The ways in which one's perspective can change after some time teaching in an extremely challenged urban environment are manifold. I am not the same, young, passionate educator I once was. You may call it disillusionment, but I recognize it as a result of true learning. That's one thing about teaching - a beautiful component of any great teacher is the ability to constantly progress and improve oneself through the lens of the student, after specific experiences, becoming better with each new day and lesson, no matter how unstructured or unplanned.
I thought the right answer was to go back to school after getting laid off as part of the mass career genocide of all untenured New Jersey public school teachers after Governor Christie was elected. Society tells us that Graduate School makes the most sense and is the new version of the high school diploma in the 60's. Education inflation used to incense me to extreme anger, but that has dulled and I don't even bother mentioning it unless someone hints to me that they have the cognitive ability to recognize that a Master's in anything, unless highly specialized, is a waste of money. I knew more people who were unemployed with Master's Degrees in their early and mid-twenties than those who went to trade schools or vocational high schools. When it came time for me to submit my official application, after an intense summer of pre-requisites which my Undergraduate Degree did not satisfy, I could not actually go through with it. I wanted to be Dr. Angie, but not at the expense of my future and any possibly savings a real job and living within my means might bring me.
You see, a personal assessment (one of those official ones that asks you what you enjoy doing and what you're good at and such), put me in more of a medical field. English teacher was unsurprisingly the top fit... but I wasn't doing that again. I will never allow myself to be vilified by an inherently flawed system that chooses to point fingers and place blame on individuals who are limited in resources, time, and authority to make effective decisions. While I was figuring things out and helping with a sick parent, I met my (now) husband. He suggested real estate, since it's something for which I could invest a small amount of money for a potential gain. I've spent the past year working with the greatest mentor/team leader/older brother figure who taught me things about the business that literally takes others several years to establish and ascertain. 오빠 진짜진짜 감사해요.
With the market what it is, my husband chose the wrong time to ask for a raise at his former job. That's the plain and simple. The more elaborate explanation could take several more blogs to explain, possibly at another time.
Luckily, a very good friend of mine suggested a job opportunity at Indy Hall. More specifically, a startup that works out of the glorious coworking space happens to be in need of a person with my exact skill set! The timing is perfect and the opportunity is great. I'm extremely happy to start working for a company whose vision is impressive and could change the way many the world over utilize space.
Once the papers are signed, I will share more.
My degree is highly specialized, but I'm not doing anything with it. The problem isn't necessarily the degree, but the fact that I was young when I decided to get it. Working a full time professional gig, I finished my Masters at 26. All of the jobs I'm looking at ask for 10 years experience. Downfall. At least I can say that I'm a Master of Genocide (which is pretty sweet).
ReplyDeleteBut you will be so awesome and I'm pumped about this opportunity! Either way, you'll rock anything that's thrown in your direction. Stoked!