Second career ideas? Would teaching be a mistake?

[Anonymous]

I’m in my late 30s and have been thinking about a career change. I’ve done project and product management earlier in my career and spent the last 7 in tech sales. While salary was good, it never felt fulfilling. Education is in International Relations (Master’s level) which would be hard to get into at this time for obvious reasons. I’d like to pursue a new career that is more fulfilling. I’ve thought a lot about teaching but everyone I talk to discourages me due to common challenges in that field but I’m considering it seriously. I’m also not interested in going back to project management despite having my PMP. Would appreciate job suggestions to look into - salary isn’t a big concern since we live below our means.

[Anonymous]

Why not try. I know multiple people who switched to teaching

[Anonymous]

How old are your kids? I ask bc I recently made a career change to teaching and it’s really not the family friendly job everyone says. I’m glad I waited until my kids were late teens. Obviously the summers off make it family friendly but that’s it. I’d also strongly recommend focusing on private and Catholic schools. They’re more like how teaching was before job quality tanked in public. Kids are better behaved, parents more involved, you have the ability to discipline.
If you feel the calling, it’s absolutely rewarding in ways my other jobs weren’t. Im really happy I did it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How old are your kids? I ask bc I recently made a career change to teaching and it’s really not the family friendly job everyone says. I’m glad I waited until my kids were late teens. Obviously the summers off make it family friendly but that’s it. I’d also strongly recommend focusing on private and Catholic schools. They’re more like how teaching was before job quality tanked in public. Kids are better behaved, parents more involved, you have the ability to discipline.
If you feel the calling, it’s absolutely rewarding in ways my other jobs weren’t. Im really happy I did it.

+1 - my thinking as well as I contemplate early retirement; go private and/or to a better quality of life location than the DMV.

[Anonymous]

Teacher with 25 years of experience here.

I won’t discourage you, but go in prepared. The days are exhausting. You’ll come home mentally and physically drained, and you’ll still have 2-3 hours of work to do in order to be prepared for the next day.

Many of us will tell you the first couple years are brutal. It’s extra observations under the guise of “support” and a lot of on-your-feet learning to do. Things will go wrong and you’ll need to recover quickly.

If you go in expecting those conditions and you lean on your colleagues, you can get to a great point. It never gets easier, but you learn to manage the chaos better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teacher with 25 years of experience here.

I won’t discourage you, but go in prepared. The days are exhausting. You’ll come home mentally and physically drained, and you’ll still have 2-3 hours of work to do in order to be prepared for the next day.

Many of us will tell you the first couple years are brutal. It’s extra observations under the guise of “support” and a lot of on-your-feet learning to do. Things will go wrong and you’ll need to recover quickly.

If you go in expecting those conditions and you lean on your colleagues, you can get to a great point. It never gets easier, but you learn to manage the chaos better.

This is all well said. The bolded is very important. If the teachers on your team are not lifting you up, find others who will.

I always tell people to talk to as many current teachers as possible before committing, at least 8 or so.

Teaching can be awesome but it's also exhausting in every way and even the best assignments in the best buildings have elements of stupidity that you cannot escape.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher with 25 years of experience here.

I won’t discourage you, but go in prepared. The days are exhausting. You’ll come home mentally and physically drained, and you’ll still have 2-3 hours of work to do in order to be prepared for the next day.

Many of us will tell you the first couple years are brutal. It’s extra observations under the guise of “support” and a lot of on-your-feet learning to do. Things will go wrong and you’ll need to recover quickly.

If you go in expecting those conditions and you lean on your colleagues, you can get to a great point. It never gets easier, but you learn to manage the chaos better.

This is all well said. The bolded is very important. If the teachers on your team are not lifting you up, find others who will.

I always tell people to talk to as many current teachers as possible before committing, at least 8 or so.

Teaching can be awesome but it's also exhausting in every way and even the best assignments in the best buildings have elements of stupidity that you cannot escape.

Oh, thanks for adding the “elements of stupidity” comment. That’s true.

I was a career changer all those years ago. One of the hardest parts of the transition was seeing behind the curtain at how education works. There’s always a mandated initiative to implement, only to forget it and implement a new one the following year. So much extra work for limited results, and often created by people who don’t know the conditions of the classroom.

OP, another thing to prepare for: the “experts” in the field aren’t teachers, so you’ll be given resources and curricula that don’t actually meet the needs of your classroom. You’ll need to spend time reworking these tools to actually suit your students. That’s where your colleagues can really help!

[Anonymous]

You say money isn’t an issue but are you really okay with a salary of $50k in a dmv public (less in private)? None of your degrees or certifications will be worth anything, so you’ll still need to pay to take education coursework to get your license. Depending what you want to teach, there probably isn’t a shortage (sped being the exception) so provisional licenses aren’t really happening lately. You will start at step 1 on the pay scale since you have no experience.

The job has zero flexibility. You cannot leave 1 hour early for an appointment (subs are minimum half day), cannot go to your child’s 11 am band concert without taking a full day off, cannot easily be the emergency contact when your kid is throwing up. There’s no working from home when kid is old enough to just watch tv when sick but too young to be alone. My husband was default parent when kids were young. Summers and breaks make up for it in some ways.

The downside of a meaningful job is they will try to guilt you into doing everything possible with no pay. Leading clubs, tutoring kids, chaperoning prom, buying snacks for hungry kids, donating prizes for behavior challenges. You have to have really, really firm boundaries or the job will take over your life. Even at the richest schools there are stories that will break your heart. About every 3-4 years I need a few sessions with a therapist to help work through something so I don’t bring emotional baggage from kids home to my own family. (Admittedly I am pretty sensitive and the teens in my room share a lot with me)

I work 50 hours a week after 15 years in the classroom. The first few years it was 60. You get basically 0 downtime from 8-3 so all grading and planning is done in the evenings until you get your bearings better and figure out systems and start to be able to reuse parts of lessons. Many public schools provide no resources, so you hope you have colleagues of the same course willing to share, but if not then you scramble to make it yourself.

