How did you land the job that you have now?

[JaMarcus Russell's #1 Caucasian Fan 0]

Short story: Got my BA in history this past December. I don't have a job and I am still uncertain what I want to do for the rest of my life. I want to go to grad school, but I want to to be totally sure that I really want to go. Teaching is an option for me, and honestly I not really interested in it.

 

So for you guys that are out in the "real world", how did you find the job you are currently at? And TSM teachers, would you recommend teaching for me?

[Vampiro69 0]

First of all even ,though you have the BA in History does California require you to take educational courses before you teach? Do you have a foreign language background? Many states, certainly the ones in the south, require a foreign language background. For example, many states (such as the one I am employed with) require you to get your History degree in education before you can teach.

 

My degree from college is a B.S degree is History Education with a minor in Political Science. If you are unsure of whether you want to teach or not ask yourself if you are able to tolerate kids being lazy, smartassed, correcting papers, over-reactive parents and low pay. If you can tolerate the previously mentioned ideas and enjoy the idea of having 3 months of vacation during the summer then education is a good career choice.

 

You also asked how I got my job. Quite simply I went on the job service website for ND, sent of a couple of resumes to various schools, had one interview with a school and they hired me a couple of days later.

 

If you have any other questions, ask away, I will try to respond to the best of my abilities. (which isn't saying much)

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

So for you guys that are out in the "real world", how did you find the job you are currently at? And TSM teachers, would you recommend teaching for me?

 

No, especially if you're not that interested in it.

[vivalaultra 0]

I teach 8th and 10th grade English in Texas and I agree with uh...I forget who that was that posted above me that advised against going into teaching if you don't really want to do it. It seems like there's a good portion of people that get Liberal Arts degrees and, after they graduate, if they don't have any other idea of what job they want to do, they figure they'll go into teaching. Teaching requires a whole Hell of a lot more work than most people realize or give credit for. I work at a charter school that, while state accredited, doesn't have a set curriculum. It's basically up to the teachers to select texts and topics to teach that will reflect the state standards. On top of the actual 40+ hours a week of actual teaching I do, there's assloads of lesson planning, grading, researching, etc. It's most likely different at normal schools that have set curriculum, but there's more to teaching that just reading answers out of a textbook. And on top of that, there's the whole aspect of dealing with all of the students-different personalities, backgrounds, learning styles, etc.-and the other faculty. If you absolutely can't imagine spending 90% of your time around typical teenagers, you might not enjoy teaching that much. Another thing that might come up-when I got my degree in English and decided to go into teaching, I figured it would be a great fit. I mean, I love reading and talking about literature and writing and all that, so I thought that there would be nothing better than spending all of my time discussing that with other people. However, there's certainly the problem that a large portion of the people that I discuss these things with have a lot less experience and enthusiasm than I do when it comes to books and writing, so sometimes it can be a downer when I go into class all pumped up to discuss Lord of the Flies or something about writing a thesis statement and the kids just couldn't care less about it.

 

Personally, I love teaching and I couldn't picture doing anything else; I find that all the good outweighs the bad, but if you don't have an absolute passion for teaching, like enough passion to deal with all of the time it takes to make lesson plans and do grading and all of the little stuff and to deal with people who, by nature of their age, can be extremely hard to deal with, then you might not want to go that route. If anything, I'd recommend doing a little substitute teaching so you can see what you might be getting into before you make a decision. And if you seriously want to get into teaching, the best thing is to get your resume done quickly (be sure to highlight stuff that pertains to your mastery in content and your experience dealing with people) and get ready to just file it at every school in your area. The end of the year is coming up in a few months and schools are probably going to start negotiating with current teachers and seeing what their needs for next year are pretty soon.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

I got my job through connections and good timing. Friend had just been hired for a company, gave me a name of someone to send my resume without any particular job in mind just for kicks, and they called back in a few days because they had an open slot they thought I might fill.

 

If you just graduated, do you have any access to your college's career center? Generally, recent alums can get assistance on resume tailoring, working job fairs/connections/etc. for free or for a very small fee. They may also be able to point you towards some career paths you haven't thought of yet.

[JaMarcus Russell's #1 Caucasian Fan 0]

First of all even ,though you have the BA in History does California require you to take educational courses before you teach? Do you have a foreign language background? Many states, certainly the ones in the south, require a foreign language background. For example, many states (such as the one I am employed with) require you to get your History degree in education before you can teach.

 

My degree from college is a B.S degree is History Education with a minor in Political Science. If you are unsure of whether you want to teach or not ask yourself if you are able to tolerate kids being lazy, smartassed, correcting papers, over-reactive parents and low pay. If you can tolerate the previously mentioned ideas and enjoy the idea of having 3 months of vacation during the summer then education is a good career choice.

 

You also asked how I got my job. Quite simply I went on the job service website for ND, sent of a couple of resumes to various schools, had one interview with a school and they hired me a couple of days later.

 

If you have any other questions, ask away, I will try to respond to the best of my abilities. (which isn't saying much)

 

Well, to answer everybody's question, I am going to take the CBEST (required to take in California to substitute teach) in April. I'm not too sure about other requirements though.

