Career Change to Education

I find teaching to be very rewarding as well, but I do have to tell anyone thinking of becoming a teacher that teacher's jobs are painted by society as being much easier than they are. It is a very demanding job and requires a lot more time after school. If you love kids and love the idea of teaching it is a dream job, but it is still a ton of work!

Just one more teacher to throw in her two cents. If you think you'll love the job, by all means do it. I work with a couple "career change" teachers and they're happy they made the switch. But if a big incentive is the "free time," then don't. There may be more vacation and less "structured" time, but there's neverending work September through June. Even the career changers comment on how teaching is far more work than corporate. I know it's hard to believe because what we see of teachers as students and what we hear in the media is that teachers have it so easy. But it's not.

Still, having taught now for 8 years, I can't think of other things I'd rather do (most days) and it is incredibly rewarding. I agree with the other posters that you might want to start as a sub or even just by checking in with some local teachers and seeing if they'd let you shadow them for a few days. If you're still interested after that, go for it!

I was never in the corporate world, but I earned my undergrad. degree in sociology. I decided to go into education after I had my son. I had to do a graduate program designed for people who already had a degree in another field. The program I went through here in Maine was through USM- called ETEP. I also had to pass the Praxis tests. I worked in my district for 3 years and am now in the middle of my master's program (paid for by the school district).

As others have mentioned, teaching is a stressful and time-consuming job. I easily spend 10-20 hours more a week working at school or at home than those who work typical 40 hr./week jobs, with no overtime pay! However, the vacation time is nice. I also appreciate having my son at my school, especially since he is having a hard transition to Kindergarten and I can work closely with his teacher. However, I can never leave right after school with him, so it's not like I can spend my afternoons with him. I love my job, but I often feel like I'm spinning plates like a circus performer and if someone adds another plate, it'll all tumble. Then someone comes along and adds another. I have to constantly remind myself that I am there for the kids and they are worth it.

I suggest you get your feet wet by becoming an ed. tech or substitute. I'm not sure what your financial situation is, but if you could afford to make less money and be an ed. tech, that's really the best of both worlds. You get to be in the school, work with kids, have fewer responsibilities and time demands, and get vacations.

Goodluck on this major decision!

I didn't make the change after 20 years, but I did change my career from journalism to teaching about 7 years ago. I went back to school and took a part-time job at Starbucks (great benefits for part-timers) until I settled on a school and had a job offer. I first took the basic skills tests to start substitute teaching, which I highly recommend. I was unsure whether primary or secondary education would work for me and surprisingly I went the high school route after many sub spots. It also gave me a peek inside the new life of teaching and I made a few contacts along the way--which is survival for a first year teacher!
You can also look into private schools, which may not require as many educational credits and can start you in the classroom sooner, while you earn your credential. That is what I did and it allowed me to work as i attended grad school. It doesn't pay as well, usually but I loved the school.
The career move was the best decision of my life! Although, besides parenthood, I have to say it is the hardest most challenging job I ever had. Also, the most rewarding!!!!! Please e-mail me if you need any encouragement or questions. Good luck! D.

T.,

I made a change 3 years ago from a financial consultant at one of the largest banks to a teacher. I have not regretted it a single day. Teaching is definitely stressful, but you get a ton of sick days, the summers with your kids, and you can do a lot of work (like grading and planning) at home while they do their homework of after they go to bed. I didn't go back to school. Because I have my masters, I was able to do an alternative certification. My advice is to go talk to the principal or assistant principal of the local school at the level you want to teach at to see what they would be looking for or if they can help in any way. I brought my college transcripts and resume and they pointed me in the right direction. Then when someone quit the week before school started, I got called in for an interview! It was like hitting the lottery!! Good luck!

I too, like the other responders, am a teacher. It is very rewarding, but it is not as easy as some people may think. Don't go into it because of the schedule. If you were previously interested in teaching anyways, then pursue it. There are too many teachers out there that really shouldn't be teaching. There are a lot more demands now because of No Child Left Behind and state testing. There is a lot of pressure on the schools, which trickles down to the teachers. I work in a school that is on the Needs Improvement list, and it is not a nice atmosphere at all. New teachers, especially are at risk because they don't have professional status so they are easier to get rid of. I have an 18 month old and I absolutely cannot bring work home, except on the weekends. That is why I am up at 7 doing my grades. I cannot get to school any earlier than I currently am due to daycare drop off time, so I work through my lunch and take advantage of every planning minute than I have. I can only stay till 4:00 due to daycare pick up time, so it doesn't give me much time to do my paperwork. I have to let my husband take over on Sundays though so I can do my lesson planning for the week, grades, etc. I'm not trying to be negative, I know that any kind of job is demanding, but your heart really has to be in it to do it. Right now I am really hoping to do job sharing next year so that I feel that I can keep up with life a little better, because right now everything is so rushed. I love teaching, and wouldn't change my mind about it if I had to do it all over again, but it is not for everyone!

