I'm an adult ESL teacher, love my job so why do I compare?

Lately, I've been feeling negative lately. The first response I get when I say I'm a teacher is "you're a teacher? What grade?"

I am 27 and just "switched" careers from working at a major bank to working at an adult basic education center teaching English as a Second Language. It has been a dream of mine ever since I first volunteered in college back in 2011.

After college, I volunteered when I had time after work, pursued a certificate and now, I am pursuing my Master's degree. I will be finished this fall 2017.

One thing that absolutely drives me nuts is when people say I'm not a real teacher and people only pursue this field only if they are older or retired. I've read a lot of blogs that say ESL teachers don't take their jobs seriously and do it only to travel.

For the past five years, I've been dying to leave my old job and pursue this path. I finally have it and love what I do, but it's hard to stay positive when 1) people don't respect what I do 2) believe ESL teachers are a joke because we don't teach K12.

Now.. I don't make a lot, but I knew that already. Sometimes it's tough to NOT compare my income with someone who works in finance, business or medicine. It was hard to date someone a while ago because he worked in his field right after college and made a lot of $$$ and I worked at the bank with small income. 😔 I never told him how I felt but I carried it with me at times.

Adult ESL only offers PT gigs and I've had to take on another teaching role as an EL teacher at a K8 immersion school. It works out and I like my schedule. Right now, I'm just worried because in my 30s, I would like to find some stability with income and a full time job. The only way for me to that at the moment is work abroad at an international school or university. My Master's will help me work at community colleges in the US but only offer per credit hour, and I'd have to take on multiple classes as an adjunct instructor to make a living. Doable but maybe after I've gone abroad.

In the past week, I've been thinking a lot about my future. Teaching is wonderful and I finally have my own classroom. My students are great and I have a couple professors whom I idolize because of their tenacity, persistence and confidence. My favorite area is pronunciation and one of my professors helped me find that because I saw the importance of it when I began teaching.

It's not to feel jealous that someone makes more than you (if you cared at all) Have you ever felt discouraged? Are you a teacher too? Am I panicking for no reason? Have you ever compared yourself with others? Why do I compare myself and job to others' success?

For the past five years, I've been dying to leave my old job and pursue this path. I finally have it and love what I do, but it's hard to stay positive when 1) people don't respect what I do 2) believe ESL teachers are a joke because we don't teach K12.

The real reason ESL teaching is a "joke" is because it is not a requirement to speak a native language of your students.

Teaching is a VERY lonely, overly politicized field. And to respond to the quote above, people say the same crap about ANY teacher; special education, pre-school, middle school, etc. I'm sorry, not all of us want to work in an office or can become doctors/lawyers. It is so frustrating when you have no one to talk to... not even your friends understand and you have to be leery of colleagues if you aren't tenured.

People who had NEVER been teachers have NO idea how tough it is to be an educator AND stay in the job field. Teachers get summers off for a damn good reason. You have to survive the job politics, manage a classroom, write up lesson plans/grade stuff during your days off, attend multiple professional development meetings, go back to school to take grad classes because many districts make it mandatory, etc. and it is so under appreciated. The general public and politicians barely support our educators because they think we're lazy with that two month summer vacation, but don't realize that the majority of teachers work overtime (after school and weekends) that is UNPAID.

I feel you. All I can say is that if you love the job you work in and make enough to support yourself to live comfortably, F what other people think.

There are always idiot people who will say your job is stupid, no matter what you do. Don't worry about them. If you love your job and can support yourself, that is great. Be happy. If you need some more income, you may want to look into ways you can make extra money or have a 2nd ESL job - maybe teaching online courses? Dunno - look around.

Never listen to anybody who criticizes something that you love to do. They are just around the spread misery . My sister-in-law has been a teacher I don't know maybe 15 years now . She teaches grade school and she loves it . She did 5 degrees and then went to teacher's college .

Who is saying this? If you are happy pursue your dreams. There will always be people who make more, so?

people say I'm not a real teacher and people only pursue this field only if they are older or retired.

Pay no attention to what other people think. One of my favourite expressions is "What other people think of me... is none of my business." I used to teach full time, and sometimes faced hostility from people I'd only just met ("Oh, so you're a bloody teacher!"), but it was obvious that the real problem was their lack of social skills, not my profession!

The financial rewards of business, finance or medicine, for you, don't outweigh the downside. People in banking, say, earn massive salaries... but look at what they have to do to get them!

Herein lies your vocation:

Teaching is wonderful and I finally have my own classroom. My students are great and I have a couple professors whom I idolize because of their tenacity, persistence and confidence. My favorite area is pronunciation and one of my professors helped me find that because I saw the importance of it when I began teaching.

Incidentally, when I first set out as a freelance artist, I used to work as a temporary secretary in various offices - just to keep the money flowing in. I am absolute PANTS at this sort of work, but it did pay the bills! I lost count of the number of times middle-aged, high-ranking, high-earning executives looked wistful when I told them what I really did (it was patently obvious that I wasn't a secretary!) and said that they wished they'd done something more adventurous when they were younger.

That is a regret you will never have. This life is not a dress rehearsal. You have already embarked on a very rewarding profession, and the opportunities will become even greater once you've finished your Master's.

So... embrace your opportunities, and enjoy!

Good luck!

I taught many years ago and I compare it to motherhood - it's generally not valued or if it is, in a patronizing/condescending way - ranging from "oh how cute!" to "you're so lucky you get summers off" etc. I remember when I explained to one of my husband's older relatives that I was exhausted from parenting an infant (despite loving my job) he laughed out loud -he honestly thought I was joking. Of course there are exceptions -many people respected what I did as a teacher (and I agree-it's not about ESL or special ed or general ed elementary -it's all lumped into that ridiculous impressions of inferiority, etc).

Do what you love. The end. Totally agree not to compare. Please stick with it if you love it.