Thinking about shifting directions on my teaching career

[Centrist Simon Steele]

I might need some help clarifying a few things as I plan this career shift. I am currently a public education middle school teacher. I just started my master's program in English and after being out of school for almost eight years, I had forgotten how much I love this stuff. My intro to grad studies in English course has been centered on Nietzsche, and I've not only found myself working hard at understanding his work, but I've enjoyed it immensely. So anyway, one semester is almost under my belt, looks like I will pull out two A's (while working at the middle school full time), and I am pretty certain at this point I am going to quit teaching in the public school once May rolls around and do an assistantship and classes until I complete my degree. A couple of things led me to this:

1. At the beginning of the semester I thought I fucked up and was in over my head, but I now have my feet under me, and I know I can do the work.

2. The English department at the school I'm attending offers so few classes at night, I'm a single dad, and my administration is being difficult about letting me leave work early (not class early, kids would be gone for the day, I'd just be leaving contract time 15 minutes early twice a week) to get to a class in the spring that, incidentally, aligns extremely well with the new literacy standards in the common core. If I were coaching, he wouldn't even question it.

3. Doing the assistantship would allow me to exit public school and move to higher ed. This is scary, quitting my full time job as a single parent, but I'm 35, I don't think public ed is where I want to be anymore, and I better make some changes now.

I know some of you here have gone this route--I am unsure of what to expect. I know I need to get As in the grad program, which will be infinitely easier if I am not working full time. I love the writing and reading, and I am a hundred percent willing to commit myself to the work. I feel like responsible people would tell me it's a bad idea to quit my job and take out more loans and do this, but on the other hand, it seems teaching in higher ed offer infinitely better opportunities. And I suppose I could always go back to public ed in a year or year and a half.

[Starkess]

I admit I clicked on this thread because I misread the title as "shitting directions" and was trying to figure out what that meant.

I don't know much about your field, but some general ideas:

I think getting a higher degree to help advance your career can be a good idea (as opposed to "hey, I'm gonna get a higher degree!" without planning for how that will actually advance your career). Would the assistantship be enough to support you and your kid(s)? How much faster can you get your degree by going full time instead of night school? Would you have to take on student loans? What are the actual higher ed markets that would be open to you with this degree, and what kind of odds are you looking at (ie how many applicants for each spot)?

My first reaction would be that it makes more sense to keep the teaching job you have until you get finish degree, because it could get painful if you are trying to find work with debt and a family to support. But there are ways to make it work, probably.

[The Tower of Almond Joy]

Hi Simon! Nice to meet you. I hope I got your name right. My opinion is that you should go for it. You are at good age to do this. Why do I feel this way? Because my husband and I followed the same path. Back tracking here. I needed to complete one course to graduate. The physics course I needed was not offered during the summer semester, so I had to wait until fall. I got a job teaching 8th grade math.

The administration at the school was

really good about letting me leave 3 days a week for 3 hours to go to class. One period was my planning time, the other lunch, so i only needed one class covered. My husband taught 9th grade history and got his masters degree in education going to school at night. I was offered a civil service teaching job in New Mexico. That high school was closed and I was transferred to another school in Utah. My husband got a fellowship at Utah State University. He got paid for teaching a couple of education courses a week and for supervising student teaching. He loved it there especially when he got to fly to remote areas. I had to give up my teaching position because the mountain passage was just too treacherous in the winter. There weren't any teaching jobs in the area so I got an admin assistant for the controller and head accountant at Utah state. Now here is where it gets interesting lol I was working with the scholarship program too. There were so many that had the strangest qualifications, like being a 4th son, or you had to major in English,or be from out of state. etc. I don't know where you live or if you would consider relocating. I think there are better options out there for you. Large companies will sometimes pay your tuition. A lot did in the Boston area. My husband died and I moved there. I was working at MIT and they paid mine to a competitive university. There were great weekend courses offered (Friday nights and all day Saturday) now with the internet you can research your options. I've found that if I call someone and they can't help they will give me another number to try. Also the person who answers the phone can be the most helpful. I've had great luck that way. Keep looking until you find the person who will really go that extra mile for you to get you admitted and help with finances. I have no regrets about grad school or leaving the public schools. Sorry about the extra spaces, misplaced commas, my iPad mini is giving me fits tonight. But I still love it, I never thought anything would replace my kindle. But I haven't used the kindle for months now lol

[The Tower of Almond Joy]

Starkess has some great ideas. I don' t know if it has changed or not but the grad students on a fellowship then did not have to have social security deducted from their salary. Also you might be able to get on at the university when you finish or they will help you find a position.