 

I don't think I would mind teaching elementary school kids, I don't really know about high school, though. I think what makes me think twice is the low pay in general, and the abuse teachers get from students, parents, admin.

 

[Ripper 0]

Temp agency.

 

 

[EricMM 0]

Knowing somebody, knowing someone just quit there, and four years experience in a related field.

 

Emphasis on the first one...

[The Metal Maniac 0]

Funny story.

 

I went down to the Wal-Mart that was opening up, about 6-7 years ago now, and said "I want a job so I can pay for University!" They gave me a job.

 

So I went to University. And I got myself a BA in History. And I also was not keen on the idea of being a teacher. Nor did I know what else to do.

 

Guess where I *still* work?

 

Fucking Wal-Mart.

 

 

[the max 0]

I sent my resume through careerbuilder.com. And I still have the job 3.5 years later.

[Brett Favre 0]

I might get a job tomorrow because my friend is hooking me up.

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

My pay isn't actually that bad, with my Masters Degree. My wife is also a teacher with an MA, so we are doing quite well financially right now (no debts, low bills). I just don't like teaching very much, and today's faculty meeting absolutely cemented that for me.

 

Teachers probably make less than similarly highly educated people, though.

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

I quit smoking pot for three days and filled out an application.

[Jingus 0]

Teachers probably make less than similarly highly educated people, though.

True dat. My mom's been a special education teacher for over thirty years, with a sterling track record and a masters degree from the Peabody school at Vanderbilt, which is arguably the best education program in the world. She still gets paid less than a rookie accountant makes in their first year. Don't even think about becoming a teacher if you like to have money.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Temp agency.

 

[NoCalMike 0]

A friend of a friend was a supervisor of one of the programs. I filled out an application, name-dropped a little, got an interview, then a panel interview, and I was good to go.

 

I am still currently at the job, but I hate it and am looking for other work.....for more read my blog

[Dobbs 3K 0]

I basically bought my current job (franchise business).

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

...and today's faculty meeting absolutely cemented that for me.

 

What happened?

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

Majoring in English Lit. People always ask me if I want to teach. The answer is no.

 

How I obtained two jobs:

 

Job #1: Right place, right time.

 

Job #2: I volunteered until I was offered a position.

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

...and today's faculty meeting absolutely cemented that for me.

 

What happened?

 

Faculty meetings tend to suck in general--just a forum to be bitched at by administration and to hear teachers bitch about everything. This one was just particularly bad. Communication between administration and faculty tends to be a major problem at the school where I teach, as does micromanagement from the county board of education.

[Vampiro69 0]

Also, if you get sick easily, I recommend that you don't go into teaching. We have an influenza outbreak going on in my small town of 1200. Of the 120 students at the 7-12 HS, 25 are out sick with the flu.

 

I swear it is like the movie Outbreak up here.

[Fuzzy Dunlop 0]

Funny story.

 

I went down to the Wal-Mart that was opening up, about 6-7 years ago now, and said "I want a job so I can pay for University!" They gave me a job.

 

So I went to University. And I got myself a BA in History. And I also was not keen on the idea of being a teacher. Nor did I know what else to do.

 

Guess where I *still* work?

 

Fucking Wal-Mart.

 

Same story, except replace History with English and Wal-Mart with Borders.

[Twisted Intestine 0]

Also, if you get sick easily, I recommend that you don't go into teaching. We have an influenza outbreak going on in my small town of 1200. Of the 120 students at the 7-12 HS, 25 are out sick with the flu.

 

I swear it is like the movie Outbreak up here.

 

Pfft, 15 of them are faking it to miss school.

[Brett Favre 0]

Should I work at Primerica?

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

I would generally avoid working for any company that has huge recruiting days at convention centers and requires you to pay them to start working there. Do you really want to be a sleazy insurance salesman?

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

Should I work at Primerica?

 

They offered me a job as well last year; It seems so hit-or-miss, like I was selling used cars or something.

 

I don't know, maybe you're more comfortable working on commission than I am, but I didn't like the sounds of it. The girl who got me the interview used to work at Wal*Mart with me. She was the fiancee of the guy who offered it to me; She specifically made a point to ask me about it when I was drunk.

 

Oh yeah, she's back at Wal*Mart with me now.

[randomguy 0]

I went through a technical recruiter. I am a software engineer/architect, I make 6 figures and boss a few people around.

 

If you aren't interested in teaching then don't teach. It's a job for the enthusiastic only. You won't like it and it sucks for the kids too.

 

If you are into politics you could try to get work at a think tank, I imagine they like history types.

 

 

[Scroby 0]

careerbuilder.com

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Should I work at Primerica?

 

No. Google it if you want to amuse yourself with horror stories. It's basically a multi-level marketing scheme that seems slightly more legitimate because they're owned by CitiGroup, but that's about it.

[King Kamala 0]

I had an interview at Primerica. It lasted rougly two minutes before they told me I wasn't qualified (I didn't have a car at the time). Thank God. That whole place just screamed sleazy.