I'd really like to teach
November 5, 2015 4:38 AM Subscribe
I'm thinking about changing careers, and what I've really always wanted to do is teach. But I'm not sure it's a reasonable goal at this stage, or what such a career would look like. Maybe someone out there can offer a suggestion.
I've always loved to teach. Standing up in front of a group of people and lecturing, interacting with a classroom, and tutoring people one-on-one has always brought me a lot of happiness. And I have been told by lots of folks that I'm good at it. In my 20s I was a computer consultant and taught classes at businesses, since my 30s I've been a lawyer and taught CLEs (Continuing Legal Education) and been a guest lecturer at conferences, law schools and undergrad. My feedback has been pretty uniformly positive, and many people have told me uninvited, "You should really be a teacher."
I'm contemplating a career shift, and I'm mulling the idea of making the leap to teaching, but I'm just not sure it's feasible for me, mainly due to financial reasons. Some background:
I've wanted to teach since college, but I have many family members who taught public school, and they talked me out of it. I know lots of folks in the profession so I'm aware of the downside, I'm not imagining a life that's all "Stand And Deliver" or "Dead Poet's Society." And I know there's lesson planning and grading and dealing with difficult students/parents/administrators, etc.
I have a B.S. in Computer Science, a B.A. in English, and a J.D. I've thought teaching C.S. to high school students could be fun (English probably more so), but my computer programming skills are over a decade out of date at this point.
I'm 41. I make about $65K a year (I work in government). I have a lot of savings, but I'd rather not go back to school to get yet another degree and take on yet more student debt. I'd also ideally like to make somewhere near what I'm making now, which probably rules out high school teacher.
I'd love to be a college or law school professor, but that's always seemed like wanting to hit the lottery – I'm not sure that's feasible. High school would be great, but I'm not sure it makes sense financially. I could go back to the consulting/training world but I must admit that never brought me the sense of moral fulfillment that I was looking for.
So what it comes down to is, I'm approaching mid-life and I'm feeling dissatisfied with my career (though it's been amazing for a host of reasons), and I'd like to do the thing that I've wanted to do from the beginning, that I think would bring me joy, that I'm good at, and where I can help others. But I just can't figure out how to make it work. And on the chance that there's an angle I'm missing, I'm throwing it out to the MeFi community.
Any thoughts?
I've always loved to teach. Standing up in front of a group of people and lecturing, interacting with a classroom, and tutoring people one-on-one has always brought me a lot of happiness. And I have been told by lots of folks that I'm good at it. In my 20s I was a computer consultant and taught classes at businesses, since my 30s I've been a lawyer and taught CLEs (Continuing Legal Education) and been a guest lecturer at conferences, law schools and undergrad. My feedback has been pretty uniformly positive, and many people have told me uninvited, "You should really be a teacher."
I'm contemplating a career shift, and I'm mulling the idea of making the leap to teaching, but I'm just not sure it's feasible for me, mainly due to financial reasons. Some background:
I've wanted to teach since college, but I have many family members who taught public school, and they talked me out of it. I know lots of folks in the profession so I'm aware of the downside, I'm not imagining a life that's all "Stand And Deliver" or "Dead Poet's Society." And I know there's lesson planning and grading and dealing with difficult students/parents/administrators, etc.
I have a B.S. in Computer Science, a B.A. in English, and a J.D. I've thought teaching C.S. to high school students could be fun (English probably more so), but my computer programming skills are over a decade out of date at this point.
I'm 41. I make about $65K a year (I work in government). I have a lot of savings, but I'd rather not go back to school to get yet another degree and take on yet more student debt. I'd also ideally like to make somewhere near what I'm making now, which probably rules out high school teacher.
I'd love to be a college or law school professor, but that's always seemed like wanting to hit the lottery – I'm not sure that's feasible. High school would be great, but I'm not sure it makes sense financially. I could go back to the consulting/training world but I must admit that never brought me the sense of moral fulfillment that I was looking for.
So what it comes down to is, I'm approaching mid-life and I'm feeling dissatisfied with my career (though it's been amazing for a host of reasons), and I'd like to do the thing that I've wanted to do from the beginning, that I think would bring me joy, that I'm good at, and where I can help others. But I just can't figure out how to make it work. And on the chance that there's an angle I'm missing, I'm throwing it out to the MeFi community.
Any thoughts?
You don't have a choice.
Go for it.
You know you want to.
