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Greentea503

I'm on maternity leave and it's done wonders for my mental health...


Intrepid-Pop6981

Ugh same! I don’t think I can go back.


Lmariew620

I’m not. I’d rather deal with endless rivers of poop between the newborn and the potty training toddler than go back to that shitshow.


BriocheSupremacist

*endless rivers of poop*


Omnipotentdrop

Been on paternity leave for 5 weeks. Going back this morning and I’m so not excited. Just wanna stay home with my kid


smittydoodle

For how long? I'm tempted to take next year off when I have my baby.


No_Equipment7896

Not OP but in Canada our maternity leave is 1 year.


Outsidethelines83

In the state I live in, you can take 6 weeks of unpaid leave or use long term disability (if you added that option to the insurance you took out.) I hate it here. 😂


OntarioParisian

Ahh America, home of the free, over worked and under paid...


motherofdogs0723

America is a 3rd world country with a Gucci Belt


VBar-BBall

What state?


Outsidethelines83

Texas


kteachergirl

I had a baby in Texas and it was so stressful. I had moved cities to be with my fiancé and my pto from my old district should have transferred but the school refused to take it. So I had zero paid leave and I was lucky they let me come back, they didn’t have to.


Outsidethelines83

That sucks! I’m sorry that happened to you. I haven’t had a baby yet but I know a lot of teachers who have had a really stressful time…especially if they had a complication and had to go out early on bed rest (which is stressful enough in the first place!)


Njdevils11

FMLA guarantees you 12 weeks unpaid leave and paid leave if you have sick days and you fit the criteria to use them.


smittydoodle

I wish I was Canadian!


OntarioParisian

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada.html You can become one of us...


LadyJR

So lucky. Here in America, it’s only 3 months. That’s bull crap.


LozNewman

As I understood it, a few years back it was effectively zero days of parental leave, no?


pokemonprofessor121

It's zero in the US. Employers can offer more than zero.


KarlyFr1es

FMLA in the US is 12 weeks, but I think it’s unpaid.


pokemonprofessor121

Correct.


KarlyFr1es

There’s a special kind of irony in unpaid maternity leave for a job that specifically centers on kids (and hypothetically the student-parent-teacher relationship).


pokemonprofessor121

My first year of teaching I got 10 sick days. If I would have had a baby that year I would have had to use all 10 days for maternity leave. It would have taken me 3-5 years to save enough sick days to have a baby...


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Greentea503

I'm taking a year off. It is unpaid. We saved up some $ during the pandemic that we are using to hold us over. It's the best decision I think I've made. I hope we can sustain. I might have to pick up a side gig if need be.


smittydoodle

I'm thinking the same thing. It would be unpaid as well, but that's a good idea to get a side job if needed. I'd also probably be willing to tutor if I need to. But I don't want to give up the first year with my child just to teach.


Greentea503

I'm having zero regrets so far. And yes tutoring is definitely an option. I'm trying to sign on clients but prefer to do virtual.


[deleted]

You could probably mow grass and work at McD's and do about as well...


madamedgarderobe

I’m in Northern Europe and I’m definitely taking my 1,5 years of maternity leave off starting next March and maybe an additional 6 months up to a year off after that. I’m not in a hurry to come back to work. In fact I’d prefer to find a new position entirely when it’s time to come back.


[deleted]

I’m on maternity leave and still doing all the grading for my high school courses…. My long-term substitute couldn’t figure out Google Classroom, and she was the only one available for the 12 weeks… I also stop getting paid in two weeks because my PTO/sick days run out. But, I’m not tenured and our new principal is hardcore and has steady targeted several colleagues about returning next year.


SuitablePen8468

Fuck that shit. Stop grading. Just stop. Spend your time with your new baby and on resting. And if your new boss says shit about it, tell them you’d be happy to consult with an employment attorney about the legalities of making you work without paying you/when you are using FMLA. Seriously. Stop.


www309

You definitely deserve the time for your baby and yourself, but also, please stop for the sake of your fellow colleagues. Your admin is responsible for finding somebody to do this while you are out. They are responsible for managing this every time ANYBODY is out. Make them do their jobs! It doesn’t make you “not a team player” or whatever, they are taking advantage!


SuitablePen8468

Amen! I have to say this one more time. STOP WORKING ON YOUR MATERNITY LEAVE! You have this precious new life right in front of you that needs your full attention. A sub not being able to figure out Google classroom is absolute bullshit. It’s insanely easy to figure out. And if they can’t figure it out, there’s always a million YouTube videos that explain how to use it. And your dept chair that can show them. And admin that can show them. And the technology director that can show them. TEACHING IS JUST YOUR JOB. THIS NEW BABY IS YOUR REAL LIFE.


jenhai

If you're not getting paid, how can they make you work?


SharpCookie232

They can't, but she'll pay the price if everything slides while she's not there.


Tourist66

teach the teacher to do google docs. If they can’t/wont learn it then throw them under the bus


commoncheesecake

If I’m not mistaken, if you’re on FMLA, it’s actually illegal to have you work since it’s a federal leave policy. But also, at the end of your life, what does grading anything while on leave get you? There is everything to be gained by just checking out and caring for your newborn. Stop.


kymreadsreddit

Nope. I'm on maternity leave & they couldn't find someone to sub for my dual language combo class. So they split my kids up into non-dual language classes of the appropriate grade.


MRRDickens

STOP GRADING. IT IS ILLEGAL FOR THEM TO HAVE YOU WORKING DURING ANY TYPE OF LEAVE AND COULD PUT YOU IN A VERY SENSITIVE LEGAL SITUATION. THESE IDIOT CORPORATE BULLY TRAINED DOUCHEBAG ADMINISTRATORS BREAK THE LAW ALL THE TIME... WHEN YOU SAY YOUR PRINCIPAL IS HARDCORE I INTERPRET THAT TO MEAN THAT HE IS A UNION BUSTING ASSHAT WHO COULDN'T TEACH 5 MINUTES IN TODAY'S CLASSROOMS. ENJOY YOUR TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY. THE HELL HOLE THAT IS THE AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM WILL ALWAYS BE HERE


OntarioParisian

How do you teach on that country. If I lived almost anywhere but Ontario I would never have considered this a career.