[Centrist Simon Steele]

Lady Lynn, thanks for the insight, I think the struggle of it will pay off like you said--and I don't think I'll miss public school (I'll miss the kids, but more and more, it's not about them anymore, just the data they produce). I wish I could relocate, but I'm fairly immobile due to family circumstances, but I also think the school I'm at offers me a lot of good opportunities.

I admit I clicked on this thread because I misread the title as "shitting directions" and was trying to figure out what that meant.

I don't know much about your field, but some general ideas:

I think getting a higher degree to help advance your career can be a good idea (as opposed to "hey, I'm gonna get a higher degree!" without planning for how that will actually advance your career). Would the assistantship be enough to support you and your kid(s)? How much faster can you get your degree by going full time instead of night school? Would you have to take on student loans? What are the actual higher ed markets that would be open to you with this degree, and what kind of odds are you looking at (ie how many applicants for each spot)?

My first reaction would be that it makes more sense to keep the teaching job you have until you get finish degree, because it could get painful if you are trying to find work with debt and a family to support. But there are ways to make it work, probably.

Yeah, the job I have I will be leaving for sure either way--it is not the place for me. So the question is, find a different job in public ed (totally doable, the university has plenty of leads and connections for me already too, they've been really helpful there too) or commit to grad school full time.

As is, it will take longer to complete grad school while working full time, and it won't cost more in loans--the assistantship does pay (not as much as my current job or close), but I will get a tuition break, the loans that would have gone towards tuition could go towards living, and I have no qualms with temporarily getting some types of public assistance to aid. I'd probably reduce the time of the degree by half, and the stress too, especially seeing how unwilling my admin is to let me take some of the courses (when he seemed so willing when I was applying, but now that they are coming up he is balking). I mean I'm going to have to do 3 credit hours this spring because he is unwilling to let me leave 15-20 minutes early (again, when there are no kids in the building anymore) twice a week, when he lets other teachers do it to go an coach out of the district five days a week.

My thought is if I have to change jobs anyway, a year and a half off could do my brain some good. There are no guarantees into the college teaching world when I am done, though my adviser said if I keep my nose to the grindstone as I've done, there are going to be plenty of opportunities. If not, high schools will hire me then, I'm sure, and at a higher salary scale since I have my grad degree. If I keep working in public ed though, I cannot do the assistant ship and I pretty much close off the pathway to higher ed.

It's definitely a tough one. I also think the metaphor of shitting directions on my teaching career is correct, you were not far off in how you read the title. :D

[wolverine]

First off, your adimin sounds really douchey. Secondly, if you are really passionate about pursuing this then I think you should try and follow your passion. I teach high school math (also have a history ed degree) and I just got my masters while teaching full time. I got my masters almost entirely for the bump in pay. I strongly feel that we need good intelligent people educating our high schoolers, but you need to do what is best for you.

EDIT: I have no idea about your financial situation or the district you teach in, but if your area is considered poverty you can get $5000 in grants for getting your masters as an English teacher (math, science, and special ed receive considerable more). i think more areas are considered poverty than most people realize.

[Centrist Simon Steele]

First off, your adimin sounds really douchey. Secondly, if you are really passionate about pursuing this then I think you should try and follow your passion. I teach high school math (also have a history ed degree) and I just got my masters while teaching full time. I got my masters almost entirely for the bump in pay. I strongly feel that we need good intelligent people educating our high schoolers, but you need to do what is best for you.

Agreed. I think most admin would completely support teachers getting their degrees, especially one that would be specialized in my field. I think he wants me to do it from an online school or something, though the program I found at the nearby campus is really top notch.

It could be if I switched to a different school at the end of the year, a lot of my stress would be reduced. I really will miss teaching the kids, they're great.

[The Tower of Almond Joy]

Hi! It sounds like you have put a lot of thought into this, which is great. I think you have already made up your mind.... You should live your life doing what you love. When people ask me what I do for a living, I like to reply "did you mean what do I do for the living?" I agree the kids are great. The rules not so much now. I'm retired now. I could never do today what I did years ago. I liked teaching in the inner city schools the best. The children came from low income families. Our teachers were very compassionate, for instance, one teacher would bring two sandwiches for breakfast. He didn't like eating that himself but there was one student who would come by every morning and the teacher would say he couldn't eat it all and he would share with the student. I would decorate for the all of the holidays and give every one of my home room students Xmas stocking. I would have picnics for our group of students. And i would get a cake for their birthdays. I would take them to McDonalds on the weekends. I took them to the circus. We had school trips too - like to the space and rocket center. We were like family. If a student was in distress, it was natural for us to hug them. Things have changed so much, it would be hard for me to follow the new rules. I was nervous typing this. English is not my strong suit, we'll writing. I've loved reading all my life though. I have confidence that everything will work out for you in the best way possible. I'll look for you on the novel threads.