Are you really going to live another 40+ years wondering what your life would be like if you had followed this [totally reasonable] career change?
It's not like you're trying to be an astronaut [heads up: that ship has sailed at 41]. How hard could this possibly be?
Here's my advise [and I'm a college professor]:
1) Research the fool out of all your options. TALK TO EVERYONE.
2) Consider gourmet private high schools. They have more focus on teaching and more sense to avoid teaching for the tests (at least the good ones do). It's a hard job to get but so is every good job: DON'T BE SCARED BY THE NUMBERS.
3) Consider down and out low income public schools. Really. They need you. It's a wonderful life to be at a place that is excited you're there. You'll make beans but you'll die with a smile plastered on your face.
4) Consider being a professor at a Community School. Cheap college is always gonna be around (and heads up: expensive universities are starting to have some issues--do your homework).
5) Consider starting or joining a progressive free university. These guys have the right idea and in 10-20 years are going to really make the big boys nervous.
Whatever you do, don't give up. You know what you're doing is not working for you. You know what you'd like to do. That's all you need to make this decision. We're not talking about one in a million dream jobs--we're talking about something that many many people do in every city.
posted by Murray M at 5:40 AM on November 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
Go for it.
You know you want to.
Are you really going to live another 40+ years wondering what your life would be like if you had followed this [totally reasonable] career change?
It's not like you're trying to be an astronaut [heads up: that ship has sailed at 41]. How hard could this possibly be?
Here's my advise [and I'm a college professor]:
1) Research the fool out of all your options. TALK TO EVERYONE.
2) Consider gourmet private high schools. They have more focus on teaching and more sense to avoid teaching for the tests (at least the good ones do). It's a hard job to get but so is every good job: DON'T BE SCARED BY THE NUMBERS.
3) Consider down and out low income public schools. Really. They need you. It's a wonderful life to be at a place that is excited you're there. You'll make beans but you'll die with a smile plastered on your face.
4) Consider being a professor at a Community School. Cheap college is always gonna be around (and heads up: expensive universities are starting to have some issues--do your homework).
5) Consider starting or joining a progressive free university. These guys have the right idea and in 10-20 years are going to really make the big boys nervous.
Whatever you do, don't give up. You know what you're doing is not working for you. You know what you'd like to do. That's all you need to make this decision. We're not talking about one in a million dream jobs--we're talking about something that many many people do in every city.
posted by Murray M at 5:40 AM on November 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
Have you considered pursuing an adjunct position? Theoretically, this is the exact circumstance they are for. (In reality, adjuncting has become the indentured servitude of academia, but I work at a large university and there are still a fair number of "traditional" adjuncts.) Becoming and adjunct means you don't quit your day job, you use your "real world" expertise to teach a course or two in your field.
If you're contemplating K-12 education, please, I beg of you, spend some significant time inside a school and become buds with some teachers. It is by and large nothing like what most people your (also my) age think it is.
posted by soren_lorensen at 6:20 AM on November 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
If you're contemplating K-12 education, please, I beg of you, spend some significant time inside a school and become buds with some teachers. It is by and large nothing like what most people your (also my) age think it is.
posted by soren_lorensen at 6:20 AM on November 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
I would definitely consider adjuncting at a community college or more traditional university. My school employs a JD who teaches con law and sometimes other law and policy oriented courses on the side (she also has a regular job for income - our college pays on the high end of the scale, and it's still only about $7K per course). This won't make you enough money to live off of, but could be a fun and interesting supplement to your current work, and would also give you a sense of whether you like the work.
posted by rainbowbrite at 6:39 AM on November 5, 2015
posted by rainbowbrite at 6:39 AM on November 5, 2015
Can you get a break from you government job that doesn't jeopardize your accumulated pension and benefits? A friend of mine retired at 55 from a government job with a benefit that paid her healthcare costs until 65. That is worth a fairly huge amount of money. (Your circs may vary.) My husband ignored the people that told him that teaching sucks and taught for five years. When he quit he threw all his resources out and practically burned his credential, swearing that he would never go back to teaching. I haven't heard that the field has been improving in the last five years. More the opposite. Teaching older students is generally better because teaching students who want to be there is >> teaching students who are forced to be there.
posted by puddledork at 7:04 AM on November 5, 2015
posted by puddledork at 7:04 AM on November 5, 2015
Teach at a community college! You can probably start teaching part time/adjunct before you give up your regular job - first to make sure you like it, and also to start getting experience to apply for full time positions. With your diverse educational background, you would probably be pretty appealing to a lot of community colleges since you would meet the requirements to teach in several subject areas. At the community college I work for, you would likely be qualified to teach in AT LEAST 3 different areas, which would dramatically increase your chances of getting hired.