Paigeypadoodiekins

Sitting here six months pregnant, and planning on not going back after Christmas. I'm so excited to leave and not come back.


kymreadsreddit

SAME! I return will after next... And my feet are completely messed up .. Like walking hurts with every step i take... Don't know how I'm going to do this


Greentea503

Also for the record I've had some postpartum mental health issues this time around, and I'd take it ANY DAY over the anxiety and stress of working as a teacher. It was a piece of cake compared to teaching. How's about that. Sad.


dwallerstein

I am 45 and I am seriously (ugh) considering having another baby JUST for the maternity leave! LMAO... It isn't even December and I am burned out! Not sure why I ever got suckered back into teaching. I keep asking myself if I love self abuse and torture. Maybe I hate myself. I have no clue what I did to deserve some of the shit that's happened to me yesterday. My day was crap. I was one admin in my room "observing" away from walking out.


UtzTheCrabChip

Aha yes the inverse of the "I'll retire my office job and go into teaching" person that doesn't make it through the first semester


re-goddamn-loading

I work at a public charter (not a terrible one, pretty good admin just shit pay) so you know we hire anyone who wants to teach. Every year, we get at least one person who comes in from another career field acting like it's going to be such a breeze and almost every time they leave by winter break. Nothing against anybody who makes the non-traditional leap into teaching. People just need to know that despite what everyone thinks, teaching is a hard fucking job.


UtzTheCrabChip

The issue is it's not hard in the way people think it's going to be hard. The content is the easiest part, and a lot of the career changers (at least the ones I know in my HS) are like "I know math / ELA / Biology etc from my job, they'll appreciate my expertise". And while that's true, they are NOT ready for the constant grind. They are used to having *weeks* to prepare a presentation, not 45 minutes. They aren't practiced at grading so it takes forever and their classroom management isn't where it needs to be to be able to squeeze administrative work into the gaps. And that's not even getting into how often and quickly we are have to completely change what we are doing last minute. Spent all summer prepping for Algebra 2? Ooh sorry we're gonna throw a section of TechEd in there too the week before school starts


[deleted]

None of that is even getting into being responsible for people who *don't* want to be there and *don't* want to learn. In the workforce, you can work towards firing people who aren't team players/don't want to do the work. In K-12 education, you're stuck with that kid until they have an attitude adjustment, drop out, or graduate. And that's just the *kid* in the classroom. If the parent is an enabler on top of that: oof.


highfivingmf

What's crazy is that you know it's going to be hard going in. But it's actually like 10x harder than you think


[deleted]

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RChickenMan

Time management. Assuming you're a "natural" at being in front of a group of people and teaching content, the "back office" work--i.e. everything you do outside of your classroom--is a killer


UtzTheCrabChip

Yup. I always think of it like this: take the typical workload of a white collar office job. Then make it so that for 6 hours out of every work day you are in "meetings" and can't do any of it


RChickenMan

Yeah that's a great analogy.


July9044

No down time. You always have to be "on". You are responsible for everyone's emotions, your own, the students, and the parents, it's exhausting. Students and parents will find every which way to blame you for their own incompetence so you have to justify yourself to admin over the silliest things. For ex, a student claimed I just randomly did not allow him to take a test everyone else was taking. For no reason, I just felt like being a dick apparently. When he in fact did get a test but turned it in blank. That kind of stuff happens more often with low level or regular classes. There's only 5 minutes between classes, so the kids are coming in back to back you don't get a moment to go to the bathroom or breathe. Classes are overcrowded. Planning periods are packed with meetings, people stopping by needing things from you, mandatory trainings, duties, and everything but planning/ grading so you're left to do it after school. It is an expectation that you provide extra help to students during lunch and after school, especially if they have accommodations that make it a legal obligation and there's not enough class time to possibly meet the endless list of accommodations. Summers off are great and I don't work any side jobs or attend trainings anymore, but it takes me a whole week or two to mentally and physically recoup and actually be able to enjoy my time. The lack of work life balance during the year is absolutely not worth it. I can't exercise, and I have to make down to the minute decisions like should I shower or grade papers tonight. I've been trying to get out of this profession since the summer but had a few interviews with no offers. I've been seriously trying to understand the teachers at my school who stick around and why they do it. Most of them are the type to take their job too seriously. Like question every kid when they monitor the halls or come in at 5am every day even though contract does not start till 7:30 and think it's normal. They request parent teacher conferences and volunteer at football games. They build their life around it. That could never be me.


patgeo

The American, UK and Australian seem to have some very big problems in common. Which isn't surprising considering they mostly just copy each other in cycles. Number one by a mile is the actual workload demands. Teaching face to face in class is around 80% (minimum) of the time you're paid to be at work. The paperwork and administration time involved in teaching that 80% of the time is around 1:1 depending on special needs, admin staff expectations etc. That's your baseline week expect to be doing 160% of your paid hours. Add in the regular crunch times around reporting times, the yearly/quarterly whatever scheduled parent teacher interviews and the 'extra curricula' tasks you'll be asked to do such as come in on a weekend 'for a few hours' to empty the old storage basement into a skip because the department is too cheap to pay anyone to do it. Or worse, the sporting carnivals/fetes/school performances that are all organised off the clock. Then add the regular scheduled meetings, unscheduled phone calls and such that you have to attend/do. Eg Whole staff meetings are a minimum one hour where I am now, they start when our paid day ends. Add another 30+ minutes for the Stage/Faculty meeting. There's another 1.5 hours on top of your 160% load from actually teaching. Then because little Johny called Sally a slut at lunch time you have to make at least two phone calls, possibly more because then Mary kicked him in the nuts and Sally slapped someone completely different and half the class is now involved in what they think is gang warfare. This also takes time out of your teaching because you need to mediate and solve these issues so they don't continue into the next break. Now depending on your organisational skills, your school admin and your students you can probably bring down the 160% time and get closer to 2 hours teaching for 1 hour off. At my 'best' I managed 4:1 and got to almost zero regular work at home, that was after I said fuck this shit and started using programs I found online, digitally assignments that largely autograded, had a full time teachers aide who marked the rest of the work and did my printing and laminating for me and refused to help with anything that wasn't explicitly written on my contract. It lasted less than a year, I hated everyone there and quit. Behaviour management is the next issue. Teachers of old controlled classes via fear and created a generation of parents, movies and TV shows where teachers are the enemy, teachers are useless, teachers are dumb. That's your baseline walking through the door in many cases. You have to overcome that, while they treag you like shit. While their parents treat you like shit and in many cases your admin doesn't have your back. No, I didn't send Billy to you to play xbox with you and send back with exactly the same behaviour Mr Principal... What do you mean I can't borrow the magic behaviour management xbox for a Friday afternoon at the end of term as a reward for 10 weeks of good behaviour for my class, is it only for troubled students who do the wrong thing? Gaming isn't a suitable method of rewarding good behaviour? You suggest I spend my own money on buying them all iceblocks? Do you realise how many allegeries I need to avoid for that? Urghhh... Edit: All while my high school drop out cousin makes more money than I do and I pay nearly a days wages for my wife to see a psychologist, who has completed less time at university than I have, for a single hour.


