Career Choices

[shann]

So, last year I quit my job as an elementary school teacher. I had been teaching for 15 years, but the stress of education right now was more than I could handle. The lack of respect for me as a professional and the lack of care by the "powers that be" about what is developmentally right for my students got to be too much for me to handle. I was crying all the time and frankly miserable except for those few minutes a day that I got to close my door and be with my kids (students). My family was getting the worst of me.

I started back to graduate school in Information Sciences. Right now, I'm on the School Library track but I'm doubting more every day that I want to go back into the school system.

Tonight, I was talking to my husband about all this (bless his heart, I'm always talking about it) I have a 4.0 in graduate school. The professor I have this semester is supposed to be the hardest one in the college - I have a 100 average in her class. I could literally make a 30 on my final project and still make an A (I won't...) Everything you read says find what you enjoy and you're good at and that's your career. I enjoy reading fiction and I'm kick-ass good at writing papers about it.... seriously, what the f- kind of job is that?? I could get a job teaching other people how to do this ridiculous skill, but the problem with being a professor is that I don't want to publish. I don't want to research.

ARGH!! I want to sit on my ass and read books and then tell somebody why I liked them. Will somebody pay me to post on goodreads? I'm completely worthless.....

 

[Whit]

No your not. Can you find a job at Amazon or Google or another publisher writing reviews? What about being an editor?

 

[Terri]

You're not worthless. You like what you like! I think an editor would be great! With your gpa it's obvious you are a smart cookie, you will land on your feet.

 

[JackieOnLine]

I don't know what the options are, but I'm guessing you will find a better place than the school system. meanwhile, good for you for being such a smartie pants!

 

[DuodenalSwitchaRoo]

Sounds like you need to be a freelance writer of book reviews Or write your own book series...there's always that

 

[aaa]

How about a librarian? Corporate, law, etc...

 

[DianaCox]

I would like to be paid to sit in judgment of how my friends and family run their lives, AND have them HAVE to listen to what I tell them to do, upon pain of (I dunno, something they find personally painful, or at least embarrassing).

Currently, I do this for free, and said people seem to be uniformly lacking in gratitude for my sacrifices. Harrumph.

Corporations have their own research librarians, as do towns/counties.

 

[Hala]

Editor..

 

[shann]

Currently, I do this for free, and said people seem to be uniformly lacking in gratitude for my sacrifices. Harrumph.

This is exactly how I feel about telling people what they should be reading and teaching.....

I think editor would be a dream job for me. Unfortunately it's a very difficult field to break into. I'll keep trying. Honestly, right now I just want to drop out of the whole thing (job thing, that is....not suicidal, just lazy!)

Thanks for the comments y'all -- my midlife crisis seems to be the song that never ends.....

 

[Sheanie]

@shann , I think you just answered your own question. I have always told my children (who are grown and gone now) to find what they really LOVE to do, then figure out a way to make money doing it. Now, everyone has more than one thing they LOVE to do. List the things you LOVE to do and are good at. Look at the combinations of those things, and you will see something jump out at you. Always happens. If it doesn't, come back on here and write down the things you love and we will all give our opinions. But remember, opinions are like assholes. Everyone's got one, and nobody wants it.

 

[JackieOnLine]

@shann - anything new with you?

I am struggling with what I want to do for a job now & I can relate.

my latest plan is to go back to healthcare full time but get in a better place to transition to part time while doing something else. it's that last bit that gets tricky.

(I was brought back to this thread because I searched on "goodreads" before starting a thread about it.)

 

[Munchkin]

Do you need/want to make money? Or just have something to do? Huge difference. If you don't have to satisfy the I need money factor you can do whatever you darn well please. Writing, editing, animal rescue, whatever tickles your fancy. But keep in mind it's almost always true the jobs you really WANT to do usually don't pay squat.

I write for pennies and I know others doing the same thing. The pay is practically non-existent. And if you want to make any money at all, you are no longer a writer, you are just churning out crap by the bucketload. There are so many talented writers out there writing for free you have to be darn special to be worthy of being paid. But you can find out if you really are a writer by starting a blog and seeing if you have the discipline to write every day. And that's free and easy to set up on Wordpress or similar sites. Then you too can give away your work. But you can also see if you have something to say that captures the attention of the public. Is your writing compelling enough to attract an audience? If you can prove that's the case, is the audience willing to PAY to read what you have to say? And you can do all this without quitting your 'day' job. It's a good learning experience.

I have heard those do what you love statements all my life. I found what I loved and got thrown under the bus and then completed the destruction myself. All my life, I just worked for a living doing whatever paid the most. I think I missed the boat and it's too late to go back now. I never figured it out. I was always bright and capable of doing almost anything just a little bit better than the average bear. But I never did anything I really cared about. So now I'm old and this is one of my regrets. I hope you do better than I did!