I'm having second thoughts. Since being in school, my urge to be a teacher instead of a nurse has gone up tremendously. It's the exact same feeling I got when I decided to go back to school in the first place. It's the desire burning inside of me saying "This is what you're supposed to be doing." Don't get me wrong, I love the medical field and the career of nursing is still at the top of my list, but teaching is right beside it.
In fact, I'm meeting with a professor this afternoon to discuss the pros and cons of nursing and teaching. I've even come up with a two, four, ten, and fifty year plan. Yes, I'm that anal.
I'm torn, and maybe after the meeting this afternoon I will have a clearer picture of things, but for now, I'm looking for more advice. I would love advice from teachers. I'm thinking of going into mathematics. NYEBoy's school offers a double major program where you major in science or math, but you also earn your teaching stuff. This sounds really appealing to me. Ideally, I would love to teach K-12. I think right now, I may have it narrowed down to middle or high school, but that's still debatable.
Here's my big dilemma. I will be 30 when I graduate in four years. As soon as we graduate, I plan on trying to get pregnant with medical assistance. Assuming I get pregnant within the first year or two, this puts me at 31-32 of having our first child. I would not want to work full time until that child is able to start preschool, which puts me at 35-ish before I would be ready to start my teaching career. Now mind you, this is assuming we only have four kids, and I've already made it clear I want at least 2-4, be it biological or adoption.
So, what I'm torn about is whether or not 35-40 is too old to start a teaching career? Assuming I live a healthy-long life, there is still the potential to teach for 20-35 years. I would probably be willing to tutor in math, or something part-time while doing treatments and raising our family, but I just don't think I would be willing to sacrifice those first few years of motherhood having waited so long.
What do you think? If you're a teacher, do you teach because you have to or because you enjoy it? Do you find the salary vs. time you spend working in and out of the class worth it? If you could go into another career, would you or are you happy with teaching? Are there any Math teachers that read my blog?
9 comments:
I'm not a teacher, but know of many who started teaching as a 2nd career when they were in their mid-40s and 50s, so I would think your mid-30s is not too late.
I am a teacher. I teach 10th grade English and I love it. Sometimes I toy with the idea of a more lucrative career but then I go to school and the students teach me something about life and I know I am doing the right thing. They truly bring joy to my life. I teach in Dallas and make 50K a year, so the money is good. Would I like to make more, yes. Is it sufficient for my life. Yes. Hope this helps. I worked for big corporations as PR consultant before going back to school to become a teacher. I took a huge pay cut an I love every minute of it.
I'm a teacher. This is my first year. I teach Kindergarten and I totally love it! I had people in my college classes who were 31 and 32.
I teach because I love it. I couldn't imagine doing anything else. You could even be a sub while your kiddos are little.
Best of luck in making a decision!
Hi. I'm here from the LFCA. I teach fourth grade, so I have every subject. I will tell you that I love it 98% of the time. I will say that there are times when I work 12 or 16 hour days, and it usually sucks that there's not extra pay for that. But, the summers tend to help with that. :) Also, my mom went into teaching in her 30's after going back to college and getting her degree, so it's never too late.
I do not see anything wrong at all with starting a teaching career at 35 to 40. In fact, my mom started teaching when I was in high school (right at the upper end of that age range you are talking about) and she has had a fabulous and successful career. In fact, just this year she got named to the NC Governor's Teacher Advisory Council. GO FOR IT!
I am a teacher. I teach math to grades K-5. I have also taught as an elementary classroom teacher, middle school humanities teacher, and a middle school math/ social studies teacher.
The paycheck is definitely not worth the time you'll spend. You have to love teaching itself as well as the age of kid you're teaching, AND the administrator you're working for, AND the curriculum. It's a huge load of suck sometimes. Other times, the kids are great, the curriculum is great, and everything is wonderful.
Math is nice because it is *so* concrete and straightforward in terms of middle/ high school grading. But you've got to be able to be exceedingly enthustiastic about how important, useful, and rules-based math is, or you're going to lose a lot of kids. Patience is a necessity, as is organization, good lungs, and a practiced "teacher face" and "teacher voice".
I don't think 35-40 is too old to start. Plenty of people come to teaching as a second career. The kids will respect a 35-year-old brand new teacher more than they will a 22-year-old one.
If I could do things again I would get a different undergrad degree, NOT education. (I'd keep the education masters though.) I'm really interested in starting a library science program, or going into publishing. I'd like a job that ends when I go home, that I don't dream about, and that doesn't require me to take work home. Last night I spend an hour and a half cutting paper.
Believe it or not, I am a nurse and a teacher! I work part time as a nurse, and I am adjunct faculty at the community college. I say that you should teach nursing! We need nursing instructors! As a bachelor's prepared nurse, you can teach clinicals to RN students or in an LPN program. If you do not mind taking a couple of years for a graduate degree, you could teach RN students.
35-40 is not too old for anything! I hope not as I am 36, and considering going back to graduate school in a couple years. It is never too late!
Wish you luck, whatever you decide.
I'm not a nurse or a teacher, I'm a SAHM but my SIL is a nurse. I want to become a nurse and I am going to be 36 in December! I plan on starting school next year. My SIL has the best schedule ever! She works 3 days on and 7 days off, and you can also get overtime almost any time you want/need it. She works mainly weekends so her husband can watch the kids when they aren't in school. I would say that nursing is definitely more lucrative and you can travel anywhere in the country you want to and probably with signing bonuses! So, if your husband finds a job somewhere else, or you have to relocate for some reason, you can rest knowing that you can always find a job somewhere. Anyway, that is IMHO.
Nursing is flexible and well-paid. Teaching is not.
I agree with the commenter who said, "Teach nursing."
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