Major Career/Income Change Anyone?

Public school. (Why not grade school?)   Not college. Perhaps high school or jr. high/middle school.

I have a somewhat unusual job. I am basically an emergency response guy inside a hospital. Someone quits breathing or goes into cardiac arrest, I go and initiate the resuscitation process (medications, put in breathing tubes, etc) until an emergency physician can get there. I also do ultrasound guided central catheter placements for long term IV treatment. I work part time as a flight paramedic for a helicopter service. I am getting a degree in biochemistry (part time student) so I can apply to medical school. However.....much of the work I've done inside the hospital has made me have serious second thoughts. So many things that go undone or are done incorrectly...and it's acceptable. I do not want to be an alarmist, seeing as we all get sick or have family members who are hospitalized. But the healthcare system (it's not just here) has ample room for improvement, suffice to say. I just don't sleep well knowing what goes on, and knowing it's okay as long as profits are being made. Example: 97 year old patients having bypass surgery. And, at least once a day, I see someone somewhere verbally abused by at least one physician simply because they are in a bad mood.

The appeal of teaching (aside from the schedule) is the opportunity for mentorship. In the process of all of this I tried to think of the last time I was really happy. It was when I was a leader in the 75th Ranger Regiment. I can't go back and do that now. I have a daughter I want to see grow up! But what was best about that job was the opportunity to teach, coach, and mentor outstanding young men. I loved trying to figure out what style of leadership each guy would respond to and then apply it and watch them develop into world-class soldiers. It was very hard to leave. But I think I could do that as a teacher too.

Wow lot's of good advice. I think I will go down to the school district in the fall and see if I can observe or sub. Thanks everyone.

As a former Army Ranger, you might just be tough enough to handle a classroom ful of grade schoolers

I wish you luck with your decision. Do you have an option of a temporary leave of absence to test the waters?

My wife subbed for a year and really enjoyed it and learned a lot. I can't speak for your school district, but here she was in very high demand and worked just about every day she wanted to.(As a bonus, she could always say "no" if she needed to stay home)

I know I'm coming in a little late on this, however... 

I actually did this last year, I've been in school to get my teaching credential, the program just finished up in June, and last year I taught full time.  Here's what I've learned.

1 - Going to school to get the credential is not the problem.  They have a lot of programs to help out prospective teachers (financial aid, etc.)

2 - Be aware of the pay cut you'll be taking.  By the time they take out union dues, medical insurance and the state teachers retirement cut - it adds up to a lot of money, from what was not that big of a paycheck in the first place.  So, find out not only what the salary is going to be but also what the required deductions will be.  This varies from school district to school district.

3 - If you're not in a union job currently, it's really different from "professional" employment.  I'm coming from a technology background, and this "you must work for x minutes" is kinda annoying.  Also, be aware that during the school day you cannot leave.  I don't know if this is something you're used to, but I was used to going somewhere for lunch, etc. and this was/is a big adjustment.  Also, it is impossible to take off a few minutes early or come in a few minutes late to take care of personal business.  You HAVE to be there when school starts.  Every Day.

4 - Teaching right now is a high stress profession, with all of these mandates coming down from the federal government that kids must score higher on tests.  The teacher are the ones who are basically in the line of fire on this.  (Maybe not such an issue at the elementary levels, but definitely at the middle/high levels.)

5 - There is a lot of extra work involved in teaching.  You must grade homework, plan lessons, clean the room after school (never enough maintenance staff) and you will also be providing at least some of your classroom equipment - as schools are chronically underfunded.  (This last may not apply if you teach at a private school.)  Also, if you need to take a day off cause you're not feeling well, usually what happens is that you drag yourself to school, stay late so that you can prepare a lesson plan for the sub, and THEN you can be sick.  You can't leave your classroom with no direction.  There's a lot of preparation involved in the job.

6- The vacation schedule rocks!

7 - There was more classroom management required than I was prepared for.  Before you can teach, you've got to get the classroom under control.  A big issue here is that the kids are required to come, but they are not required to want to be there.  For some, it is not their choice (and their family background does not emphasize education) so they are just marking time in your classroom, until they can leave.  So, you must get all the squirrely ones under control before you can teach anyone anything.  It can also be difficult if the administration does not back up the teachers on the discipline policy.  (I teach high school, it might be different at a elementary level.)  I found this very frustrating to have disruptive influences in my classroom, nowhere to send them, so I just had to deal with them. 

8 - You end up finding out a lot about these kids and their lives.  In some sense, you become a social worker/counselor.  This is not something I was really prepared for either.  The classes you take don't really tell you what to do when a student comes to you and tells you that she's cutting herself, or that her mom and dad got in a big fight last night, and she had to protect her little brother.  (Okay, you call social services, cause that's part of your job, but how do you deal with that student, right there, right then?  They're coming to you for help, and they need it immediately.)

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I also think that you should try being a sub.  It's a good way to see the inside of a classroom without making a huge commitment.

I'm actually starting to look for another job for these reasons:
(1) money - I'm just not making enough for the level of work I have to do, also I'm struggling to make ends meet each month.  Edit: Okay, mostly the reason is monetary.  If I was making 20k more, I'd stay, cause there's a lot of really positive things too, mostly involving the kids who really appreciate you and enjoy being in your classroom.  It's a big payoff.

(2) I've realized that I'm not really comfortable in the sorta confessional status that I have as a teacher.  And, that I'm not really an extroverted person.  Having to deal with 100 kids every day just wears me out.  I like interaction, but the constant level with no breaks is really hard for me, and I don't really like it.

I don't want to turn you off of teaching, if that is your calling.  I know people who LOVE teaching and think it is the best thing to do ever. 

Wow. Thanks again everyone. Tons of great feedback.