I think teaching picks you. I served in the Navy for 8.5 years. The last three years I was in I was an instructor. That is when I found out that my time in the military was over. I got out in 04 and started taking classes to become a Technology Education teacher. I will be conducting student teaching next fall.
My advice to you is if you start taking education class one of the first classes you should take is a class that requires you to conduct field observations in a public school. When you do your observations. Arrive at the same time as your cooperating teacher and leave at the same time. Then ask yourself the following questions: Can I do this every day? Granted you get summers off. Can I do this for the rest of my life?
Some other things to consider. You will have to write curriculum, grade papers, develop tests, and other things.
As far as teaching in Pennsylvania goes, it is one of the best states to teach in.The pay when starting is not great. However, after several years (10-20) in one school district most schools will give you a $10,000-$30,000 a year increase in your pay. The best part is the retirement. It is the best retirement program in the state and one of the best government retirement programs in the country. Another plus for military is that you can count your active duty time towards your retirement
I agree that jobs in western PA are few and far between, but your military experience is a plus on your resume.
If you have any other questions feel free to pm me.
im going to be starting at SRU in the spring for edu. from the people i have talked to (old h/s principal, my cousin who is currently a special ed. teacher in virginia, and vairous other teachers) pa isnt a bad place to work if you can get into the right school. im not worried about moving after i graduate either. pa sucks i wanna get out of here. winter blows and having a summer off when it just rains the whole time isnt that appealing. i would like some more input from people that are teaching now. im most likley gonna try for english/art.
i picked it as my major because i figured if im teaching highschool kids i think i can make a difference. also, i was so bad in highschool i dont think there is anything i havent done/seen so i have a good idea on how to relate to the kids. i always liked the teachers that were cool and for that reason none of the kids would act up in their class. i think there is alot to being a teacher you cant learn in school. i just hope my tattoos dont become a issue when getting a job.:ugh2:
My Dad was (is??) a teacher in PA. He was a social studies teacher. Right out of school he got hired as a fill-in for another social studies teacher who took a sebaticle (spelling?). When he came back my Dad was given a subbing job at the same school. He worked that for a year and went on to start his own business. He did that for a number of years and ended up going back to teaching. He subbed at a different school for 3 or 4 years and was THE BEST sub they had. He was working every single day for someone. Well as it turns out, about 1/4 into the year the social studies teacher had a heart attack and my Dad took up the class for the remainder of the year. He got excellent reviews from the faculty. The kids there liked him (except the bad ones, he was pretty strict). Basically everyone there knew he was going to keep the job with his experience and high standings. Well to make a long story short they ended up hiring one of the school board member’s relatives instead of my Dad. When they announced it at the school board meeting he just stood up and told them all to fuck off… he’s never taught another day of school since then. Now he works as a welder for a Zinc smelting plant.
One of my best friends is also a teacher. Her mom is a teacher too (actually my social studies teacher in high school). She just graduated and got a job teaching in a private school for kids with behavior problems. Some are autistic and some have mild MR. She has the 12 - 15 year olds. There are some days she will say she loves it and other days she wants to strangle everyone of those little fuckers. But you’ll have that at any job. But every summer she loves her job… and I am jealous while i still go to work every day.