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Permalink Reply by LShieldes on June 12, 2012 at 5:34pm

Help me with more of the story.  You applied to one school and didn't get the position.  Is that the sole reason you lost "faith" in teaching?

 

And now you want us to tell you every other field where you might get a job but will have to send in multiple applications, have multiple interviews and won't be considered for the vast majority but have a slight chance something might happen?

 

If you have any technical skills you can always try to become a tech instructor, many firms are looking for someone who can teach and has the technical know how.

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Permalink Reply by Daniel on June 12, 2012 at 5:40pm

There is a large supply of social studies teachers and low demand for them. I applied to other schools that had openings (though social studies openings are rare) and have no luck. It's become obvious that schools will hire people with several years of experience first and I am not seeing much hope for a new teaching of history graduate. At this point I want a profession that can offer a better chance at getting a decent career and I cannot afford to waste years hoping schools will call me. Business/finance has been a growing interest of mine while I was in school, and it is not something I would hate.

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Permalink Reply by JonEdanger on June 12, 2012 at 5:41pm

decent jobs that are good for accounting majors.

FBI.

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Permalink Reply by ARK on June 12, 2012 at 8:41pm

Are you pursuing a master's in accounting because you're genuinely interested in that or because you think it's a quick way to get a job? 

If you "lost faith" in an entire profession because you got turned down for one job, that doesn't say a lot about your persistence or your ability to follow through with something. This is not the best time to be applying for teaching positions because a lot of school districts simply can't afford to hire new people right now. You may want to look at private schools, but the good ones usually won't hire someone right out of college and the mediocre ones generally don't pay well (even compared to what teachers normally make). 

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Permalink Reply by Daniel on June 12, 2012 at 9:34pm

I am pursuing a Masters in Accounting primarily because it will help me get a job, though it is not something I would hate. I do want to be a teacher, but it is near impossible at this point to teach anywhere. I've attended career fairs and it takes me close to two hours to talk to one recruiter because of the long line of other teachers. I do not want to have false hope and I have only two options: Hope that I will get a teaching spot or go to graduate school and gain some employable skills in accounting.

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Permalink Reply by ARK on June 13, 2012 at 4:43pm

Have you considered applying for Teach For America? Granted, it's meant for people who don't intend to make teaching their career, but it would give you some more experience. 

Describing a job as something you "wouldn't hate" is a red flag that you shouldn't be doing it. I almost made that mistake in going to law school and was able to realize it before I threw away $150,000 that I didn't have. 

If you want to complain about long lines at career fairs, tell that to the millions of other people in this country who haven't been able to find work. You say you had a temporary position at a school. Have you asked any of the people you used to work with if they know of any districts that are hiring? I'm a schoolteacher's kid and one thing I learned from my mother was that the hiring system in education is very labyrinthine and job openings often aren't even posted (they end up going to people who already work there or people who know someone who works there). Even if you don't see any openings at career fairs or online, send them your resume anyway. 

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Permalink Reply by Will on June 12, 2012 at 10:03pm

If you lost faith in a profession because you didn't get one particular job, that's the problem, not the profession.  Lots of us get turned down from jobs sometimes, even if it looks likely.  I suggest trying again, unless you don't think you would like teaching history.

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Permalink Reply by Christopher M. Bartone on June 13, 2012 at 6:57pm

You can talk about losing faith in teaching after applying to about a hundred social studies jobs (like I did) and not getting a job, not after only one.  That's not a huge blow to your career, it's a wake-up call.  A huge blow would be not passing Praxis or having a criminal record so you could never get licensed.  Here's a tip: department chairs don't hire teachers, the principals do.  If you're really serious about teaching, my advice is to go out and get a pupil activity permit (or whatever they call it in the state you're licensed in) so you can coach something; that's how you get hired as a social studies teacher.  Depressing and cynical?  Yes but that's the reality of the profession right now; humanities don't rate as high as math and science thanks to NCLB.

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Permalink Reply by Native Son on June 14, 2012 at 11:42am

If it's just temporary employment...Just about anything involving the term "Do you want fries with that?" would do.

If it's permanent employment, you'll want to start "professionally networking" with folks you know outside of the education and history departments.

I would suggest, despite all the recent bad press that you check out the USA JOBS web site.

That's the initial point for just about all career federal civil service jobs.

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Permalink Reply by Karl Helweg on June 14, 2012 at 12:04pm

Your history teaching resume will look a lot better when you can show that you actually participated in historic events.  Being a veteran will open many jobs and advanced education benifits to you as well.  Turn this disappointment into an opportunity to do something exciting like jumping out of perfectly good planes for a couple years. 

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Permalink Reply by Daniel on June 14, 2012 at 5:54pm

I am not interested in joining the military and I would rather go to Iraq than to work at McDonalds. No offense to anyone working in that type of environment. I think I will keep applying for teaching spots until the summer ends. Are there warehouse distribution centers who will hire people with BA's? I would like to work in any type of office setting because I'm good with organizing paper work. I do have a minor in economics. That is probably my plan B, but is it feasible?

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