What do I do if I can’t find a job in my chosen field?

January 31, 2018 7:21 PM

I am 28. I went back to school to get my teaching credential and have had an incredibly tough time with teaching so far. What do I do next?

In 2014, I decided that I want to become a teacher, so I took the prerequisite courses, took the tests, and did observations. In 2015-2016, I completed student teaching and earned my teaching credential. 2016-2017 was my first year as a contracted teacher. I moved for my job and was really looking forward to being a teacher, but I had the most terrible experience. It was traumatizing and I thought I might never get to teach again. Luckily, I got a job for this year.

This year (2017-2018), is my second year as a contracted teacher. It is still not the kind of teaching position I am looking for. I want to have my own classroom and my own students, and I want to teach math. However, my position is nothing close to that. I haven’t felt like a teacher, or that I am using my teaching credential at all these past 2 years. :(

I’m in the process of clearing my credential, and it should be clear by the end of this year. I am also finishing a master’s in education this year. I have invested a tremendous amount of time and effort into becoming a teacher, so I don’t want to quit now.

I feel like I’m at a crossroads. I’m 28 and I should be starting the job/career I am going to have for a long time. Should I even continue with becoming a teacher? I feel as if this is not the career path for me, but I also feel like I could do a great job if I have the right opportunity. What do I do now? What happens if I abandon my teaching credential and what I went to school for?

Option A) Continue with teaching, apply for jobs for next year, and be wiser about the job I accept. (but it is very hard to find a taching job :( )
Option B) Look for jobs outside education. This is what I would like to do if I wasn’t a teacher. I love writing, data, and analyzing. At the moment I would be much happier doing this kind of job than the job I have.

What should I do? Should I abandon the career path I’ve chosen and worked on for the past 4 years? Or should I keep going until I find a teaching position (elementary or math teacher)?

posted by ichomp to Education (8 answers total)

I thought there was a teacher shortage in California?
posted by salvia at 8:22 PM on January 31, 2018

(I just mention CA because that's where your sample ideal job was located.)
posted by salvia at 8:32 PM on January 31, 2018

Best answer: I can't speak to employment conditions for teachers in California (where you seem to be located), but where I am (Ontario, Canada) it's incredibly normal for teachers to have to start their careers off in positions that aren't their personal preference. Sometimes that means a few (or several) years of supply teaching, or incredibly long commutes, or not teaching the level or subject that they feel best suited for. But just because you haven't found a position that suits you in your first 2 years on the job, that doesn't mean you won't eventually. If you've invested 4 years already, and still feel that teaching will be a good fit for you once you have your own class and/or are teaching math, then I would stick with it.
posted by Secret Sparrow at 9:02 PM on January 31, 2018 [3 favorites]

Best answer: I also feel like I could do a great job if I have the right opportunity

Dead Poet's Society lied to us and you have just uncovered the harshest truth about teaching.

We NEVER get the right opportunity and every teacher I know feels this way. Even when teaching our dream content in our dream age group, we are expected to follow certain curriculum, to be on endless committees, to attend stupid professional development that sucks the life out of us, to teach content we don't know, to follow fairly rigid rules about classroom management and teacher expectations.

So not to be a major bummer, but the situation you describe is unlikely to ever go away as a teacher. One can either leave teaching or accept that as a teacher, you will often teach content you don't want to teach in a way you don't want to teach it.

For most teachers I know, we've generally accepted that Robin Williams lied to us and that teaching means we sometimes get to do the thing we're excited about, which has to be enough.
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 2:42 AM on February 1, 2018 [9 favorites]

Best answer: So I thought I found my calling a few years after college and went to grad school for Social Work. I didn't particularly enjoy the materials I studied in grad school or the internships I had during it, but I was determined to continue in the field because I wanted to contribute to society in a meaningful way. For five years after finishing my masters, I struggled to find work that was both satisfying to me and allowed me to pay my bills (do keep in mind that finished my masters in 2009, so in the depths of the recession, where the kind of jobs I wanted were the first on the chopping block for many organizations). Finally, I just threw up my hands and said 'Fuck it, I'll do whatever, so long as I can pay my rent' and in just a few years I randomly ended up in a career in a completely unrelated field (advertising sort of) that I really enjoy and that lets me support myself and has a viable future. So yes, I 'sold out'--I may not have dedicated my life to helping people in need, but I still try to contribute where I can, and I'm satisfied with my decision. (Yes, the large student loan payment I make every month for a degree I don't use still stings quite a bit, but it is what it is).

Long story short--don't wear yourself out trying to fulfill what used to be your vision for yourself but that your heart just isn't in anymore. There could be something else out there that makes you happier. Wishing you luck!
posted by greta simone at 7:14 AM on February 1, 2018 [3 favorites]

Best answer: The first 3-5 years of teaching are really hard. (The first year is always murder, even if you're in an ideal situation, and the first year in any new position is also always hard.) It'd be a little easier to advise if we knew what the bad-fit jobs were (and what was traumatic about the first one), but many teachers hate the first few years and then find their footing and things improve markedly and rapidly. Others hate the first few years and go on hating it and should cut their losses sooner rather than later.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:21 AM on February 1, 2018 [5 favorites]

After a few years of teaching, you still find that you're not enjoying it as much as you hoped, you can learn eLearning software (and get a certificate in Instructional Design, if you want, but that's no always necessary), and look for a job creating eLearning supplements to classroom activity. It's a great line of work for people who are analytical, enjoy writing, and creating interesting and engaging learning experiences. The job titles tend to be things like Instructional Designer, or Curriculum Developer.

Best of all, a lot of the roles tend to be less free from politics. Not all, certainly - often, I've run into clients who just HAVE to have things a certain way or are bound by restrictions that make the program less interesting. But, honestly, it can be fun and creative - and, best of all, you still get to feel as though you contribute to student success.
posted by dancing_angel at 12:22 PM on February 1, 2018 [3 favorites]

Also, large software companies employ a lot of instructors/instructional developers and pay pretty well. If you are willing to travel for work for a while, this may be a way to support yourself, get more exposure to fields related to your interests and to potential employers, and to teach a different type of learning audience.
posted by Altomentis at 10:06 PM on February 1, 2018 [1 favorite]