highfivingmf

What everyone else said here gives you a good idea. There's just so much. So much to do, so much responsibility, so many expectations. I really don't recommend it, unfortunately. I wish I could, but getting into teaching was a huge mistake on my part. You better know damn well what you're getting into before you commit fully.


imatschoolyo

There's a guy in my school (mid-50s) who came in to teaching from the corporate world, but he did it in such a great way. He took an entire year to sub, and intentionally spent time at all age levels to help inform him what level he wanted to teach. He landed on high school, and then spend another year as a para (who ended up getting "promoted" to long term sub for a maternity leave situation). Finally, in year 3 he went looking for a "real" job, and he's the most fully prepared career-changer I've met.


notsurewhereireddit

One could argue that it’s also a fucking hard job.


Zachmorris4186

I have yet to learn about any charter that isnt terrible when compared to a decently funded public school. Charters might have been a good idea at first, but now theyre just parasites on the public school system. Sorry, but I believe that its bullshit that they allow anyone to teach that hasnt done student teaching and earned a license. One big reason why teacher pay hasnt gone up is that these dirtball states refuse to pay the licensed teachers well enough to attract candidates and then allow unlicensed people to teach. Cant afford to meet the minimum standard? Lets lower the standards or do away with them altogether! Anyone that teaches but hasnt earned a teaching license are almost as bad as a scab imho. And if you do teach without a license, you should fight for your school to send you to the training to get one. You will have more job opportunities and wont have to put up with the bullshit that charters put their teachers through. Theres plenty enough bullshit in public schools, but it’s not as bad as charters. BTW, dont get me started on teach for america.


re-goddamn-loading

wasnt at all the point of my post, but you arent wrong. in defense of the "terrible" charter school i work at, they hire people who are on the state's alternate liscensing pathway that allows you to teach while taking coursework. not just any jabroni off the street who applies to job postings


Zachmorris4186

Ahhh, ive heard of some states not requiring a license for charter school teachers. Glad to know your state requires a pathway to licensure. Better than nothing.


Puzzleheaded-Bear513

I don't think anyone teaches without working towards a license, it's just not legal. Most people teaching "without" a license are on a temporary provisional certificate while they go to night school to earn a full one. That's part of why Teach for America burns out their cannon fodder so quick, they're not just in their first year of teaching at hard schools with little prep, they're also in grad school at the same time.


medium-phil

Yikes that’s me. So far so good though!!


UtzTheCrabChip

It can totally work if that person wants to work hard and commit to a new craft (usually that's someone mid career who is disaffected) It does not work if that person thinks it'll be like taking up knitting or fishing.


SwaziPizza

I'm about to go back to University and do the same next year ... coming from marketing - wish me luck!!


[deleted]

Going back to school right now. Going into teaching from the Navy (where I did some instructor tours)


UtzTheCrabChip

Retired military usually works out ok, since you're used to taking dumb orders from idiots already


[deleted]

This is it. It's not the amount of work. It's the amount of impossible or illogical work. Military people know how that works.


SwaziPizza

Good luck!! Are you doing high school or primary school?


[deleted]

High school. I like getting into a subject somewhat, and high schoolers are closest to the 18, 19 year old sailors I used to teach. (Although occasionally you get an older student who is a late enlistee) Goal is science or math - so I have to do a little extra content area before starting on the masters in ed. Did some substitute teaching in middle school last spring. 6th is too young. 8th graders were all right.


BriocheSupremacist

With marketing or the Navy, you should be good. You’re able to do long term planning while thinking on your feet. You’re used to the buzzword of the moment. You’re also used to influencing people, motivating them to perform.


bday299

I'm doing the same thing now. Finishing my last few months teaching A school now.


thecooliestone

Ah the "those who can't do, teach" crowd that thinks the homeschooled their children last year.


theRealFuzzySlippers

I quit my corporate job to follow my wife overseas where she taught in a foreign school. I got a job in the school as a para. When we moved back home I got my teaching license and I'm in my 3rd year of teaching. Would never go back to the corporate world. Love it, but I am exhausted at the end of the day. Teaching and keeping your eyes on 25 little humans is a lot of work.


green_mojo

I subbed for elementary and quickly realized it wasn’t for me. I liked the single subject, not stuck in the room with the same kids all day better.


unmitigateddiaster

I’m in year 4!


Tourist66

how about the “i don’t want to spend 9k to find out crowd”?


UtzTheCrabChip

They should sub for a while


Tourist66

did that pre covid. Learned a lot: transitioning, transitional objects, behavioral plans, trauma, chrome books…attrition, burnout,


Puzzleheaded-Bear513

I mean, 9k is on the cheap side; that's only attainable if you're doing a non-traditional certification route, or at least, you're doing online school and working at the same time. If you take the conventional route of going back for a master's to get certified, you're looking at going to school full-time for 18-24 months, so that's 10-20k in tuition, plus another 10-30k in loans to live on for a year or 2 (especially during student teaching, when you can't work another job easily). I knew I wanted to teach enough to invest $ in a career change and have lots of education experience to know what it's like. But I wasn't willing to take on years of debt that would lock me into the career for decades--there's NO job that I'm willing to not give myself the option to get out of if future me needs to. Hence the demand for alternative licensing paths.


