I want to work in a medical career? which is highest paying.

Any ex-teachers out there? i've been a teacher for 7 years, but i want a new career...?

• I was an art history major in college, but after I graduated and couldn't find a job, I knew I needed to do something else. I decided to be a teacher because the hours seemed good, got summers, off, and I didn't want to work in an office somewhere. So I went back to school for my credential. I started out teaching English at a a public middle school. The facility and resources were amazing, but the students were terrible: rude, disrespectful, and very hard to teach. Two years later, I changed schools. I taught middle school again, but at a private religious school. Things were pretty good, much better students, parent support, good pay. But since it was a private school, I was overloaded with classes, having to teach 6th, 7th, and 8th grade English and history. It was too much - I would stay every night until 8pm planning, grading, and having parent conferences. So 3 years later I quit. Then, I started teaching ESL (English as a second language to adults) which I am still doing now. It was a relief at first not having to deal with 13 year old kids, but somehow this job is the worst of all. The pay is extremely low, the administrators are terrible, the facility is terrible, and the expectations on teachers are outrageous. Plus, since the adult students are paying for school themselves, they feel entitled to get anything they want from teachers- and administrators support that! And we get in trouble if the students aren't happy. So, two years later, I'm really done with teaching. I don't want to do it at all! No tutoring jobs, no reading specialist or special ed certification to work with small groups, no changing grade levels or schools, no hr training. I'm completely done with teaching in any capacity. I want a completely new career. If it's related to education that's fine, as long as it isn't teaching or tutoring. Also, I don't want to get another Master's degree. I already have one in Education. But, I wouldn't mind taking some sort of certificate course if needed. I've already looked into administration, but I would need previous experience and another credential. I've also looked into textbook publishers and curriculum writing, but those jobs are so few and far between and require 5-10 years previous experience. I don't want to work with kids at all- no daycare, pre-school, or babysitting. I was interested in museum education, but again, the jobs are few and far between and often require previous museum teaching experience which I don't have. I'd be glad to do something completely different, accounting, lab work, medical, anything. The problem is most jobs want you to have a degree in the area and previous experience. I can't afford to go back to school for any length of time, nor do I really want to. But, I might not have a choice. But by the time I finish years of school, get some experience, and build up my resume in a new field, it might be too late and I'll realize I don't like that career either. And I would have just wasted a bunch of time, which is how I got stuck with teaching. If anyone has some helpful suggestions, let me know. Especially if you are an ex-teacher, let me know what job you transitioned to and how you did it. Thanks!

• Answer:

  Your story is a sad one but perhaps not unique. A current statistic is that 50% of new teachers quit by the fifth year. You made it a little further but only by changing jobs several times. I can feel your burnout and frustration in your posting. I have experienced some of what your felt but was always able to hang in an make some change in my situation so that I was refreshed. I just retired after 38 years in the same school district, always in primary grades. I do have friends who quit teaching and were able to transfer to other kinds of jobs. The trick is to get something that has benefits and a steady salary. What about working as a publisher's representative - not writing books, but representing them. You would be the person who would go to schools to orient the teachers to a new book series. Everyone I ever met was a former teacher. There are many publishers. You have enough experience to be attractive to them. What was your original career goal in art history? You couldn't find a job right out of college. With your additional education and work experience, you may be just what someone is looking for now. Before exploring something totally unrelated, go back to your roots.