Besides, community college students are the greatest.
posted by mjcon at 8:45 AM on November 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
Besides, community college students are the greatest.
posted by mjcon at 8:45 AM on November 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
I can't speak for colleges but it sounds like a community college situation might be a good place to test the waters. I'm sure you have some good experience to teach an adult outreach or elective. Give it a shot! You can try just a couple of classes (Law for the layperson? Intro CS for the practical user?) and still do stuff on the side (like substitute teaching at area high/middle schools so you can get more experience with people at those maturity levels). You can also look to do adult education for other companies - look for roles that involve change management, professional development, etc.
Now, if you want to think HS, read on:
At the high school level, unless you're at a private school or a public but high need school (high poverty urban and/or rural) you'll need a degree or a certificate that will take money to get. Some schools you might be able to get a provisional certificate for an area like CS and then after a few years of teaching and some grad classes, the state may grant you the initial certificate. This is very much dependent on the state and your subject area so if you don't want to move, take a look at the requirements for certification with your states ed agency. Once you've done that, you can google a local school district with "certified salary schedule" and you'll be able to get a good idea of what your paychecks will look like.
This line really caught my attention: Standing up in front of a group of people and lecturing, interacting with a classroom, and tutoring people one-on-one... I know you're talking about experiences you've had that you like and you've been successful at and I know exactly what you mean - I really like presenting at conferences. But you teach the students, not the information. You have to be passionate about the students - in all their hormone-fueled, ADHD, struggling literacy skills, lack of relevant previous experience, frequent absences, totally uninterested in your subject, gory glory. You have to want to solve the problem of taking 25+ people at vastly different places and help get them all to a basic understanding while allowing the fraction that get it and love it to dive in deeper. It's problem solving at it's finest and it's exhilarating.
I think teachers with previous experience outside of education are quickest to realize that it's about the students, not content, and are most willing to think about what the kids need to know in 5... 10... 15 years. They create practical assignments. You're in a great position to be a great teacher if you go that route but the classroom you seem to enjoy the most isn't the one you'll walk into... so just make sure you're OK with the wide variety of chaos you'll experience before you pour money into any classes.
posted by adorap0621 at 9:05 AM on November 5, 2015 [4 favorites]
Now, if you want to think HS, read on:
At the high school level, unless you're at a private school or a public but high need school (high poverty urban and/or rural) you'll need a degree or a certificate that will take money to get. Some schools you might be able to get a provisional certificate for an area like CS and then after a few years of teaching and some grad classes, the state may grant you the initial certificate. This is very much dependent on the state and your subject area so if you don't want to move, take a look at the requirements for certification with your states ed agency. Once you've done that, you can google a local school district with "certified salary schedule" and you'll be able to get a good idea of what your paychecks will look like.
This line really caught my attention: Standing up in front of a group of people and lecturing, interacting with a classroom, and tutoring people one-on-one... I know you're talking about experiences you've had that you like and you've been successful at and I know exactly what you mean - I really like presenting at conferences. But you teach the students, not the information. You have to be passionate about the students - in all their hormone-fueled, ADHD, struggling literacy skills, lack of relevant previous experience, frequent absences, totally uninterested in your subject, gory glory. You have to want to solve the problem of taking 25+ people at vastly different places and help get them all to a basic understanding while allowing the fraction that get it and love it to dive in deeper. It's problem solving at it's finest and it's exhilarating.
I think teachers with previous experience outside of education are quickest to realize that it's about the students, not content, and are most willing to think about what the kids need to know in 5... 10... 15 years. They create practical assignments. You're in a great position to be a great teacher if you go that route but the classroom you seem to enjoy the most isn't the one you'll walk into... so just make sure you're OK with the wide variety of chaos you'll experience before you pour money into any classes.
posted by adorap0621 at 9:05 AM on November 5, 2015 [4 favorites]
Please go community college and keep your day job. Your local paralegal program would love to have you, you wouldn't need additional credentials, CCs are usually desperate for people who just want a class or two and aren't trying to make a living out of piecemeal offerings, and CC (especially in a certificate program) more often hits that sweet spot of folks who actually want to be there (after the first couple of weeks of folks going oh heck, this is more of a time sink than I thought it was going to be, not this semester, but I'll give it a try again later.)
