Work Woes Post of Lamentation
I'm eleven years into my career as a Special Education teacher, but I'm finally understanding the burnout that causes so many of us to leave the profession. This is the second year that I've found my job more stress inducing and frustrating than satisfying, so have once again been considering finding different employment. The thought is scary since I have zero idea what else I could do. Everything I've researched seems to lead to some variation of teaching, but after these past two years, getting a job that's merely teaching in disguise is less than alluring. I'm also afraid of how this would affect my retirement since if I leave after only eleven years, I won't be getting much when I finally retire. For those of you who don't know, teaching pensions don't come out of social security, but their own funding. Since I don't have enough work units for social security, all of my retirement funding is currently relying on the job I have.
It's frightening.
I was hoping the writing might supplement my income in case it gets to the point where I have to quit or lose my sanity entirely, but that income is more of a trickle than anything helpful. Hell, it's more like the faucet that drips every so often so it's rather brazen to call it even a trickle. So I can't rely on that at all.
The only other skill I have is making kick-ass construction paper creations for my bulletin boards (I made the Impala once!), but I can't make a career-hobby out of that. Their odd shapes and laminated paper components would make them nearly impossible to ship (unless I use a flattened refrigerator box!), even if anyone wanted one.
I'm at a loss.
So if you can think of alternative jobs that aren't teaching related that would best utilize my skills as a teacher with a slight artistic bent, then feel free to suggest something. It can't hurt!
It's frightening.
I was hoping the writing might supplement my income in case it gets to the point where I have to quit or lose my sanity entirely, but that income is more of a trickle than anything helpful. Hell, it's more like the faucet that drips every so often so it's rather brazen to call it even a trickle. So I can't rely on that at all.
The only other skill I have is making kick-ass construction paper creations for my bulletin boards (I made the Impala once!), but I can't make a career-hobby out of that. Their odd shapes and laminated paper components would make them nearly impossible to ship (unless I use a flattened refrigerator box!), even if anyone wanted one.
I'm at a loss.
So if you can think of alternative jobs that aren't teaching related that would best utilize my skills as a teacher with a slight artistic bent, then feel free to suggest something. It can't hurt!