Tired.

[fidgiegirl]

I don't know how long I can do this job. Certainly not until traditional retirement age.

Not really sure what I would do otherwise. Most days I like, even love it. But today was just a million little things that wore me out. My best job is just never good enough. The kid and family needs seem to increase all the time.

Not really sure what the point of this is, maybe just a vent.

[redfox]

I'm right there with ya, Kelli. Too many rainy, grey days, too little money, too much uncertainty. My pleasures are eating - as a compulsive overeater, that's not good - and sleeping. I feel like I should be a hibernating bear - except that I'm waking up 2-3 times a night with anxiety attacks and the thought that I need to get out of the life I am in... I'll keep my DH and cats - that's about it...

[sweetana3]

I think everyone has days like that. Check to make sure you are eating right, watching caffeine, sugar, getting enough sleep, letting go of some perfectionism, etc.

Ask for help. Letting the family know you are human is a "good thing".

[redfox]

I do more than watch caffeine & sugar - I play long and hard with them... this is a problem? :)

[fidgiegirl]

I do more than watch caffeine & sugar - I play long and hard with them... this is a problem? :)

:D

[fidgiegirl]

Thanks all. It could have been just "a day," but I seem to be having more and more of them lately. Will see how I feel as spring rolls around.

[fidgiegirl]

I was looking up jobs and found one at a community college. How different would that be?! One of my former colleagues went to a comm. college and loves it.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Gave up the weekend doing schoolwork and I'm not even enrolled in any degree or other program, just taking a class to explore other careers. Oh and it's not just "schoolwork" as in reading a book and memorizing stuff and other things that have nothing to do with the real world. It's doing actual work (not at professional quality I'm sure, but come on, I'm a student taking a class not a professional in that field). But it feels like LABOR to the point that I feel I should be getting paid, but I'm not of course. Then I have a real job during the week of course.

I wanted to spend the weekend volunteering and socializing, not doing schoolwork!! And I wonder to what degree I even know my values!!! Ok my values on broad moral/political/whatever questions shift over time but not overnight. But what I want out of life I swear *that* sometimes seems to change overnight! One day I want a better career, yep, yep, that's what I want out of life. Then seeing how much work other careers are and giving up my weekend (even though if I really really wanted it I could probably go to school full time and not work for awhile), I want nothing but leisure. Leisure time as my highest value in the world. But oh how hard it is to achieve.

Sigh, life is hard. I have often thought I couldn't do my career for the rest of my life either. Then again is another career (again which is probably possible), even any better really? Or just out of the frying pan into the fire? I don't see retiring entirely anytime soon. I don't see anyone else but me supporting me. I don't see winning the lottery :). I could probably find some way to work part-time for years at a time.

[Stella]

(((fidgiegirl))) Whether it's just a case of the Februaries or you really need a change in your career I hope you find what you need!

[JaneV2.0]

"I was looking up jobs and found one at a community college. How different would that be?! "

I worked at a local CC for a year and enjoyed the people, the work, and the setting. Problem is, states are subject to drastic financial cutbacks these days.

[pinkytoe]

I think all humans have those kind of days no matter our circumstances. When I get in a funk, I tell myself that this too shall pass and it always does. I work at a university and while I enjoy being around youth and ideas, the bureaucracy and fear of downsizing is always there.

[mira]

I remember you had a thread on the old forums asking for career-change advice, so it doesn't seem like this is a one-off bad day for you.

I have worked in both schools and in a community college and I much prefer the college. It's nice to be around students who are actually there because they want to be (for the most part).

[fidgiegirl]

I'm kind of tempted to apply. It would be very different, but I think a challenge too. Plus, it's no more or less dependable than my current position. It's been stressful to, over time, feel like I have to always be giving 110% to kind of prove that I am indispensable. I want to be indispensable because there is enough work for me to be needed and because I do it well . . . not because I put my nose into everything :)

I will keep you updated. Thanks for your kind words. Mira, you are right. I have been thinking about this for a while. I just want to get out while I still like the job. In teaching, it's not unheard of to leave mid-year for a different opportunity, but it's poor form. I don't know if I could do it.

[iris lily]

I was looking up jobs and found one at a community college. How different would that be?! One of my former colleagues went to a comm. college and loves it.

It's my impression that those jobs are higly competitive, if you are talking about permenant full time. HIGHLY. While the minimum requirement for teaching is only a Master's degree, some disciplines where there are no jobs have double Phd's teaching there. History, for one.

[Gina]

A number of years ago when a full time teaching position in biology opened in a local community college over 250 phd's applied. It was a plum coastal location so I don't know what's average. But people do get these jobs... it's just not easy.

[ApatheticNoMore]

My impression of community college teaching positions is that many teachers are teaching at several colleges just to make ends meet (because they can't find full time work). All that running around and commuting seems completely exhausting to me! But there's no harm in applying.

[Float On]

There is never harm in applying. I've been happy in my part-time job for 5 years but I've also applied to and been accepted by several other jobs since then, I've turned the other opportunities down so far because I've come to realize how much I appreciate my current job that is self-supervising and is flexible for when I need to travel with my husband. That may be changing soon and I may need to look for something full-time with a few benefits and I feel more confident in applying because I've had a bit of interview practice over the past few years.

[leslieann]

Hi, Kelli,

Regarding the CC job, yes, highly competitive for full time, tenure track positions. Lousy pay and working conditions for part time (hence the people working ridiculous numbers of part time teaching jobs). But people DO get the jobs. I had one in NY; compared to teaching in elementary school the challenges were quite different. The teaching load is typically high; five courses per semester, plus requirements to advise, do committee work, and lately, to promote your program, connect to employers, encourage new students, etc. Part time teaching pays poorly, and most places limit the number of courses you can teach part time, so people end up teaching at three institutions, three courses each...sometimes trying to manage eight or nine courses a semester. That's a lot of students to be responsible to. But if you like it, you really like it. I left the CC to go to a small university and found the schedule lighter (four courses, but they were all different rather than multiple sections of the same course) but the other demands higher (publishing, community service, advising, etc.). If you compare CC to university, the work demands look very high. If you compare CC to elementary teaching, the work demands look a whole lot better. Younger CC students are not always the best prepared or most motivated, but adult students in CC are wonderful.

Why not apply? At the worst, it gets you thinking about why you teach, what and how you want to teach, and what skills you've honed in your current position. At best, well, you might get an offer.

And the act of applying might mitigate the "februaries" and give you a bit of a boost.

Please keep us posted....I am interested in your experience.