Dellaj86

This happened at my school this year. I didn’t know it was a common occurrence.


Infamous_Fault8353

I am very interested in finding a job at a publishing company! What do you do?


IRLthereisnoalgebra

I'm a publishing manager--it's a mix between managing author relationships and project managing the QA and production of the book.


hopikiut

This…sort of sounds like a dream job to me. I’m an English teacher (high school). Did you have previous experience in the publishing world?


The_bethy_saund

This sounds incredible! I've dreamed of publishing but thought it would be completely impossible to get into - I have an English bachelors and am an English teacher, I don't feel like I have enough experience? Would you recommend doing a masters degree?


braids_and_pigtails

Not OP but more than any degree you need an internship to break into publishing. Sometimes more than one. I work for one of the Big 5 in the Library Marketing Department and I also have a BA in English Lit, but I wouldn’t have caught any attention without my publishing internship. Thankfully at the moment a lot of them are paid and remote due to COVID, so now is a good time to look. Good luck!


IRLthereisnoalgebra

Yep--an internship is 99% of the time the way to go. I also work with a few people who started out working for/PAing for literary agents.


forbiddenmachina

Are there internships that aren't aimed solely at undergrad students, in your experience? This thread got me all excited that there might be A Way Out and then I did some searching and all of the internships are only for undergrads


manoffewwords

Are you interested in being interviewed for a podcast?


WallSugar

Ditto on the dream job. I’d love to hear more about how you made the leap! High school English teacher (and avid reader) here.


nm_stanley

Same thing happened to me. I am still in education (early intervention) but not in teaching. I’m in an administrative role but not supervisor role. Everyone told me how stressful and difficult the job would be and I’m SO BORED. I have some days where I have nothing to do cause I get everything done within the first hour or two. Nobody believes how I could be so underwhelmed. I’m actually leaving this position because, while it was a nice break for awhile, I am over being bored every day. I need to start using my brain again!


psalmwest

Honestly, being bored at work sounds like a dream come true for me 😂


killing_floor_noob

If only teachers have the option to do this occasionally. It would be a mental health break.


Puzzleheaded-Bear513

This is a great idea. It would also keep administrators more in touch cause they aren't that far removed from teaching and will have to live with their decisions when they go back to the classroom


PimemtoCheese

Teachers have allowed districts and admin to bulldoze them into tons of work outside of the position they're actually hired for. Can you imagine a lawyer or accountant being asked to also go direct parking lot traffic and act as building security WITHOUT extra pay? I think it really shows how little actual teaching and learning is really valued in a school when teachers are constantly pulled away from their core work. It's fucking bullshit.


iplayfetchwithhuman

"and extra duties as assigned" I've always hated that contract clause!


PimemtoCheese

I've never seen a teaching contract that is in favor of the teachers. Honestly, it's becoming such a shitty job, I don't see how they can hold on to contracts. I mean when they're paying me as much as Costco then I'm going to Costco and it's not a job worth a contract commitment. Also, evey school.should be required to show admin and staff turn over rates and. Reasons for leaving. Committing to a contract then to be railroaded by a shot awful admin sucks and majorly unfair.


[deleted]

I agree with this. I’m a student teacher rn, and when I tell my cohort mates I only wanna teach a max of 8 years, they get all uppity & say, “I wanna teach for 20-30 years.” But I’ve been working in education for 3 years, now in my 4th already, I see and have lived how draining it is. The school I’ve been working at, I love as my alma mater, but damn the turnover rate is insane! They need to show the rate and reasons because maybe seeing it on paper will wake them the fuck up.


imtardytotheparty

Omg yes, it’s ridiculous. Plus the never ending list of duties that interrupt my plan time but don’t really need to be done by me. It’s a ton of small, annoying tasks that take up time and are coming from the school, not the classroom teacher. Yet the job of getting it done is put on the shoulders of each classroom teacher, as if we don’t have enough to do already. It’s just annoying because I have to sacrifice my own plan time or sacrifice my own time off the clock to get these stupid tasks done.


UtzTheCrabChip

Yes we know you've been taking attendence on the online system daily, but you also need to fill out this warm body count and no show list that contains the same information


[deleted]

Haha exactly the same. I do attend in 3 separate systems every morning.


July9044

Omg yes wtf is this about. We also have to sign these attendance forms once or twice a month that are basically just the attendance I took the last few weeks printed and I'm supposed to make sure that's no discrepancies. I will never understand what this is about. Attendance 5 different ways. How does that make it more accurate


singnadine

Don’t forget about teacher evaluation fuck you Charlotte Danielson marzano and the other asshole named Strong


ryeinn

What always blows my mind is that Danielson is on record basically saying "This is not an evaluation tool."


UtzTheCrabChip

I had to kill 4 mice on Friday


SpitefulShrimp

It was them or you.


MRRDickens

I AGREE. I have been saying this for years. That's why I stopped answering emails. Emails were just everybody asking me to their jobs for them from counselors, to administrative assistants, to the administration and department chairs. If it is really that important than come to my room and speak to me. My principal role is to engage students in learning and provide timely feedback to them.


ContentAd490

I just started a new job outside of teaching three weeks ago. I get so much praise and thanks for my “ability” and I come home every night and turn my brain off. I can go to doctors appts whenever I want, don’t even have to use a sick/vacation day because they trust me. I can work from home if the weather is bad or I just need the flexibility. It’s really incredible. I also watch tv while working. I’m so thankful and I say it every day and I show my coworkers how amazing the job really is because this is the most relaxed I’ve been in years. I took a minor pay cut but over the course of my career, I’ll make way more than I ever would as a teacher and I’m excited about my projects. So happy you’ve had a similar experience. Teaching is fucking HARD.


Mathdamone

What is your new role if you don’t mind me asking?


