So I had an interview for a non-teaching job yesterday. Yesterday was also the last day for me to accept a particular teaching job.
The interview did not go great, in my opinion. I don't have the skill set that the company was looking for, I wasn't feeling 100%, and I really didn't sell myself well. I tried to emphasize that I'm good at learning, very organized, my strengths, while also being honest that I really don't have the skill set they are looking for -- but that I think what they are looking for can be learned. I didn't go home feeling great about it.
I have been looking at all sorts of job descriptions online, hoping that almost anything other than teaching would jump out at me as a great choice, a fantastic career move, the right job to bridge my teaching skills and expertise in the education world with a financially more lucrative career. Though a few jobs at the state department of education looked intriguing to me, I didn't sell myself well enough on my resume and cover letter to merit an interview, and I don't have a personal connection to anyone at the state department of education to give me that extra push forward in the hiring process.
So I let the principal of the school where I will be teaching in the fall know that I am "so excited" to be joining them in the fall.
The truth is, half of me still wants to stay home and work on my own things -- take care of the to-do list, drive kids to and from school, take the "baby" to storytime at the library, spend time in the craft room, be available for all of the last minute things. The other half of me wants to be paid (so much) more than what a teacher can earn for giving up the availability, the presence, the time that I've been able to give by going back to work.
The reality is that staying home is not a viable long-term option for me, unless somehow my hobby of making things turns into a profitable business, and I'm not really interested in that. At some point, I've got to start putting money back into savings, instead of just pulling it out. I'm the more educated and more experienced earner in my family, too; my earning capacity (even as a teacher, the most underpaid profession on the planet, followed closely by nursing) outpaces my husband's.
I'm not super thrilled to be heading back into a classroom. The planning and teaching -- those are fine. The having to wait until another adult is available in order to use the bathroom, the very sad family situations some kids bring to the classroom, the meetings all the time and the expectation that I will give 500 percent of myself to my job -- those I could do without.
But I'm officially stopping the job search, for this year. I'll be earning a decent paycheck, instead of drawing money from savings. I'll have at least one of my children at the school with me (hopefully two of them, but we have to keep checking on the pre-k spot -- she's the only one we're uncertain of at this point, for the fall); one in daycare, and I'm satisfied that I know and like the program coordinator. The principal of this school seems like she is all business and knows what she likes.
I am going to turn down the offer to teach at my oldest's current school, and she'll be moving with me to my new school. While there are things I really like about the program she is in, some of them are the exact same things that make me not want to teach in that program. (Things that are great for students are sometimes a whole lot more work for teachers.) My oldest's school for sure had a spot for miss middle in pre-K, so that feels like a little bit of a loss -- but I'm going to trust that it will work out as it should, and that if she can't get into a pre-K program at my school or hubby's school, that there will be a spot for her in day care with baby brother. Pre-K would be preferable, of course.
And in the meantime, I'll be trying to figure out a five year plan -- something that will let me go back to school, study a field with higher earning potential and less day-to-day stress than teaching, and also spend time with my family. That is the biggest perk of teaching, of course -- having (mostly) the same daily schedule and holidays as my kids. I'm going to choose to look at this as the best option for right now -- I'm available when they are available (ok, not for the "baby" who will be 2 in the fall), and I'm earning something rather than just spending something.
The interview did not go great, in my opinion. I don't have the skill set that the company was looking for, I wasn't feeling 100%, and I really didn't sell myself well. I tried to emphasize that I'm good at learning, very organized, my strengths, while also being honest that I really don't have the skill set they are looking for -- but that I think what they are looking for can be learned. I didn't go home feeling great about it.
I have been looking at all sorts of job descriptions online, hoping that almost anything other than teaching would jump out at me as a great choice, a fantastic career move, the right job to bridge my teaching skills and expertise in the education world with a financially more lucrative career. Though a few jobs at the state department of education looked intriguing to me, I didn't sell myself well enough on my resume and cover letter to merit an interview, and I don't have a personal connection to anyone at the state department of education to give me that extra push forward in the hiring process.
So I let the principal of the school where I will be teaching in the fall know that I am "so excited" to be joining them in the fall.
The truth is, half of me still wants to stay home and work on my own things -- take care of the to-do list, drive kids to and from school, take the "baby" to storytime at the library, spend time in the craft room, be available for all of the last minute things. The other half of me wants to be paid (so much) more than what a teacher can earn for giving up the availability, the presence, the time that I've been able to give by going back to work.
The reality is that staying home is not a viable long-term option for me, unless somehow my hobby of making things turns into a profitable business, and I'm not really interested in that. At some point, I've got to start putting money back into savings, instead of just pulling it out. I'm the more educated and more experienced earner in my family, too; my earning capacity (even as a teacher, the most underpaid profession on the planet, followed closely by nursing) outpaces my husband's.
I'm not super thrilled to be heading back into a classroom. The planning and teaching -- those are fine. The having to wait until another adult is available in order to use the bathroom, the very sad family situations some kids bring to the classroom, the meetings all the time and the expectation that I will give 500 percent of myself to my job -- those I could do without.
But I'm officially stopping the job search, for this year. I'll be earning a decent paycheck, instead of drawing money from savings. I'll have at least one of my children at the school with me (hopefully two of them, but we have to keep checking on the pre-k spot -- she's the only one we're uncertain of at this point, for the fall); one in daycare, and I'm satisfied that I know and like the program coordinator. The principal of this school seems like she is all business and knows what she likes.
I am going to turn down the offer to teach at my oldest's current school, and she'll be moving with me to my new school. While there are things I really like about the program she is in, some of them are the exact same things that make me not want to teach in that program. (Things that are great for students are sometimes a whole lot more work for teachers.) My oldest's school for sure had a spot for miss middle in pre-K, so that feels like a little bit of a loss -- but I'm going to trust that it will work out as it should, and that if she can't get into a pre-K program at my school or hubby's school, that there will be a spot for her in day care with baby brother. Pre-K would be preferable, of course.
And in the meantime, I'll be trying to figure out a five year plan -- something that will let me go back to school, study a field with higher earning potential and less day-to-day stress than teaching, and also spend time with my family. That is the biggest perk of teaching, of course -- having (mostly) the same daily schedule and holidays as my kids. I'm going to choose to look at this as the best option for right now -- I'm available when they are available (ok, not for the "baby" who will be 2 in the fall), and I'm earning something rather than just spending something.
Life and money and jobs and families. Adulting is hard as they say. I hope that your new job proves to be good in more ways that you can anticipate . . . and that you find your groove and a way to keep making all the beautiful things you do!
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