I teach at a university, and I will spare you my end of semester burned out rant, but yea, give your local community college a call or email and see what happens.
posted by joycehealy at 10:38 AM on November 5, 2015
I teach at a university, and I will spare you my end of semester burned out rant, but yea, give your local community college a call or email and see what happens.
posted by joycehealy at 10:38 AM on November 5, 2015
I'd rather not go back to school to get yet another degree and take on yet more student debt.
If you don't want to learn how to teach effectively, then I suggest focusing on an adjunct instructor position at a law school.
posted by Little Dawn at 11:13 AM on November 5, 2015
If you don't want to learn how to teach effectively, then I suggest focusing on an adjunct instructor position at a law school.
posted by Little Dawn at 11:13 AM on November 5, 2015
The debt thing is scary. There are several programs that will offer you a subsidized Master's Program while you teach full-time -- NYC Teaching Fellows comes to mind. It seems like there are ways you can try it at the school level to see if you like it, but you'll probably only know for sure once you take the plunge. And if you don't like it, it sounds like you have plenty of qualifications to get back into your old career . . .
posted by caoimhe at 12:07 PM on November 5, 2015
posted by caoimhe at 12:07 PM on November 5, 2015
I'm not sure that I can answer the practical side of the question because the differences between US and Australian contexts are so vast, but as someone who changed careers from law to high school teaching and is now much happier, I would encourage you to take the leap.
posted by robcorr at 3:05 PM on November 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by robcorr at 3:05 PM on November 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
With a JD you probably could adjunct at regional state universities in the US (if that's where you are).
posted by persona au gratin at 1:13 AM on November 6, 2015
posted by persona au gratin at 1:13 AM on November 6, 2015
Teach for America gets you training, certification, and a job. It's hard to get in. It's harder to be successful. Only do it if you're in love with the mission and are ready to work harder than you've ever worked in your life. But you don't need a special degree beforehand.
posted by jander03 at 5:56 AM on November 6, 2015
posted by jander03 at 5:56 AM on November 6, 2015
I cannot echo adorap0621 loudly enough. I am a professor in a teaching certification program at the UG level.
Standing up in front of a group of people and lecturing, interacting with a classroom, and tutoring people one-on-one
This...isn't really what we do any more a the secondary level. In some ways, yes, the one-on-one happens in more concentrated, ramp-up programs and academic interventions, but straight lecture and note-taking is effectively dead.
It does sound like you might be happier at the college level in an adjunct position. I would investigate this first.
Another route is to substitute teach for a local high school, if you can get a few days off from current job and you can get district approval from wherever you want to sub.
posted by oflinkey at 1:20 PM on November 6, 2015
Standing up in front of a group of people and lecturing, interacting with a classroom, and tutoring people one-on-one
This...isn't really what we do any more a the secondary level. In some ways, yes, the one-on-one happens in more concentrated, ramp-up programs and academic interventions, but straight lecture and note-taking is effectively dead.
It does sound like you might be happier at the college level in an adjunct position. I would investigate this first.
Another route is to substitute teach for a local high school, if you can get a few days off from current job and you can get district approval from wherever you want to sub.
posted by oflinkey at 1:20 PM on November 6, 2015
I was working as a lawyer and now I'm a teacher, doing the NYC Teaching Fellows program that caimhe mentioned. There were a handful of other lawyers in my cohort too.
I was in a slightly different position from you in that I was making good money as a lawyer but with extremely insecure and soul deadening work. I was exploring other options and sort of fell into this program and decided to go with it and see how it worked out.
There's no debt - the masters is heavily subsidized and your contribution is deducted straight from your (standardized NYC public school) teacher's salary. You have one summer at a (below cost of living) stipend and then that fall you're back to an income with benefits, so financially I think it's the way to go. I don't know if law school debt is an issue for you but many of us got Americorps grants that pay the interest for two years and let you defer payments and for some law school grads that was way more valuable than the $5800 educational subsidy we're supposed to get at the end.
I think a lot of cities have similar programs. But the high needs areas tend to be science, math, bilingual, and special ed. I knew I would end up in special ed because I didn't have the university background to qualify for the others. As it is, I'll have to take a math course (in addition to my masters) within the next two years to qualify for my generalist special ed license. Teaching special ed, whether it's co-teaching in an integrated classroom or solo teaching higher needs kids in a separate classroom, is pretty different from lecturing (as others have said). That said, I think the kind of interpersonal energy and enthusiasm that makes you a really *effective* lecturer actually translates pretty well into classroom engagement. Maybe a key difference is that until now you've been teaching people who, at least on some level, *want* to be there and are motivated to do well, and that isn't really the case with a lot of secondary students (especially in the highest needs schools). But I think that's where your own energy and passion really help.