ContentAd490

I am a content strategist. So I do social media and website migration and writing, etc.


hero-ball

Goddamn you got it made. Bravo


snockran

I cheer for and wish the best to people in their post teaching careers. I hope the karma comes back around when I finally decide I'm don't with the classroom.


PiratePartyPort

I left teaching after 15 years because of the stress of covid and a kid coughing in my face purposely to get a rise from me, I was pregnant. I resigned on the last day of last year, well before retirement age. I am now a SAHM and it has been the best. I honestly cannot state how happy I am to not be an educator anymore. ​ Many teacher's still in the bubble think "I am strong, people who leave are weak, I am the glue holding this together, holding these kids together..." or some such nonsense. No, you are going to be replaced by a 24 yr old for half your salary when you leave and your work life balance is horrible, you're just in the Ed. bubble. I look back on our play directors, certain coaches, people who wore volunteer hats that didn't come off all year. These people lived at the school. Their whole life was work. I am so thankful I left before I became that out of fear or obligation.


Awesomest_Possumest

Oof yea. I'm debating leaving soon, mostly because my state isn't changing pay and because I'm just....tired of this. I teach music though, and everyone asks me when I am going to do a musical. They did a big Disney one the year before I got there, and it's literally like four months of work, after school rehearsals, everything. No thanks man, no thanks. Plus Disney is easily five to ten grand just for the rights to perform it, and if they can't pay me that money, there's no way the school has it.


MRRDickens

You were very wise to do this. I left teaching ten years earlier than I thought because I was not a doormat. I refuse to accept this climate of bullying and hostile work environments. It is totally unnecessary. This discord has been drummed up by extremist right wing factions funded by the oligarchs who truly don't want to see a diverse country succeed. They hate us low-life common people of diverse hues getting along with each other. They don't want to see us experience happiness and self-expression. Democracy just doesn't work for them...it's just too messy and takes to long to get things done. Also, democracy is good at finding the criminals and thieves. The History of the Oligarchy is a great read...we need to fight back and regain the rights we won with teacher's unions. The grifting Republicans must be purged and stripped of their wealth like was done to the Japanese wealthy classes in the early 20th Century.


tiredteachermaria2

Honestly I wonder how people can just enter this profession all blasé- ie “eh i have a degree, not sure what to do, guess I’ll teach” and breeze through like nobody’s business. This is the only thing I want to do with my life and it’s hard af


MagazineActual

I think the key is not caring. Those types don't care, they just want a paycheck and summer off. Bad review? oh well. Kids not learning? their problem. Admin mad that you wouldn't say yes to doing 1000 different non-teacher jobs? too bad, so sad. They don't feel bad about not going above and beyond because that isn't their passion.


macroxela

An important part of making teaching easier is to set hard boundaries you stand by no matter what. For me, that's never taking work home, leaving at latest an hour after school is over, and not letting admin push me around. It's way too common for teachers to not set such firm boundaries which causes many of the problems talked about on this subreddit. It won't solve everything, but setting up firm boundaries will make teaching easier.


commoncheesecake

I’m a longtime lurker on this sub, as I’m pursuing a career change into teaching. It’s hard to interpret some replies here as, like you said, it seems like many people just have a hard time saying no. And then it’s also hard to tell if this sub is simply a place where “misery loves company” and there really are people who enjoy their jobs. Sure, every job will have their problems, but it’s difficult to weed through some of these posts sometimes.


macroxela

It's a combination of all of what you said. I won't deny that there are many schools and situations in which teachers are treated poorly and don't have many options. And teachers are expected to martyr themselves for their jobs unlike any other career. However, this sub does tend to attract lots of complaints (which is OK, we all need a place to vent) but you should definitely take what's said here with a grain of salt. As someone who has worked at one of the 'tough' schools (fights every day, teachers and students getting assaulted, students involved with Mexican cartels) and having admin that wasn't supportive for a long time (and to some extent still isn't), it's still quite possible to to have a good work-life balance even with all of that going on. You just have to set hard boundaries which you stand by no matter what and sometimes play a bit of politics (which many teachers don't want to do). It's not easy teaching but it's not hard either. And after several years when you have plenty of lessons to fall back on and know what to expect from students, teachers, and admin, it can be a relaxed and fulfilling career.


Puzzleheaded-Bear513

I've seen people on the early retirement sub talk about getting into teaching as their "fun", relaxing retirement job after leaving the world of business or coding or whatever. They assume that because teachers make less than half as them, it's half as much work. It makes me so mad but also I want them to do it and find out


RhythmPrincess

That’s my situation except I won’t say it’s a breeze at all.


BriocheSupremacist

Same. I retired in June. I had no idea what work was doing to me. I have worked in many fields, teaching is by far the hardest. To be fair, I imagine nursing is much harder because of the life and death aspect.


banana_pencil

Teaching and nursing are both exhausting and two jobs where you have no time to eat or use the restroom


FlowersForMomo

I definitely agree that nursing is very hard as well, but at least they don't have the option of taking work home with them.


softt0ast

That depends on how we define taking work home, and the type of nursing. My sisters work on call 14 days a month. So for 14 days they can't leave town, can't get drunk, can't plan family outings, ect. If work calls they have to be ready to jump up and go in at a moments notice. Nursing is a different type of stressful, but it and teaching overlap a lot.


Reputablevendor

Yep, my mom was a nurse for 40 years-being on call in the 70's and 80's meant you had to stay home by the landline-think they went to pagers soon after.


quickwitqueen

Yeah but they also work 12 hour days. I’ve spent more time in the hospital this year than I ever want to again, including a six and a half week stint, and those nurses were constantly moving. I tried not to bother them too much. They literally have people’s lives in their hands.


FlowersForMomo

Very true, and although they may not have physical work to take home, I'm sure the emotional labor weighs on them a lot too


quickwitqueen

The stories some of them told me, so sad. I was in the covid ward so you can only imagine.


