Career Change for Unhappy Public School Teachers

Bob, Sandy, and Sherrill are friends and high school teachers in a working class suburb of a mid-size southern city. When they are together socially or at work, the topic of conversation often turns to  their jobs, more pointedly to their frustrations.

"After 19 years in this county, says Bob, I've had it. I make $50,000 a year. The politicians are talking about increasing pay again, but they won't. It's only a campaign ploy. Even if they do raise pay, the increase probably won't even cover the increased costs of my health insurance. I'm stuck in this job. My non-teacher friends make twice what I do or more. I feel like a permanent underachiever," Sandy chimes in "People don't seem to understand how difficult it is to be a teacher. They think we have a 'cushy' job, summers off. I bust my rear end trying to get a summer gig and I’m tired from working extra duty jobs just to increase my income enough to adequately meet the needs of my family.  Sherill says, "I'm burned out. Working with special needs students day in and day out is so wearing on me. Sometimes I have adequate support but sometimes I don’t. And I'm ignoring my family with after school responsibilities, and work at home. I don't see anything changing. I wish there was something else I could do."

If you're a public school teacher you may have entered the field because you wanted to be a positive influence on students, like some of the best teachers you had. You were dedicated to student learning and committed to working with the students who you love. Maybe you saw teaching as a noble profession where regular challenges would stimulate you to constantly improve your skills to work with an increasingly diverse population. You may have earned an education degree and teaching certificate to pursue interests in your field and to assume a positive role in shaping the future. You may not have been focused on the implications of working for a public school system when you started out, the difficulties with working with the students in your school district, the administrative requirements you would have that prevent you from doing "real" teaching, or the effects of a below par salary compared to friends and family, or on being able to support a family.

So, you're 40+ years old, are a single parent or married with increasing expenses related to providing educational opportunities for your 2 school age children. Your salary is all or a substantial piece of your family income. You have great medical insurance and are invested in a retirement plan. In fact you may view your retirement plan as the most serious barrier because even if you make more money in a new career now or eventually, the opportunity to retire with a pension at a relatively young age could be lost. That may have been one of the reasons you decided to teach in a public school system. The other big benefit of medical insurance could also be a serious barrier, if chronic illness exists with you or your family. So, is this a time to consider a career move or are you destined to be trapped in this job for the rest of your career? What can a public school teacher do?

There is hope.... if you're ready and willing to consider making changes!. And change is not easy, especially when you are in a discouraging rut. Paradoxically, the deeper the rut the more difficult it may seem to dig out. We can talk about dissatisfaction and wanting to make a change, but the difficult decisions are first deciding whether you think you are ready to make a change even if it's feasible. Some of us talk about change, but know we'll never do it. If you think a change is feasible, next is deciding what you're going to do, and finally taking the steps to execute the change. Fortunately, some changes can take place gradually which may make them more feasible. My next post on Alternative Career Strategies for Unhappy Public School Teachers will address some career changes that can realistically be made using a public school teaching background.

Note: Important contributions to this 2 part series of articles were made by Gail Simon, M.Ed. Gail has spent her entire career as an educator and administrator in a variety of public and private educational settings. She currently is a group facilitator in an after school drug program for substance abusers and their families.