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Job Title: Teacher
Type of Company: I work for a school district in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Education: BS,Biology •• Master's of Arts in Teaching
Previous Experience: I have worked as a teacher for 10 years. Prior to that, I was in school doing small jobs like lifeguarding and teaching swimming lessons.
Job Tasks: I'm a teacher. What don't I do? I teach, I tutor, I counsel, I hand out band-aids, I grade papers, I create lesson plans, I inspire, I mentor other teachers, I tell teenagers to stop texting, I collaborate, I attend meetings, I talk to parents on the phone, I meet with parents and students, I make copies, I repair copiers, I help students edit their work, I empty my own recycling and clean my room, I don't get to sit down to eat lunch, and I rarely go to the bathroom. I am sometimes the parents that my students do not have or need to have. It is amazing the amount of stuff that teachers do during the course of the day.
Best and Worst Parts of the Job: The best part of my work is the fact that I get to change lives. It may not be obvious at first, but slowly I am helping teenagers to grow up and become productive adults who have the ability to make good decisions.
The worst part is that there is no flexibility in my schedule. If I need to use the bathroom...too bad. If I have to go to the doctor, I need to schedule it after 4 pm. Good luck with that! Often I wait to do everything, like doctor and dentist appointments, oil changes, etc. in the summer.
Job Tips: You will change the world, but you may not know it for a long time. You have to be willing to play the game of public education, but it's often worth the effort. If you want to be a teacher, you must work very hard, but you must also be willing to accept the fact that you cannot do everything. You do the very best with the amount of time and energy that you have.
Additional Thoughts: Teaching is a great career! Don't let the relatively low salary and lack of flexibility deter you. There are very few jobs where you get the opportunity to affect the lives of others so greatly.
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