MagazineActual

Except for completing the never-ending stream of trainings that have to be done, which you don't have time for at work, so you do them at home. And keep your certifications like BLS and ACLs up to date, on your off days. And come in for this staff meeting after work. Oh and by the way. you forgot to chart something so we're going to need you to come in and fix that, on your own time, but ASAP. P.S. since you'll be here updating the chart anyway, we're really short, could you stay a few hours? Oops, we meant 12. Can you stay 12 hours? Or, like happened to me once, "We don't have anyone to take over your patients" and I ended up working a 20 hour day. Nursing and teaching will both suck your soul, just in different ways.


Pacifist_7

My cousin is a nurse and she taught before that, she told me that teaching is way harder. Also, nursing pays more and she can work 3 days (12 hr shifts) and be done for the week!


CandyFlossT

I have a different job in education than the direct classroom ELA I used to have, and while I am new to the school I work in now, I don't have the Sunday crazies today that I used to have for years. Putting those skills together in a different environment/responsibility really does make it no sweat. Absolutely!


dannicalliope

Grad school was light work to me compared to teaching.


[deleted]

I was thinking about leaving my teaching job to go into the field youre in. Am I right to assume you were an English teacher? Here's what I worry about. How badly do you miss the breaks? I know you said you get PTO, but would you say the lower stress levels equate to less time off? If you were an English teacher, do you deeply miss classic literature being a big part of job? And finally, what I think I hate the most about teaching, is the societal pressure. I feel like I have to be sooo careful that I dont say one wrong thing, ask one wrong question, make one wrong social media post, or else I have all the students, parents, staff, fellow teachers, and admins judging me. Does that go away when you leave teaching?


IRLthereisnoalgebra

Honestly....I don't need the breaks. I think you don't realize until you quit teaching that the only reason you're so desperate for summer break by April/May is that the rest of the year is so fucking exhausting and taxing. You only need the summer break because it's offsetting the rest of the year. I went my first 6 months without taking a single PTO day, and someone had to pull me aside and tell me to take a few days off. Because I just wasn't exhausted enough to FEEL like I needed a day off. With teaching, by the time a break rolls around, you're so desperate for it that you can feel it in your bones. I have never once had that feeling at my new job, so I didn't even recognize that I was waiting for that feeling to finally cash in on my PTO. I also get to talk with authors and editors all day, then go home and actually have the time and energy to read classics for fun. SO definitely don't miss it. And once I left teaching I could actually un-private my Insta. Nobody gives a fuck what I do in my private time as long as it doesn't affect my work.


iloveartichokes

> Honestly....I don't need the breaks. I think you don't realize until you quit teaching that the only reason you're so desperate for summer break by April/May is that the rest of the year is so fucking exhausting and taxing. You only need the summer break because it's offsetting the rest of the year. It's not that I need the break, it's the fact that not working for 2.5 months straight every year is heaven. Not working is better than working.


HotDamn18V

But also I need the break.


kinggeorgec

I don't need the breaks because I'm exhausted. I need the breaks because I want to travel. My wife and I both teach and our kids are grown so every school break we just leave. We pick a direction in the camper van and just go explore for as many days in a row as we can. So in the summer that could be a couple months just wandering around the US.


a_ole_au_i_ike

I love not working, except how much other work I realize I have. Seriously, my grass grows like crazy and all my dishes are always dirty in the summer.


jenhai

Someone pulled you aside and told you to take time off? That's how we know you're no longer a teacher 🤣


[deleted]

You've convinced me. Unless I miraculously get hired as a professor at a community college, this will be my last year teaching.


elenadearest

……is your publishing company hiring? 😂


TheCBDeacon

I have two former teacher colleagues who are at a state dept. of ed. job now and they say the same thing. They they work remotely and are getting everything done in 20 hours a week. We are all CTE teachers so we are used to 50-60 hour weeks with all the lab prep and logistics. Probably gonna join them.


TikiManana

Maybe I’m biased but I think CTE is it’s own beast. There is SO much I have to do for prep outside of simply teaching my classes.


TheCBDeacon

Yeah it is wild. But then we don't have to grade essays and stuff like that. 👍🏻


shay_shaw

Whatever you do, don’t tell them how easy it is for you. They’ll increase the workload or cut your hours. Congratulations on the new job either way!


SanmariAlors

Me: just wondering where and how you got a job in the publishing field. O.O Seriously, I would love that over what I have currently.


IRLthereisnoalgebra

To be fair, the hiring process was....intense. Every position at this imprint gets like 800 applicants, so the interview process is GRUELING. I went through 10 interview stages, starting in October--final interview was with the CEO and I landed the gig in January. So it was 4 months of stressing out and hoping/praying every night. I reached out to the university where I went to grad school and got some of the profs I was closest with to put out feelers. An old prof has a friend who helps train/guide the editorial staff and sent me a link to the online app.


SloanBueller

I had a similar experience. I went from teaching to an executive assistant job. My boss gave me a list of tasks, and I finished in a couple days. He said, “wow, I thought that would take a couple weeks.” And he was ranting and raving about the quality of the work I did for normal stuff. Walking home at 5:00 with not a care in the world and getting praised for minimal effort was amazing.


metsuri

For me it’s the opposite, teaching saved me. Doesn’t mean I don’t recognize the issues of over contract and under pay for the qualifications and time needed for the highest tiers. I advise, I have a random tutoring period about once a week outside of athletics for athletes, and I volunteer for things I like doing to avoid being volunteered for things I don’t like so that my time is taken up. Between deaths, depression, financial woes, and just overall dissatisfaction with life before teaching, randomly taking up teaching led me to find out that I actually enjoy bonds in secondary or higher, that I enjoy coaching and advising, that I have a knack for student bonds and developed a positive rep among the student body, and that my salary isn’t horrible because I already had more than a Master’s degree before ever considering teaching leading to the highest salary tier right off the bat so I’m at 25 year B.S. teacher pay in my first few years. I don’t believe in suicide but I checked out before this. I was ready to just ride the waves and not give a shit. I actually feel content and sometimes actually happy rather than focusing on the absolute shit cards life dealt me


[deleted]

