I've always wanted to be a teacher, but now I'm not happy

[Sentohottie]

I have ALWAYS wanted to be a teacher! Ever since the 3rd grade. (Literally) However, due to family, I have been unable to go back to school to get my degree. So I get experience from the jobs that I have. Currently, I have been working at the same company for 6 years now

 

Well, I recently was offered a job as a trainer, which is as close to being a teacher as you can get. I was SO excited, I was finally going to learn classroom management, and how to handle certain situations. I've totally over-succeeded in every job I've ever had, and this one, I knew I would excell at as well.

 

Well, it started out well, only it was a busy time for the company, and my boss didn't have time to give me help, because he was LITERALLY too busy. He eventually hired someone under him to help him out, and now I get feedback and help. The only problem, is now it's 6 months into the job, and I feel like I am constantly failing. I HAVE NEVER FAILED A JOB IN MY LIFE! And no matter how hard I try, I'm not doing any better!!

 

I love the training part, but it's everything else that is so frustrating. Both of my supervisors contradict themselves, and when I have a good idea to suggest, it's totally denied because "it's not in the right format"

 

And then there is a gentleman that I work with, that is a TOTAL brown-noser, and he only came on a few months ago. But he goes to lunch with both of my supervisors, jokes around with them, and overall, does a better job. But when I try to work with him, he makes me feel SO inferior. He, my original supervisor and I was invited to a company lunch one days, and I caught a ride with them. All the way up, they talked and talked, and the moment I even tried to join in the conversation, there was complete silence, like I just interrupted.

 

Now I'm miserable. Here I have my dream job, and I am failing in it, and every day I try to do better, even thinking of better ways to do things as I go to bed. I WANT to succeed, and I have ALWAYS succeeded. Why can't I do it with this job? I don't know how to handle these people. I just want to learn how to teach. I hate brown-nosers that succeed, and I refuse to be one.

[NJRon]

Hey, I totally know what you are talking about. I live in corporate america and I run accross all kind of characetrs. Learning to deal with them is the hardest part. You may want to check out a book called "Most likely to Succeed at Work" by Wilma Davidson and Jack Dougherty. It's a pretty amusing, yet informative book of how to deal with typical stereotypes.

 

Overall, you may just want to put your time in and move on to bigger and better things.

[renaissancewoman101]

You cant look at your efforts as failing. Every little bit counts. You have been only on the job for 6 months. My old boss used to tell me that to do well at a job, it takes at least a year, and still then you are learning with every new experience, every new task, etc. You are being too hard on yourself. You had to work with practically learning the job tasks and responsibilities on your own, since your boss was too busy to train you when you first started. And you made it to 6 months. That is a good thing.

 

Right now, I am thinking of going back to school and finishing out my masters in teaching. Not completely sure about that. For the last 7 years I worked as a technical writer. Not a bad job but I was looking for a career change about two years ago. I went back to school part time while working full time. I like working with kids because kids like me a lot since I am about their height and I don't look threatening to them at all. One of the best times I had while working towards the teaching degree was doing a clinical in a kindergarten classroom of 15 kids. They ran me ragged but they all loved me and they always looked forward to the days I was there.

 

Teaching is a good, but underappreciated career. It doesnt pay that well, but you get a lot of emotional and moral benefits from it, from helping out others.

[shes2smart]

Oh, man, if you said you worked at a radio station, I'd wonder if you were working where I used to work.

 

What kind of teaching did you want to do? Because teaching adults in a corporate environment and teaching in an elementary or secondary school or college are different. Sure they share some similarities, but the differences are enough that someone could enjoy doing one job (say, teaching in a grade school) and despise another (being a corporate trainer).

 

Perhaps you could find another position in your company that's more suited to your likes/dislikes, stick there short term and check into going back to school for the kind of teaching you'd really like to do. Even if you have to take just one class a semester, you will still be working toward what you really want to do.

 

This line from your post:

Well, I recently was offered a job as a trainer, which is as close to being a teacher as you can get.

says to me this isn't the teaching you really want to be doing.

 

As for failing in a job....not everyone is cut out to do every job. I made the mistake of accepting a promotion I was ill-suited for a few years back, and I paid for it with a nervous break-down after a year of trying my hardest and not making any headway with it. NO JOB is worth that sort of misery, so don't make the same mistake I did. It's important to know your strengths....but just as important to know your weaknesses.

 

In regard to brown-nosers....they're everywhere...especially in the corporate world. You don't have to be one (in fact, I'd advise NOT being one) but you do have to learn to tolerate them to a certain extent, because some people are just like that. You're not gonna change them, and the funny thing is, over time, most people do end up seeing them for what they are and not respecting them.

[Sentohottie]

Well, I would SO love to move on to bigger and better things, and I wouldn't mind giving the training thing another shot, but I only have 6 months of experience, and most places ask for 2 years. *sigh* That book sounds interesting. Is there any websites that would provide the same information? I really really really have a hard time dealing with brown-nosers. In my classes, I don't let the brown-nosing blind my vision, and to be honest, those are some of thw worst agents I've ever had.

 

 

 

A technical writer? What is that exactly? I'm a technical trainer, so it doesn't sound too far away.....but maybe it is. I like hearing the opinion of someone else that really enjoys teaching.

[NJRon]

Yeah, that's what I meant by putting in your time. Just another 18 months Drop in the bucket for your whole career.

 

As for sites... don't know. Did you google "How to deal with brown nosers at work"?

[renaissancewoman101]

A technical writer updates and creates operating manuals for electronics and other types of mechanical equipment. Kind of like the operating manuals that come with a DVD player or VCR. For 7 years I worked at an engineering firm that manufactured navigational equipment for airplanes (radar systems, pilot information displays, etc). I worked on creating the operating manuals for those things. I did that for 7 years until just recently when I quit my job to move to CA. Funny thing is I worked with engineers and worked on technical manuals and yet all I had was a BA in English and History.

 

I am seriously considering teaching as my next career since I like working with kids (grade school and younger). My parents are both teachers. My mom was a grade school teacher in Hong Kong before she got married and moved to the US, and my dad is currently a history professor at UCLA.

[Sentohottie]

Yea, I started google-ing it right away. But I thought maybe you had something up your sleeve.

 

I prefer working with kids too....well, I guess my age of preference is Jr High/Middle School. Those kids are just beginning their adult lives, and they are so confused. And it seems like all the REJECT teachers get thrown into that age group. And boy do most of those teachers suck!

 

Thanks for the advice. I'm totally up for anything more to offer...especially with how to deal with brown-nosers, since I"m not coming up with too much yet.