Quote:
Originally Posted by vaticanplum
In a word: jobs. I decided to get a terminal degree because I wanted to teach at the college level; grad school has confirmed that the ONLY thing I want to do with this degree is teach at the college level. Then I read stuff like this and kind of want to throw myself off a bridge. The jobs barely exist and are getting slashed even more every day.
I *like* school just fine, though I don't seem to be as enamored of it as a lot of my classmates, or rather, they seem more willing to completely give their entire lives over to it than I am. I absolutely love teaching. I think I am good at it. But I don't think I love it enough to take on random adjunct positions here and there, supplement it with jobs I don't care about, worry about insurance, not qualify for public service loan forgiveness (you need to be employed full-time by a non-profit), and worry about job security every six months. It just looks very bleak at this time and I don't know that the investment is worth it.
My program is only two years and I'm definitely finishing one year. I think it makes the most sense to stick it out, but I still wonder. I started this topic on a night when I was up half the night choreographing a movement piece to consonants in a Shakespeare monologue for my Saturday 9 am class. With a chest cold. Those don't tend to be my finest moments.
It's interesting to hear people's take on things...those of you who did quit, did you feel that the financial investment you had put in was a waste? It's also interesting to hear of Yachtzee not considering himself an academic and being pulled in directions he didn't want to be, which is something I deal with too. |
Well, if you enjoy teaching, but don't necessarily want to be an "academic" and don't want to get stuck in the "adjunct teaching part-time at (insert local community college/ITT Tech) role," You could always consider teaching overseas. My brother and his wife both got masters degrees in education, tried finding jobs in various school districts here, but then decided to try teaching overseas, first in China, then Oman. They get their housing taken care of, premium pay and benefits, and end up with enough money to spend all their vacation time traveling.