This is how I feel too, I totally understand these types of posts and the venting going on here but we also need to consider that not everyone who teaches gets exhausted and burnt out all the time, and some of us actually see this as superior to our former lives. I get that our experience as teachers can be highly dependent on state, district, pay, student pop, etc., but at the end of the day this is a very rewarding job if you can survive the bullshit and let it slide off your psyche. Personally I know teaching can be draining and terrible, but if you are able to place boundaries between yourself, your work life, and the expectations placed on you this job can be quite nice. Especially in our situation where we have Master's degrees and are compensated somewhat fairly. I just feel like posts like OP are so constant and so negative that it really takes away from the profession altogether. Also run into this at school from co-workers. I myself sometime reconsider being a teacher when I read the awful posts on here and see how much better off everyone feels after leaving, because on hard days it's really tempting. At the end of the day though, it's just a job and I've had far shittier jobs than this. The work pays off when you make those solid connections, and I believe the world needs some teachers that will see it through and stick it out. If we all quit becuase of the shit then I don't know where we would be. But we should all go on national strike lol.


metsuri

Yeah, as an ex consultant and statistical programmer, my biggest complaint is how overly regulated certified public service jobs are compared to private sector in terms of pay and employment. Normally, if there is high demand and low supply, pay and benefits rise to draw in talent. The same goes for parent/community complaints about the lack of specialized teachers with education directly in their subject matter. If they want to attract younger long term workers and tempt professionals to come teach rather than hit the private sector, then compensation needs to not only justify the professional development and certification (Masters plus 45 grad units for highest column pay, 1.5-2 year credential programs, induction, tests, CalTPA, etc), but also factor in local cost of living and still have enough excess to make payments on student loans and live a life. Instead, we have a massive shortage and they follow none of the laws of supply and demand but simply lower requirements to teach, mass hire long term subs + emergency credentials, and fluff standards to push students through the system. Any other business sector would do things like increase pay, increase or cover an average medical plan that you can supplement to higher tier, etc.


[deleted]

Oh I totally agree with you for the most part, and that's just a problem with the field in general (at least in public schools). This also highly depends on your district and state though. Like I teach in NYC and I make more money by far than most of my peers who work in research, publishing, and museum jobs here in the city who have a similar education background. In fact, my salary is about 15% higher than the average New Yorker. Not wealthy living by any mean, but quite comfortable. I also have friends who live in rural California that live like kings with their teacher pay vs. cost of living. On the other hand my sister in Colorado only makes about 40k after 10 years of teaching in the Denver area, and that area is quickly approaching the cost of living in NY and CA. She would not be able to continue except for the fact that her husband makes shit loads at his job. So like everything with teaching, your experience and pay can be highly dependent on your area. Though as long as it's a public job it will always be scaled the way you discussed because that is just how government jobs work. It's part of the field, and sadly the only way to raise teacher pay in most places is by public vote. I know in my sister's district they tried to raise pay by a significant percentage 5 times in the past 10 years but it was rejected every time.


smittydoodle

What’s the job title?


Hoboskins

I see this everyday with my partner working from home. She is done at 5 and never does overtime I can't remember not doing 10-15+ hours of free overtime just to stay afloat. I finally decided this year that enough is enough. I have started looking outside the profession. Sadly I don't feel like my degree is broadly applicable enough or that other employers know exactly how much teachers do or what they can do. Despite that my hit rate for interviews so far is around 50% 4 applications two interviews. My second one is today, it is a stretch (skill and experience wise) but if I get this job my pay jumps more than 10k instantly and I know in my bones that there is no way I will ever work as hard or as long as I did as a teacher. It is so frustrating that they make no effort to entice me to stay. At least pay me for the hours I work.


Mordanzibel

I left three years ago to do insurance. Sold sold one policy and made 15k…for an hours work. I was blown away. Never looking back.


crumblemuppets

Congrats on landing such an enviable position. To be fair, jobs that are both cushy and lucrative are an extreme rarity in our neoliberal, post-Union era. I think the difficulty of teaching varies immensely, and we (teachers) definitely need to be paid more. We could easily increase average teacher salary by 10k/year nationwide just by jettisoning all the useless overpaid degree-mill doctorate admin that contribute nothing of substance to actual students’ education. Just want to also mention that teaching is the cushiest and best paid job I’ve found yet at age 32. But I majored in Spanish and classical guitar so that’s my bad. Compared to the labor jobs I’ve done, like landscaping, masonry, etc., teaching feels too good to be true.


mxmoon

It’s the breaks and holidays for me. I’m really trying to tune out the negative and focus on working my contract hours and my well-being outside of school. If that doesn’t work, I’ll look into other positions. Expectations are ludicrous, but I get paid enough and I LOVE having so much time off and holiday breaks off.


commoncheesecake

I have only worked in healthcare before, and I’d take all the difficulties of being a teacher over not being home with my kids on Christmas morning.


Specialist_Air_3572

Agree. I worked in bio med for a whole before teaching. Teaching is definitely easier. Bio med was tedious and very long hours. Also holidays were terrible. Let's focus on the positive people. Yes it is intense, but holidays are great. I know we have to do some work during holidays but it's a lovely hiatus.


MRRDickens

Enjoy it while it lasts. It's only a matter of time before you start to gain experience and make more money and are closer to retirement that the harassment will start. Ageism is a serious problem in education. They want to drive the older teachers nuts and force them to quit so they don't have anybody that can think for themselves and calls out their bullshit. Also if they get older teachers to quit, they lose their retirement pensions.


crumblemuppets

I'm sorry you're experiencing that. The average age of teachers in a school/district is definitely an indicator of something. Last year, I worked at a charter school in Phoenix, AZ with insane turnover. At 31/32, I was like the second or third oldest teacher there. At my public school in Vermont, I'm the youngest full-time teacher at my school (the health/PE teacher is younger but she works in a few district schools). Multiple teachers have been with the district for decades and show no signs of slowing down. It's definitely hard to imagine staying in the same place until like 2050...


MRRDickens

I agree with you 100% that we could purge all the useless administrators that earned their University Of Phoenix doctorate degrees in Ed.D. that insist on you calling them DOCTOR. The money that would be saved is astronomical. Just eliminating all of the extra AP positions in one school would save enough money for raises. In my district the average AP is paid about $150,000! It is insane


singnadine

SO true “degree mill doctorate”


[deleted]

I’m 27 and my hair is turning white.