[wolverine]

Hi! It sounds like you have put a lot of thought into this, which is great. I think you have already made up your mind.... You should live your life doing what you love. When people ask me what I do for a living, I like to reply "did you mean what do I do for the living?" I agree the kids are great. The rules not so much now. I'm retired now. I could never do today what I did years ago. I liked teaching in the inner city schools the best. The children came from low income families. Our teachers were very compassionate, for instance, one teacher would bring two sandwiches for breakfast. He didn't like eating that himself but there was one student who would come by every morning and the teacher would say he couldn't eat it all and he would share with the student. I would decorate for the all of the holidays and give every one of my home room students Xmas stocking. I would have picnics for our group of students. And i would get a cake for their birthdays. I would take them to McDonalds on the weekends. I took them to the circus. We had school trips too - like to the space and rocket center. We were like family. If a student was in distress, it was natural for us to hug them. Things have changed so much, it would be hard for me to follow the new rules. I was nervous typing this. English is not my strong suit, we'll writing. I've loved reading all my life though. I have confidence that everything will work out for you in the best way possible. I'll look for you on the novel threads.

You sound really caring, exactly what a lot of students need. Your English is great.

[Ormond]

My thought is if I have to change jobs anyway, a year and a half off could do my brain some good. There are no guarantees into the college teaching world when I am done, though my adviser said if I keep my nose to the grindstone as I've done, there are going to be plenty of opportunities. If not, high schools will hire me then, I'm sure, and at a higher salary scale since I have my grad degree. If I keep working in public ed though, I cannot do the assistant ship and I pretty much close off the pathway to higher ed.

It's definitely a tough one. I also think the metaphor of shitting directions on my teaching career is correct, you were not far off in how you read the title. :D

I don't want to rain too hard on your parade -- just maybe sprinkle a little. I do wonder if your adviser is really right to say "there are going to be plenty of opportunities" though. The way higher education is moving in the United States, there are going to be fewer positions for full time faculty and more and more reliance on part time adjunct instructors. This seems to me to be especially true in English, which in my experience is the field where I've been most told for years that there are way too many Ph.D.'s out there already chasing way too few full time faculty positions.

I definitely don't think one has to have a high salary job at a prestigious "selective" university to be happy. But the horror stories of people in your field having to make ends meet by teaching multiple sections of composition at different colleges and universities for a pittance salary and few or no benefits are legion. There will always be a few of the full time jobs where one gets to teach a lot of literature classes out there -- and I understand with baby boomers retiring soon there may be some increase in job openings the next decade than previously -- but you still are picking a field where there will be loads of competition for those jobs when they do become available.

[Centrist Simon Steele]

It is not raining Ormond, in fact my adviser (who is my professor for one of my classes) has us reading a book on the subject of the shrinking English departments. Her point was more that if you don't try, don't work hard, then you will never do it. Her point was also that English departments have faced turmoil before, reshaped, and then become something different. There is a belief that highly specialized "specialists" are going to become a thing of the past, and many of those are baby boomer age on the verge of retirement. Its interesting nonetheless. I'm in a good position either way because if I can't find a higher ed position right away, the degree doesn't stop me from going back to public ed. It gives me more options in public ed because many English teachers in high school aren't qualified to teach college equivalent classes at the high school forcing high achieving high school students to take those classes at local community colleges. My degree will allow me to teach college equivalent comp classes at a high school level if I go back to public school.

[TerraPrime]

As in any switch of career, solid research on the prospects in your new field is essential.

I echo Ormond's concern regarding full-time employment in higher education. The number of positions are shrinking, without a doubt. Even in hard sciences. I know our history department is also contracting, and so is our English department. We went from 12 full-time tenure track faculty and about 20 non-tenure track annually contracted faculty to now 9 full-time tenure track and 25 non-tenure track annually contracted. If teaching at college is all you want, then yes, the jobs are to be had, especially if you are willing to teach on-line courses. If, on the other hand, you're looking for a traditional faculty job where you can do research in your area of interest, then, no, those jobs are harder and harder to come by. Perhaps that's what your advisor meant by "specialists?"

I will highly recommend you look into the possibility of a Masters in Library Science degree, if you want a way out of middle school public ed. It's a 2 years Master's program, and at the end, you can specialize in collection development for English or Literature, which will allow you to do a lot of the things you like doing about literature, but also give you a skill to market.