s “too smart” to be that; I do think he’s much happier and somewhat less stressed than he was by medicine. The cut in pay was more than worth it, and by all reports he’s a terrific teacher.</p>
<p>OP, don’t let negative opinions keep you from your path.</p>
<p>My mom, an elementary teacher, told me not to go into the profession, but I guess it was just in my blood. However, after starting in teacher ed 7-12 program, I decided to go the higher ed route. Now, at a Catholic college, I make even less than the public school teachers in the district where my own children attend school. Money’s not everything, but you really need to be someone who does not have significant wants to be comfortable at many teachers’ salaries.</p>
<p>You say you love the intellectual part of teaching, the sharing of knowlege, etc. Might I recommend a job in higher ed rather than the lower grades? Even in those “really good” school districts, there’s not a teacher out there who has section after section of motivated, eager learners. You will have to learn classroom management. You will have to deal with parents (even at the college level, I get a few who can’t seem to power down the helicopter motors- it’s weird, and I hate it). You will be sitting in on IEP meetings, where parents who are experts in their children tell you that you know nothing. I think a public school teacher needs a love of kids as well as a love of subject matter, or he just gets too bogged down in all the non-learning work that goes with the job.</p>
<p>FWIW, majoring in education often means a 5th year as an undergrad. States have many requirements for teacher certification, adding many hours to graduation requirements for teachers. Look for a school (often an LAC) that can get you through in 4. Make sure any education program you select is state-accredited (and that’s different/separate than the college’s accreditation).</p>
<p>My older daughter who has attended private schools for “gifted” children, went on to attend one of the most intellectual colleges in the country, after working in various fields ( tech writer, web site design/maintenance, science director for after school programs), is pursing a masters of arts in teaching, where she will have a mentor teacher & be in the classroom for two years.
She is exhausted but very happy.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t try to discourage her, education is a respected profession and I think it suits her personality.</p>
<p>Money’s not everything, but you really need to be someone who does not have significant wants to be comfortable at many teachers’ salaries.</p>
<p>Since she went through college wearing clothes from high school or the free bins @ Goodwill & since public school teachers earn more per hour than her parents did while she was growing up, I think she will be ok with the salary. ;)</p>
<p>@seekinguni – regarding being a college professor, you should think (once you are in college) about how much you like formulating original research projects, writing papers, publishing, etc. For many professors, teaching and grading papers is only a small fraction of what they do. A huge part of their job is their own research, projects that they pursue IN ADDITION to teaching as academics. These often end up in the publishing of academic books, and then in between books in a lot of writing papers on their research interests and submitting those papers for conferences/journals. </p>
<p>So if you like research a lot, in addition to teaching, you might be itnerested in beign a professor. As others have said though, it’s an extremely competitive field. The nice thing about it is that if you get tenure at a good university you’re set and they can’t really fire you. The hard thing is that it’s really difficult to get tenure and there are many more Phd’s than tenure positions. You have to do a lot of research and get published widely so that the university can see the quality of your scholarship, and that having you there will help bring positive attention to the school. That’s why university professors have the saying “publish or perish”. Professors who can’t get published or don’t publish usually end up not having their contracts renewed or put on the tenure track. </p>
<p>Whereas if you primarily just want to teach and aren’t that interested in research, you might want to look at other levels of education. Where you are right now, it’s going to be hard to know which you want, because you probably don’t have a lot of experience with college level research or academia in general. So don’t worry about deciding, just keep an open mind. </p>
<p>And if you want to teach, then you should just follow that star. Don’t let other people discourage you, they may not see the value in what you do or why you would want to go into a difficult and (initially) lower-paying profession. The important thing is that YOU see value in it and YOU want to do it. Teaching is hard, but it is so so so important. And if you are really passionate about it, then there are students out there who could definitely benefit from your skill and hard work.</p>
<p>
Absolutely, garland! Thank you for saying it so well. </p>
<p>I don’t understand the apparently widely-held belief that teachers are less intellectual, less ambitious, not as hard-working, etc., as other professionals. My kids had some brilliant teachers in our public school system, and many very good ones; only a small handful were less than competent. My d teaches first grade in an impoverished district. When I visited for a day last spring, I was completely exhausted after only a few hours of observation. Of course, our culture has decided to expect our schools and teachers to address almost every social ill while educating our kids. :rolleyes: Teachers make handy whipping boys, I guess.</p>
<p>I agree with your parents.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t force my child to not be a teacher, but I would let them know the downside.</p>
<p>My brother was high IQ, understands & remembers info quickly, loved learning type. He has changed tremendously since becoming a teacher. </p>
<p>He wasn’t prepared for the fact that about 3/4 of his job is administrative red tape and disciplinary issues. He teaches in a city public school. We are surburbia kids. He wasn’t prepared for the social issues and street knowledge his 4th graders had – this includes detailed description of cooking crack, making babies and other fun things. He since moved to a “better” school where the issues seem to only involve alcholism and anger management.</p>