The main thing that gave me hope/confidence that I might like teaching was my previous work with teenagers, including teenagers with special needs, at summer camp. I asked some friends who'd gone before me whether it's possible to predict ahead of time whether you'll like teaching or not, and they said they felt like the only way to know was to try it, and for many people the first year is so tough that if you're even willing to go back the second year chances are you're a great fit.
I'm teaching high school now and I really love being there, love being with the students, getting to know them, and even getting to know their meshugoss. The school I'm at is challenged but functioning. Between the first year learning curve and the university coursework it is really consuming. I don't know how people with dependents do it, but they are. I would also say it's exhausting in a way unlike any other job I've ever had, including on-your-feet-all-shift-and-lifting boxes kinds of jobs. It's demanding intellectually, emotionally, and socially. I do feel pretty unprepared for a lot of stuff, feel like I'm making things up as I go along, and sometimes get scared that I'm cheating the students out of a better teacher. But the fact is that the NYCTF program exists, and SO heavily subsidizes us, because the option for the students isn't me versus a better, more experienced teacher; it's me versus nobody.
With Teaching Fellows, there is no commitment and you can quit at any time without owing money back (though you're barred from ever re-joining), and definitely people have quit. I found having that option comforting. I also liked that I'd have actual classroom experience practically right away -- i.e. not have to wait 2-3 years and tens of thousands of dollars later to see if I even liked the profession. All of that helped me take the leap (like many people who go into law, I'm fairly risk averse!) I'm also keeping my license active and in the back of my mind I keep the thought that special education law is a growing field.
I'll have my masters and hopefully NY state initial certification in about two years. NY certification is accepted in all but two states, making teaching *much* more portable than law (especially with a foreign law degree). I figure at that time I'll reevaluate and decide what to do and where to do it.
The regular starting salary for an NYC teacher with only a bachelors is 49k, with a law degree it should be about 56k (I'm still waiting to see if that works out...), once you get your teaching masters it jumps up again, and of course there are the yearly union-negotiated increases. Depending where you end up teaching, you wouldn't necessarily have that much of a paycut, at least not for too long. Public school teachers salaries are public information so you can look it up for wherever you're considering.
For me the transition has been pretty seamless (having the savings to make it through that summer without a scrunch contributed to that hugely). I think that if your city has a similar program (or if you're willing to move -- a lot of NYC fellows came from other cities/states) it's not unrealistic.
I talked to long time teachers who complained *a lot* about changes in education they felt made it worse, including one special ed teacher who said that if she had to do it over, now, she didn't think she would. I listened to what everybody had to say. So far, my impression is that a lot of long term teachers don't realize how bad things are out there in other jobs, in terms of stupid time-wasting bureaucracy, unpaid overtime, job insecurity, benefits, etc, and the comparisons to what teaching was like 20 or even 10 years ago aren't that relevant. Also since how it is now is the only way I've known it (in terms of levels of administrivia, teacher evaluation frameworks, common core testing, etc), it just seems normal to me, even though/if it is relatively more burdensome and annoying than it once was.
I hope some of this is relevant/helpful. Feel free to PM me if you're thinking about the NY program or about the transition in general. I guess my overall tldr; recap is that if you can find a way (like the Fellows program) to make this into a low opportunity cost move, go for it. For me - so far so good!
posted by Salamandrous at 1:22 PM on November 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
I was in a slightly different position from you in that I was making good money as a lawyer but with extremely insecure and soul deadening work. I was exploring other options and sort of fell into this program and decided to go with it and see how it worked out.
There's no debt - the masters is heavily subsidized and your contribution is deducted straight from your (standardized NYC public school) teacher's salary. You have one summer at a (below cost of living) stipend and then that fall you're back to an income with benefits, so financially I think it's the way to go. I don't know if law school debt is an issue for you but many of us got Americorps grants that pay the interest for two years and let you defer payments and for some law school grads that was way more valuable than the $5800 educational subsidy we're supposed to get at the end.