Then you get it around year 3-5, and it feels good! And then they give you a new course to teach and you sort of start over.

I love my job and find it very rewarding, but my husband is a saint for encouraging me to do it year after year, because it’s hard on our family.

I’m glad I did it, but go in with open eyes.

[Anonymous]

Every fall I meet teachers new to my kid's school at Back to School night. Every year at least one of those teachers quits by December. And this is at a charter school where families have to apply to get their kids in, unlike the local public that has to take everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You say money isn’t an issue but are you really okay with a salary of $50k in a dmv public (less in private)? None of your degrees or certifications will be worth anything, so you’ll still need to pay to take education coursework to get your license. Depending what you want to teach, there probably isn’t a shortage (sped being the exception) so provisional licenses aren’t really happening lately. You will start at step 1 on the pay scale since you have no experience.

The job has zero flexibility. You cannot leave 1 hour early for an appointment (subs are minimum half day), cannot go to your child’s 11 am band concert without taking a full day off, cannot easily be the emergency contact when your kid is throwing up. There’s no working from home when kid is old enough to just watch tv when sick but too young to be alone. My husband was default parent when kids were young. Summers and breaks make up for it in some ways.

The downside of a meaningful job is they will try to guilt you into doing everything possible with no pay. Leading clubs, tutoring kids, chaperoning prom, buying snacks for hungry kids, donating prizes for behavior challenges. You have to have really, really firm boundaries or the job will take over your life. Even at the richest schools there are stories that will break your heart. About every 3-4 years I need a few sessions with a therapist to help work through something so I don’t bring emotional baggage from kids home to my own family. (Admittedly I am pretty sensitive and the teens in my room share a lot with me)

I work 50 hours a week after 15 years in the classroom. The first few years it was 60. You get basically 0 downtime from 8-3 so all grading and planning is done in the evenings until you get your bearings better and figure out systems and start to be able to reuse parts of lessons. Many public schools provide no resources, so you hope you have colleagues of the same course willing to share, but if not then you scramble to make it yourself.

Then you get it around year 3-5, and it feels good! And then they give you a new course to teach and you sort of start over.

I love my job and find it very rewarding, but my husband is a saint for encouraging me to do it year after year, because it’s hard on our family.

I’m glad I did it, but go in with open eyes.

All of this. I did it for five years and decided I could never have a family of my on if I continued to teach. I know some people do, but I knew I wouldn't be able to do it. It's hands down the hardest job I've ever had. And honestly not that rewarding.

[Anonymous]

What was your salary in tech sales?

[Anonymous]

Another former career changer here. All the above advice is excellent. It’s truly not a family friendly job. The system is so inefficient with so many redundancies and initiatives that make no sense with the real-life needs of the job
If truly feels like they are making you prioritize someone’s education doctorate each year….its always forgotten after the big huge push. It’s so exhausting. And if you speak up about what you are seeing the students actually need- well - that’s another story.

One of the concepts I struggled with the most is that the district I worked in (large) did not follow traditional managerial or employment practices. What I experienced as a former high level researcher in terms of professionalism of administrative staff was abysmal. I really struggled personally because I KNOW employment law and they sure do try to skirt it. It’s really frustrating if you do not have a supportive team.

There are definitely rewards, but I personally found them to not be worth the extreme stress and demands of the job. The unions seem to not be able to control much except for wages.

Perhaps try substituting for a bit? It’s not the field it used to be.

[Anonymous]

I would practice that altruism approach and just earn a lot to donate a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How old are your kids? I ask bc I recently made a career change to teaching and it’s really not the family friendly job everyone says. I’m glad I waited until my kids were late teens. Obviously the summers off make it family friendly but that’s it. I’d also strongly recommend focusing on private and Catholic schools. They’re more like how teaching was before job quality tanked in public. Kids are better behaved, parents more involved, you have the ability to discipline.
If you feel the calling, it’s absolutely rewarding in ways my other jobs weren’t. Im really happy I did it.

OP - They are 4 and 1. Family friendly work is very important to me. Is there a grade range better for that? I’m also exploring becoming a school counselor- it would require another MA though. I wonder if that’s more family friendly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How old are your kids? I ask bc I recently made a career change to teaching and it’s really not the family friendly job everyone says. I’m glad I waited until my kids were late teens. Obviously the summers off make it family friendly but that’s it. I’d also strongly recommend focusing on private and Catholic schools. They’re more like how teaching was before job quality tanked in public. Kids are better behaved, parents more involved, you have the ability to discipline.
If you feel the calling, it’s absolutely rewarding in ways my other jobs weren’t. Im really happy I did it.

OP - They are 4 and 1. Family friendly work is very important to me. Is there a grade range better for that? I’m also exploring becoming a school counselor- it would require another MA though. I wonder if that’s more family friendly?

Try seeking part time teaching. That way you get the benefit of the classroom without the added initiatives such as all the meetings and chaperoning, ect. You are more disconnected from the school climate but it’s def more eyes off you.

Elementary might be best. Not as much grading if at all, but more prep as you teach more subjects. Less overall students. More friendly schedule as you don’t have to be in until later due to the elementary schedule.

Counseling you will have a huge case load and have to deal with a lot more upset parents coming to you for various reasons. High stress all around.

Maybe also look into informal education - where you can teach enrichment in your area subject of expertise without the added bureaucracy of education.