i hate my cushy bullshit job where i make obscene amounts of money. should i quit my job and become a teacher? here’s what i’m thinking so far:
pros:
- i won’t hate my job anymore
- my job is a real job where i actually contribute to society
- summer vacation sounds dope
cons:
- maybe i still hate my job
- my job would be a real job where i do work
- i won’t make obscene amounts of money
- wtf grad school is expensive
alternatively, are there other jobs i should try to do instead? mind you i have no skills and would probably need to go back to school.
I’ve been teaching for a long time, and honestly the answer is… maybe
It can vary a lot from state to state, municipality and school to school. There’s no guarantee it’s going to be better or more fulfilling than your current job, but it might be. Anyway, feel free to DM me with questions if you like.
You should make yourself financially bulletproof first, and have some investments. You’ll have to do real work, which might not be something you’re used to doing. Don’t delude yourself that it’ll be easy, your current job is undoubtedly easier than teaching.
But that said, yes you should, if it’s not stupid for you to do it. You can’t help change the system by helping capitalists, the best thing a leftist can do is either join a union or become a teacher. Pick a job to make money, or to help society. The middle ground exists purely to make losers feel better about existing inside capitalism.
Talk to me in six months! I went from STEM work to substitute teaching to now completing an alternative certification program. Definitely DO NOT go to graduate school. If you do not have an education background, you will have to slog through 2-4 semester of prerequisites.
I strongly encourage you to try substitute teaching or para-educator work to see if that environment actually works for you. For me, I do best in heavily structured environments with little screen time, in care work, and in public facing roles. Teaching hits all of my buttons.
I’m in the same situation and the unhelpful answer is that it really just depends on whether the trade offs are worth it to you. I left academia because the pay is unsurvivable. I’m now in private industry (yuck) but I don’t have to skip meals and hand wash my laundry any more. I don’t have any employees (I am the employee) so I’m not exploiting people and don’t feel guilty really but obviously I wish I was working for state-owned industry or employee-owned industry. I dislike my job but I think I dislike being impoverished even more. I’m not ‘rich’ but I never want to be on the verge of homelessness. I’ve found that cutting back on work hours to do hobbies I enjoy helps a lot. I’m thinking of saving up enough to take a few weeks to a year off at some point to do other shit. Sort of like living two lives.
Use your money to fund communism