Good luck with your decision!
D.

Hi T.! I am a teacher and as some others have already mentioned, teaching is not the easy 9-3 job that most people believe it is. It is a very demanding job that commands very little respect from some. It is definitely not for everyone and the only way you're going to find out is to jump right in there! As a mom, you've got a good bag of tricks for dealing with children. You will need to develop a new bag of tricks to make sure that every minute is filled with lessons/activities for the kids to do. You never want to give them a free minute - especially in the middle school grades : ) Developing these skills takes time so take some courses and really talk to some of your colleagues to find out what kind of activities they do in the event of down time. If you're serious about teaching, you will need to take the MTEL exam. The Communications & Literacy test is required of all teachers and there are subject matter tests for whatever subject/level you will be teaching. You can find information at the MA DOE website. Passing those tests and getting that certification is the most important thing when you go to interview. You may need to take some coursework to get out of a "provisional" certification but pass those tests first. Most public schools won't even consider someone without certification. And my final 2 cents... In my opinion, I wouldn't get my masters degree (I'm assuming that is why you're going back to school) right away. It would be easier for you to find a job without your masters degree in education. Budgets are always tight and school districts sometimes need to make decisions with the bottom line in mind - if you will cost them less than someone else, you stand a better chance of getting the advantage in hiring. Good luck!!

Hi-
I got my certification to teach prior to having my kids, and got pregnant while I was working in some long term sub positions (which I loved) and had not yet gotten a permanent position. My husband is a teacher, so I am still in touch with the world of education via him. I agree with much of what the other respondents have said. What I would like to add (which makes me reluctant to go back into the field) is that being a 1st year/2nd year teacher is a particularly stressful time. My husband has been teaching about 15 years, and he has some strong lesson plans that he utilizes from year to year, adding and changing to suit the needs of his particular group and the different approaches he takes to keep things fresh. He also has a certain reputation with the students that he has honed through his classroom interactions with kids over the years and by being a coach for sports after school. While he is still exhausted at the end of his day, he isn't totally drained and can enjoy some time with our family. For a new teacher (particularly the first year and first few years), the job is much more taxing. Lesson plans have to be developed without the base of experience. You need to establish your reputation and kids test you more than teachers that are known in the school. As teachers don't do the job just for the money - any good teacher has an emotional connection to their work and their students - you can't help but be effected emotionally by the students and that stays with you. I had a good friend who was hired in a part time teaching position last year after her kids were in 2nd grade and kindergarten. She ended up resigning before the holidays. She couldn't make dinner for her family during the week (she loves cooking but had to much planning and work etc). She couldn't keep up with housework, and she would end up spending all day Sunday working and preparing . She also had some students (high school) who were particularly nasty to her and she had to deal with that as well. So... while, in the long term, being a teacher has some nice advantages for family life (similar schedule, 1st hand knowledge of school system function etc), it can be taxing on the family as a whole in the first years as you develop in your position. Just keep this in mind in making your decision... good luck!

I made the switch recently from Public Relations to Early Childhood Ed. The decision was tough, because I loved what I did, but the idea of being her for by baby won out. I don't regret it but I do miss the corporate world. I opted for Early Childhood which doesn't involve the homework and at home time, however, it also doesn't pay as well and the conversation and stimulation is different with a 5 year old than a 10yr old.

I would also recommend looking into nursing. I have quite a few friends who are nurses and have great schedules - with a few night or double shifts here and there. Would you be able to do consulting in the field that you are in? Perhaps cut your hours but remain in the field?

This is a decision that you make with your heart. You don't become a teacher to retire early and be rich...but you do change children's lives and they change yours.

Another thing to consider if you happen to live and plan to work in Massachusetts. Teachers do not put into Social Security. Instead, they put into a teachers retirement system, contributions are mandatory (currently 11% pretax income). It is illegal to pull from both a state pension plan and SS. You will have to either give up your SS benefits or the pension. Not exactly an incentive to change careers, although there are probably other incentives that may make up for that.
And, as many already noted, outside of summer vacation, there is little time-benefit to becoming a teacher. Friends of mine consider teaching a "part-time" job, but the 12 hour days I put in for 7 years before becoming a SAHM say otherwise. If I could go back and do it again, I would have become a nurse, physicians assistant, or doctor. Especially nursing would have a flexible schedule. Definitely not something teachers have.