<p>He worked after school programs before entering into teaching and thought he knew what he was getting into, but he never realized the lack of creativity he would have in the classroom. He did not foresee having to teach to state tests and having to receive approval for any supplemental material outside of the written cirruculm the district provides.</p>
<p>Sure, he could move to a different district or private school IF he could find a job paying the amount he needs to maintain his family.<br>
He makes very good money; the issue is you must start at an entry level salary if you move into another district.</p>
<p>In my PA/NJ region, many,many teachers are out of work. The budget cuts are deep and painful and most folks did not see it coming. Of course, this isn’t much different than other professions in our region.</p>
<p>So – again if I were your parent I’d urge you to talk to many teachers in both urban and non-urban environments, in both public and private schools and discuss the non-instruction areas of their jobs along with the “freedom” they have in creating the cirriculum.</p>
<p>Explore college level teaching is a great idea. I’d also suggest you look into spec. ed. teaching – many districts due to budgets are lumping it together again, but really spec. ed has various branches from speech to Asperger to reading specialist. </p>
<p>IMO – every career has major downsides. The important thing is to evaluate all aspects and know the reality before committing to the dream version of the career.</p>
<p>Garland: the teacher that “sparked” an interest in the profession for my D1 was a lawyer and decided it wasn’t for him; he went back and got his teaching credentials and now teaches HS History & English. </p>
<p>If you end up considering teaching at a college level, please be aware of language fluency requirements for doctorate programs. D1 is considering teaching history at a college level, but she’s found out that she’ll need to have fluency in 2 foreign languages since it’s expected that she’ll need to be able to work with primary documents in other languages for research purposes. That might end up being a barrier for her. </p>
<p>There was a point where she was interested in physical therapy and I suggested that she look into those types of jobs within the school system (pt, ot, speech, etc.) as the amount of kids who need special services through the schools is growing.</p>
<p>I looked into becoming a teacher many years ago but giving up my engineering income to go for a masters would not have been practical at the time with two young kids and a mortgage to pay off. I always had a desire to teach middle-school math to get the opportunity to inspire kids before they got turned off to math - something that I see a lot of.</p>
<p>My son is in his third-year tutoring and has an infectious love of math and science and I think that he’s a bit of a natural at teaching but he path is more of one of science or engineering. If he wanted to become a teacher, we’d certainly support him in that. We might have to provide some financial support for a while but we wouldn’t have a problem doing that.</p>
<p>SeekingUni - Follow your passion! You will enjoy your career more if it is something that you love doing. I have been teaching for 28 years. I have taught special ed and elementary/early childhood ed in both public and private schools. There is definitely paperwork and meetings that can be too lengthy, but I have always enjoyed my work and wanted to go to work. </p>
<p>My husband is a physician who also loves to teach. He gets to do both at the hospital where he works. He has family practice residents who rotate through his specialty. He found a way to combine different passions.</p>
<p>*There is definitely paperwork and meetings that can be too lengthy, but I have always enjoyed my work and wanted to go to work. *</p>
<p>My D doesn’t have a car & uses carpools and public transportation ( it takes her 2hrs+ by bus one way), which makes for a very long day at the beginning of the year with the numbers of meetings and parent nights- she was very happy to see that she wasn’t the only one who brought her knitting!</p>
<p>@seeking
Follow your passion. Not everyone wants to or can be a doctor or an Investment Banker. There are jobs for everyone. If teaching is your thing then go for it. Just pick a school that has diversity and depth in the acdamics, so that there are rooms for you should you want to change your mind in the future.</p>
<p>Go with your dream - if it is really what you are meant to do, you will find a way to do it anyway, even if you try to avoid it. A friend of mine always wanted to go into teaching or art. Her parents talked her out of it, mostly because of financial reasons. She eventually earned a master’s degree in public health, and began working as a health educator. How did she spend her time at work? Teaching health classes and designing brochures and posters for her program. Yep, teaching and creating art!</p>
<p>I agree with longhaul.</p>
<p>As a parent (and a teacher) I have not encouraged my children to teach–for many of the reasons listed. I have seen so many young, enthusiastic teachers feel ripped off by their chosen profession. You’ll get very little support as you start out (it’s kind of sink or swim) and often very little respect. It is truly the only profession I know of that everyone feels they are entitled to give their .02 cents on how it should be preformed. AND they always seem to know exactly how to do it. (Yet have never balanced 180 teenagers per day, made lesson plans, graded paper work, dealt with district level issues, talked with parents, etc…)</p>
<p>That being said, I can’t imagine any other job I could possibly love more or find more rewarding. There is never a dull moment. Many others have posted about the perks. You just have to go in knowing what you’re in for. If you have “thick skin” and a passion for learning and teaching, you won’t be disappointed. </p>
<p>I just hate to see those that didn’t know what it was going to be like get “stuck” in a job they dislike. It can be miserable for everyone.</p>
<p>I guess it is a little like acting. Many actors try to push their children in another direction because they know how difficult it can be. The rewards are certainly there, but it isn’t for the faint of heart.</p>