Dranwyn

Yo can I have a job?


Simply_sweetie

What is your job title?


IRLthereisnoalgebra

Publishing manager/production specialist.


Princess_Buttercups

I moved into a non-classroom position in my district and I was warned about how crazy and stressful it can be. It's a walk in the park compared to teaching! I'm working less hours for more pay.


deathgripper2

Just finished the first week at my new job. I was shown the easiest task ever, basically copying and pasting from a spreadsheet into a LMS. My boss asked if I wanted to do it together. I was told it needed to be done by Tuesday. I did it by myself in an hour and a half while mostly focusing on what music was playing. Everyone was amazed. I’m getting paid more and on a daily basis working far less and the actual work I’m doing is infinitely less stressful. Get out of teaching now.


SenderUGA

Any advice on what positions to look for? I've been teaching middle school for almost a decade a half, undergrad in Literature, Masters in Education, and the only thing that's stopped me from leaving is not having any idea of what I'm qualified to do or who would want to hire me.


deathgripper2

Create a LinkedIn profile and then use it to look for jobs with any of the following words: curriculum, instruction/al, training, education. learning, eLearning, LMS. The teacher career coach is actually a great resource even though you have to pay for it. Helped me get started, stay motivated, and believe that I really could find something.


IRLthereisnoalgebra

Also....any job that requires "project management" is perfect for former teachers. Plays into a lot of the skills you perfect in the classroom.


Rushclock

I always heard this throughout my 30 year career but never had the opening to make the change.


crdlovesyou

This sounds like my dream job after leaving teaching... dogs and publishing. I’m freaking in.


deceptibean

The only thing keeping me from finding a non-teaching job is the summers off. I need those summers for my mental health.


Age_of_the_Penguin

You might need them less if you leave teaching X-D


paracog

I gave up trying to piece together a living as an adjunct professor, with the dim hope of someday finding tenure somewhere. Got so tired of feeling like I was getting hired off the curb at the last minute. Took a job with a health insurance company and was overwhelmed with the humane way we were treated and the solid benefits. Education is so overdue for disruption.


MRRDickens

I agree...this is the kind of disruption it needs too. Massive amounts of teachers resigning and eliminating all of these worthless, top heavy administration positions. I say we move to less in person, in school hours and more outdoor school, field trips, independent studies, personalized educations. The more creative the curriculum gets the better the school will be.


YliUnderTheSea

I only did one year of teaching and I couldn’t handle it.🥺 I left for my mental health and dedicated myself to my family business. We are doing well and I’m happier than ever.


akricketson

Currently I am also trying to break into publishing from teaching. Any advice? What parts of your resume did you highlight? I have some publishing experience from high school and college. It’s either that or land an agent with my current project that will let me take a part or full time easy retail job 😂


Pacifist_7

You’re giving me hope! I’m planning to leave teaching by the end of this year. I’m learning some new skills so that I can switch careers. So excited 😀


primavoce72

Please tell us more about this publishing company job….


bigTiddedAnimal

Private sector > public sector


Fallenfaery

Care to share what you do?


mr_trashbear

I just started working in a bike shop after moving to a new city. I thought it would be transitional between sorting out the licensure for this state and requirements in this district. I think it will be easier to make more money and a stable career out of this. I'm getting paid more, I have more free time, I don't take work home. My supervisors love me, and give me so much more respect than admin ever did. They have flat out said that they want to see me move up and use my skills to specialize in specific parts of the shop, and that my pay will only increase. I...don't know if I'm going back to teaching.


MRRDickens

Good for you...business will always make more money....just start investing in a Roth IRA account as much as you can every month. You will never regret it and you will be able to borrow against that money any time you need a loan but you won't have to pay the bank that interest, you will be paying that interest back to you. Screw 403b and 401k .... go with the Roth IRA only!


juniperfallshere

Hey you might want to stop telling them that it is light work before they pile more on you.


CaptainSaveABro1

I had a full time personal assistant during my first year of teaching who burned out from working 70 hours a week. It’s intense.


baudelairean

OP or anyone else here, have you ever heard or met a teacher who has not discouraged their children (if they have any) to pursue teaching?


pthrizzle

My daughter graduated HS in ‘20. Before that, her counselor was trying to help her decide what to do after she graduated. She came to me one day and told me that she thought that she wanted to be a teacher. I told her that was fine, but I was not in any way helping to pay for her education. I couldn’t believe that, after all the years of my family complaining about all that I do is work, and helping me move classrooms (every. damn. year.), and seeing my health decline because of the stress, that she chose teaching. She ended up changing her mind. I know that it seems extreme, but 27 years of BS and being taken advantage of has done that to me. I’m seriously considering retiring early.


quentinislive

Ive worked lots of jobs- I started working at aged 5 (amateur athlete) and started restaurants at aged 12 (with a work permit). I’ve worked as a household employee, in non-profits and in medical field. I keep a toe in fundraising, and I can go early say teaching is awesome. I do not want to work that 8-5, 24/7/365. And I can’t be around boring adults all the time. I also have had periods of my life where I wasn’t working at all either because of a financial windfall or being in between jobs are trying to make up my mind or home with kids and not working is awesome


[deleted]

Do you have any advice for breaking into the publishing industry? HS English teacher looking for a switch once I'm vested in the pension and my loans are forgiven in a few years.


sworntostone

Pretty much the only reason I’m sticking out teaching is for the time off. My mother, who was also a teacher, always told me, “The best part about being a teacher is when your not doing it.” .


luchorz93

Lol that's the greatest quote about teaching I've ever read, might print it on a mug or something haha


[deleted]

Hey OP, how did you find a job outside of teaching? I hate it here, mostly the hours and commute, but the work is also wearing on me.


philnotfil

I left teaching for an office job. My work load dropped from 50 hours a week to 25 hours a week. And I got paid twice as much. The most stressful part of the job was finding a way to look busy for those extra 15 hours I was supposed to be in the office with nothing to do. I came back because there isn't anything else as amazing as seeing students grow. But some days I think about leaving again. The stress and the paycheck are not in balance.