Although teaching is a very noble profession- one for which I have the highest respect for- I would do yourself the favor of doing some 'observation' work for the grade/area that you are interested in before you matriculate in such a strenuous and demanding degree.
I went to a college that is noted for the teaching academia and it was part of their program. I only wish I hadn't been through a year of that major before I decided (by doing the observations) that it wasn't for me!

Good luck.

Hi Tracy,
Like the below, I am a teacher and have always been one.
Someone mentioned 9-3:30 and being able to leave.....
The other side also needs to mention that you will be required to stay for meetings sometimes til 4, you do get a lot of sick time, but unfortunately you tend to have to use them for when your kids are sick... if you are out taking them to much, it is frowned upon believe it or not.

As a teacher, we are also required to be there on duty some evenings during the year for open house, parent teacher conferences, special occaisions (we just did a family night and sad for me, a single mom, it was on the last day of my child's soccer program).

Summers are great to have off with your children. A lot of us take courses in the summer to keep certification current. It is better to take courses over the summer than during the school year when so much more is going on.

Good luck to you in your school work.

L.

I second Millie's response! Be sure to get in there and observe before making any commitments. I was a high school department chair before leaving to be a SAHM. The quick teacher ed. programs leave out a very critical component--classroom management. We would have people start in Sept. and quit 2 weeks in because they couldn't believe the amount of management and non-teaching involved in the profession. One guy couldn't believe that the kids didn't sit there with their feet still, hands folded, listening to him with rapt attention. I think he lasted 2 weeks, if that.

Hi T.:

I can't say that I've worked in the corporate world, but I've been a high school and middle school teacher for about five years. Recently, after my son was born, I changed over to teaching college students. In any teaching profession, the hours are great for family. However, the drawbacks are your never ending prep work and correcting on weekends. Also, discipline in schools these days is a huge issue.

I can only make you aware of the pros and cons. If you're really interested in teaching, it can be very rewarding and they desperately need good teachers out there...good luck!

Hi T.! I am a grade 5 teacher and I always have been, so I never made a change from anything else, but I can tell you the benefits of being a teacher and having kids. You are right about the schedule and the summers... it is great to be able to leave the "office" at 3:30 and not be viewed as leaving early, but, the trade-off is that we start a lot earlier in the morning than many businesses and there is basically no flexibility with that. In other words, when the kids get there, you have to be there, even if you wanted to run a couple of errands or something! It also depends what level you teach. My husband teaches high school and is in the car by 6:30 a.m. daily since they start a lot earlier. The summers are wonderful - no two ways about it. I would never deny that we are lucky for that. But again, education is full of trade-offs, and people who don't teach don't understand that teachers AND kids need that summer to recharge and refresh. Teaching is VERY mentally and physically tiring, and having done it for 11 years I can say that without time away from the rigid structure of the classroom, I would not be effective for new classes every year!

The only real drawback I feel as I work and have a very young family is that you can't just leave the job at the job with teaching... you really do take it home with you, whether it's grading papers, thinking about a student, answering parent emails, etc. I make a conscious effort daily to leave at a reasonable hour and leave the work on my desk so I can spend time with my OWN kids. It can be tough (my gradebook is sitting here in front of me, waiting for grades to be averaged for report cards!). I do love it though and I wish you luck as you ponder this exciting change!! Let me know if you have any questions or if you are going to pursue elementary education and need any tips!

I went to law school in my 30s with one son, and had my secon while in law school.

It is a decision I have never regretted, and my oldest always told me how proud he was of me for going to school. Did he like it when I had to study for the bar? Not one bit, but I made it up to him and I have never been happier.

I say - GO FOR IT! You will be one of the best teacher's out there I'm sure because you will bring a world of experience and patience.

Hi T....I am actually a teacher considering a career change when I am ready to go back to work. Now, I do not want you to change your mind but I just want you to see the other side before you start taking classes.

Teaching is a very demanding job. It is not a 9-3 job, you always have to take school home with you, planning, correcting, etc. And the money is not great to say the least and teachers in this area are not high in demand so the salary won't be raising anytime soon.

However if you really have you heart set on teaching I did love it (before my own children). You do get holidays and summers off...BUT have you considered nursing? That is a career VERY high in demand and is even more flexible than teaching (plus you can make a ton more money). If you work in a hospital setting you could work perdeum and work as little as 8 hours every 2 weeks and just add hours when ever you want and whenever you don't like on a school field trip day or parent teacher conference, or in the summer...you don't!

Just thoughts...my mind is racing for a career change in a few years too! I hope you find your passion. Remember you don't work a day in your life if you love what you do, right?