I think a lot of cities have similar programs. But the high needs areas tend to be science, math, bilingual, and special ed. I knew I would end up in special ed because I didn't have the university background to qualify for the others. As it is, I'll have to take a math course (in addition to my masters) within the next two years to qualify for my generalist special ed license. Teaching special ed, whether it's co-teaching in an integrated classroom or solo teaching higher needs kids in a separate classroom, is pretty different from lecturing (as others have said). That said, I think the kind of interpersonal energy and enthusiasm that makes you a really *effective* lecturer actually translates pretty well into classroom engagement. Maybe a key difference is that until now you've been teaching people who, at least on some level, *want* to be there and are motivated to do well, and that isn't really the case with a lot of secondary students (especially in the highest needs schools). But I think that's where your own energy and passion really help.
The main thing that gave me hope/confidence that I might like teaching was my previous work with teenagers, including teenagers with special needs, at summer camp. I asked some friends who'd gone before me whether it's possible to predict ahead of time whether you'll like teaching or not, and they said they felt like the only way to know was to try it, and for many people the first year is so tough that if you're even willing to go back the second year chances are you're a great fit.
I'm teaching high school now and I really love being there, love being with the students, getting to know them, and even getting to know their meshugoss. The school I'm at is challenged but functioning. Between the first year learning curve and the university coursework it is really consuming. I don't know how people with dependents do it, but they are. I would also say it's exhausting in a way unlike any other job I've ever had, including on-your-feet-all-shift-and-lifting boxes kinds of jobs. It's demanding intellectually, emotionally, and socially. I do feel pretty unprepared for a lot of stuff, feel like I'm making things up as I go along, and sometimes get scared that I'm cheating the students out of a better teacher. But the fact is that the NYCTF program exists, and SO heavily subsidizes us, because the option for the students isn't me versus a better, more experienced teacher; it's me versus nobody.
With Teaching Fellows, there is no commitment and you can quit at any time without owing money back (though you're barred from ever re-joining), and definitely people have quit. I found having that option comforting. I also liked that I'd have actual classroom experience practically right away -- i.e. not have to wait 2-3 years and tens of thousands of dollars later to see if I even liked the profession. All of that helped me take the leap (like many people who go into law, I'm fairly risk averse!) I'm also keeping my license active and in the back of my mind I keep the thought that special education law is a growing field.
I'll have my masters and hopefully NY state initial certification in about two years. NY certification is accepted in all but two states, making teaching *much* more portable than law (especially with a foreign law degree). I figure at that time I'll reevaluate and decide what to do and where to do it.
The regular starting salary for an NYC teacher with only a bachelors is 49k, with a law degree it should be about 56k (I'm still waiting to see if that works out...), once you get your teaching masters it jumps up again, and of course there are the yearly union-negotiated increases. Depending where you end up teaching, you wouldn't necessarily have that much of a paycut, at least not for too long. Public school teachers salaries are public information so you can look it up for wherever you're considering.
For me the transition has been pretty seamless (having the savings to make it through that summer without a scrunch contributed to that hugely). I think that if your city has a similar program (or if you're willing to move -- a lot of NYC fellows came from other cities/states) it's not unrealistic.
I talked to long time teachers who complained *a lot* about changes in education they felt made it worse, including one special ed teacher who said that if she had to do it over, now, she didn't think she would. I listened to what everybody had to say. So far, my impression is that a lot of long term teachers don't realize how bad things are out there in other jobs, in terms of stupid time-wasting bureaucracy, unpaid overtime, job insecurity, benefits, etc, and the comparisons to what teaching was like 20 or even 10 years ago aren't that relevant. Also since how it is now is the only way I've known it (in terms of levels of administrivia, teacher evaluation frameworks, common core testing, etc), it just seems normal to me, even though/if it is relatively more burdensome and annoying than it once was.
I hope some of this is relevant/helpful. Feel free to PM me if you're thinking about the NY program or about the transition in general. I guess my overall tldr; recap is that if you can find a way (like the Fellows program) to make this into a low opportunity cost move, go for it. For me - so far so good!
posted by Salamandrous at 1:22 PM on November 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
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Is there a community college near you? If so check into teaching a class as an adjunct.
I don't know where you are but in some US states there is a severe shortage of math and physics teachers and some of those states will give provisional certification to people capable of teaching those classes. If you have the college coursework to teach those classes at the high school level look at your state education department's website for something along the lines of "alternative certification."
And yes, expect a lower salary.
posted by mareli at 5:25 AM on November 5, 2015 [1 favorite]