Becoming a high school teacher at midlife

[Anonymous]

I am a lawyer and have worked in law firms (mostly corporate with some litigation) my entire career -- since my mid-20s. I'm looking for a career change.

I have always loved teaching. I volunteer for mentorship and training because I really enjoy it and I think it plays well to my skills. I am good at breaking down complex topics and explaining them and I'm also a highly empathetic person who likes talking to and relating to people. I get to do some of this in my work but less than I'd like -- so much of lawyering is reading and writing in a solitary environment and most of my clients are long-established so they aren't looking for me to explain things to them. I'm in the "maintenance" phase of my legal career and I'm bored.

It occurred to me that I think I might really love teaching government or civics classes at the high school level. I could see maybe also teaching at the college or law school level but to be honest it doesn't excite me as much because I'd likely be teaching something much more narrow i those environments. But the idea of teaching teenagers how our government and legal systems work sounds invigorating to me. I also really like kids in general -- I'm a parent and have always loved chaperoning field trips and talking to my kids' friends about the world. I like the perspective kids bring to subjects like politics and policy. They often approach them in a very pure way of needing things to make sense and be logical and they tend to have an untainted sense of justice and right and wrong that is refreshing to a middle aged attorney.

But I know teaching is a tough job and not for the faint of heart especially at the secondary school level. Anyone have thoughts or advice on what this career shift would look like (including getting certifications and actually applying for jobs) and whether I'm being overly optimistic about this as a potential career shift.

I know that financially it would be fine. Obviously it would be a big pay cut for me but we are at a place financially where I could probably retire if I wanted to. But I'm not even 50 and actually like having a job. I just don't think I want my current job anymore.

[Anonymous]

It's not the same but why not try substitute teaching? Almost no barriers to entry and you can see if you like kids in a classroom setting. You would also meet s lot of teachers who I think would be able to give you the unvarnished truth about what they like/don't like.

Again I get it that it's completely different than being a teacher with the same group of kids and following a consistent lesson plan but there would be some overlap for you to dip your toes in the water before making a more involved commitment to another career path.

[Anonymous]

I admire your courage

[Anonymous]

Sometimes I think, boy it would be nice to have a job where I don't actually have a lot of real responsibilities, I can do the same thing every year and it's fine and the people I work with are so dumb and immature they would admire me.

And then I'm like, good god that sounds like a nightmare. I'll keep the job I've got, thanks!

[Anonymous]

I would not recommend doing this. First, the high schools prefer to hire young teachers who are more relatable to the students and can also coach something after school. Also, you might be shocked at how poorly you will be treated by admin and parents after working in a field that is generally respected.

If none of this phases you, you will have an easier time finding a position in a middle school. You could still teach civics.

[Anonymous]

If you want less stress, teach middle school (6th or 7th grade). It’s also a wild and fun age. High school parents can add to your stress… bc grades count for college and no way will they let their failing child get anything below an A.

[Anonymous]

I would substitute teach first, even take some vacation time off from your job and try it first before jumping in. You can see how teachers are treated by the administration and the students before you make a permanent career change. It's going to be much different than what you are doing now and it sounds like you have an idealized version of the job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes I think, boy it would be nice to have a job where I don't actually have a lot of real responsibilities, I can do the same thing every year and it's fine and the people I work with are so dumb and immature they would admire me.

And then I'm like, good god that sounds like a nightmare. I'll keep the job I've got, thanks!

If you really think teachers have no responsibilities, you are pretty daft. Teachers not only have to be able to teach their subject and deal with parents, rhey have to administer Narcan, watch out for school shooters, break up fights, watch for signs of abuse and suicide ideation in their students..the list is long. You clearly don't have what it takes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you want less stress, teach middle school (6th or 7th grade). It’s also a wild and fun age. High school parents can add to your stress… bc grades count for college and no way will they let their failing child get anything below an A.

Not a lawyer but I have a feeling that's nothing compared to managing client expectations.

[Anonymous]

Ex-teacher here. It sounds like you won't be scared of long hours so I think you could do this. Are you in the DMV? Look for Master's/Certification programs. Last time I checked, at least UMCP, AU and GW had them. There are probably more options now. Programs should include both your education courses and your supervised student teaching experience. Some run from June through May of the following year.

[Anonymous]

I did this and I am really happy with it! I went on this path because I started subbing when my kids were in school full time (I needed to do something valuable with my time and schools were asking parents to sub). I discovered that I really liked developing relationships with the kids and I have always been obsessed with learning and teaching others.

I did a career switcher program through the virginia community college system. I got a duel endorsement--ESL and ELA--and let me tell you, I had no problem whatsoever getting a job, ha. You shouldn't have a hard time finding a job, and if you get an ESL endorsement you will probably have your pick of jobs.

I am glad I didn't become a teacher right out of college (which I had actually planned to do but then went to law school instead). Now that I'm older, kids really cannot get under my skin. They can say some truly offensive crap or be really disrespectful in a way that would have brought me to tears in my twenties, but in my forties I just do not care about what a 12-year thinks of me. But most kids are really sweet (I get a lot of hugs!) and I find it so rewarding.

If you can possibly swing it, I really recommend subbing before you make the switch. I not only found out that I liked it, but I also got a sense of how schools worked, which schools I liked (some are more supportive of teachers than others), and most importantly, which grade level I liked. I was really surprised to discover that I preferred middle school over high school and elementary. And I like being in the English Learner program because the class sizes are smaller.

[Anonymous]

Op,

We need great teachers. I think you should investigate more. I teach middle school. I love it and find it very rewarding. I never dread going to work in the morning.

However, there are definite negatives. You need to be able to withstand a huge amount of negativity coming from multiple directions. You will need a very thick skin.

I will say 90% of my students make it worth it.

Best of luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes I think, boy it would be nice to have a job where I don't actually have a lot of real responsibilities, I can do the same thing every year and it's fine and the people I work with are so dumb and immature they would admire me.

And then I'm like, good god that sounds like a nightmare. I'll keep the job I've got, thanks!

If you really think teachers have no responsibilities, you are pretty daft. Teachers not only have to be able to teach their subject and deal with parents, rhey have to administer Narcan, watch out for school shooters, break up fights, watch for signs of abuse and suicide ideation in their students..the list is long. You clearly don't have what it takes.

I mean, I believe that some teachers have to do that, but my kids teachers never did that. They were all pretty cool with bullying, disruptive behavior and mainly just called security when they got tired of it. As far as dealing with parents, yeah, they were PRETTY adept at avoiding that. It was damn near impossible to get parent teacher conferences, and despite a plethora of platforms and apps to allegedly improve communication, they were remarkable in their ability to avoid it. They also graded pretty arbitrarily.

I'm not saying they didn't care or try hard, but they seemed to be pretty light on taking any direct responsibility and definitely cleared the decks once a semester was over.

[Anonymous]

15:21 here with some more information about becoming certified via the Career Switcher program in Virginia.

I did a semester of coursework (most of it was online but there were a few in-person sessions on saturdays) to get a provisional certification. The next year, I was a full-time teacher and directors from EducateVA (the name of the program) dropped in to observe and give advice, then I got my 10-year certification. The coursework wasn't as easy as I thought it would be and I'm really glad I wasn't doing it at the same time I had a full-time job. But the path to certification was pretty simple.

I think that other states have things like this as well, and in some areas they will just straight-up hire an uncertified teacher. I think fairfax hires uncertified teachers as some kind of teacher intern program? I dunno. Anyway, it's not hard to become a teacher these days.

[Anonymous]

I don't think that substitute teaching would provide an accurate picture of what it's like to teach full-time. Substitute teachers are not treated the same by students and there is no time to develop rapport with them. You're basically a pinch hitter for the day.