Have you ever considered becoming a high school teacher? 5

[curiousmechanical]

Hello Everyone,

Recently, I had a conversation with a teacher friend of mine and he was telling me how desperate high schools are for math and science teachers (nothing new there). I think it would be fairly easy for an engineer to switch careers and become a high school math or science teacher. Not only that, he or she would be bring some valuable real world experience to the classroom as well. I am curious why more engineers don’t make this transition.

Engineering can be very demanding and stressful. Not only that, we get bogged down with many nontechnical and mundane tasks. When you’re having a bad day at the office, summers off is a nice fantasy. Teaching seems like it could be fun, but I think I would miss the action too much. Not to mention, the money isn’t so good. But even then, I’m surprised I don’t hear of many engineers throwing in the towel to become a teacher. With the economy as bad as it is, becoming a teacher could be a stable alternative.

Has anyone ever seriously considered becoming a high school teacher? Do you know anyone who has actually made the switch? If so, were they happy with their decision?

I hope others will find this topic interesting.

Thanks everyone!

 

[SNORGY]

I often think about teaching in high school, but I am not so turned on by the idea that I would go back and do a "B.Ed. After Degree" to obtain the necessary credentials to do it.

Regardless, I've already taken steps to ultimately make the transition from engineering into teaching. But I will be teaching dogs (or their owners), not kids. Unlike kids, dogs are always eager to please, have a reasonably consistent work ethic, and all they ever ask for in return is a cookie.

I also am married to a teacher (who teaches dogs, more specifically, dog owners). It's true what some people have posted: most of the WORK in teaching is done on your own time, at home, on weekends, with lesson plans and all of the "prep" stuff you need before you even set foot in a classroom. In my wife's case, she works on a seminar for 15-20 hours before she actually gets paid for the 8 that the students see. It's probably not something you want to try unless you are pretty convinced you will like it.

Regards,

SNORGY.

 

[SteveMartin]

I'm currently working as an engineer but also certified to teach high school (physics specifically) in my state. I think I'd really enjoy the teaching itself, but the beaurocracy and paperwork around it make it less appealing.

I'm not sure about the supposed shortage of math/science teachers either, I hear about teacher cutbacks not cries for more teachers.

 

[msquared48]

ctopher:

Your daughter said one of her teachers said that "There are three reasons why somebody wants to be a teacher...June, July, and August."

That might be a consideration for me if the wage paid could finance a vacation, and if teachers in Washington did not have to go to school in the summer themselves to stay current with the changing obligations of the profession - the only time they have to do so. My daughter's husband is a PE teacher and soccer coach in the school system and he has very little family time, they both work, and still have problems getting the ends to meet.

Needless to say here, I just cannot buy what the teacher told your daughter.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
Motto: KISS
Motivation: Don't ask

 

[ctopher]

Mike,
I think the teacher was joking.

Chris
SolidWorks 10 SP4.0
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion

 

[msquared48]

OH...

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
Motto: KISS
Motivation: Don't ask

 

[SteveMartin]

I could believe people wanting to be a teacher for those three reasons - before they learned just what was required of teachers. If you don't look at it closely it looks like a great reason.

 

[bridgebuster]

I graduated from a public high school in NYC that was geared towards students who wanted to study engineering. A lot of the teachers were engineers. The program I was in had four years of drawing - I learned steel detailing in my senior year - three years of shop, a year of surveyinga year of strength of materials. We learned basic steel design. It was a great learning experience.

If I ever had the opportunity to teach in a program like that, I would seriously consider it.

 

[berkshire]

Whilst not suggesting Engineers should rush to become teachers, I would love to see people with real world experience enter the teaching profession, which has turned into somewhat of an incestuous society, where students graduate high school, go to college, graduate as teachers and return to teaching in school without ever having seen the real world, except for serving fries in MacDonald’s or Burger King.

When I went to school my metalwork teacher was an engineer who was passionate about his work. At age 13, I had fabricated a hacksaw frame by forging , I made a sprocket extractor ; using the lathe to cut a screw thread, a milling machine to cut the notches for the swing legs, Heat treated and tempered the ends of the hooks in the forge, and draw filed the body to clean it up.
Unfortunately he resigned in my final year to start his own business, and his replacement was one of the aforementioned teachers who had never seen the inside of a real machine shop yet alone worked in one.
B.E.

 

[moon161]

Every time 'To Sir with Love' is on. A friend of mine left engineering school for photography, left photography to teach. I think he made a job of getting his cert and masters, took about a year and a half, teaches in NYC.

Teach for America is always looking.

Several teachers made a difference, made an impression, and I owe them. I do cub scouts instead, but that's an hour a week instead of 8 a day. My wife teaches art at a school for kids that can't attend regular schools because of legal or mental health reasons, she loves it. I'm not sure it's a job for everybody. Some districts welcome uncertified subs, none do around me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxsOVK4syxU

 

[plasgears]

One of the concessions I made during eng school was to spend my summers in summer camp counseling kids in an 8 week format; strictly rich kids. I found it to be a healing experience. Many of the senior counselors were elem and HS teachers. It's a definite plus for working as a teacher. I'm glad I did it.

The Adirondacks are beautiful, and I interacted with my Canadian brothers, too. I had great kids, and we had fun in field and waterfront activities. My specialty was riflery and archery. There was even dramatics with the counselors playing stage roles. One memorable play was 'Guys and Dolls.'

The last two wks were devoted to the Olympiad, a serious competition between one half of the camp and the other. The camp colors were blue and yellow. Even the counselors were divided within the blue and yellow teams. We wrote our own marching songs, and the teams were rated on everything including appearance and clothing. Competition involved all the field and waterfront sports including sailing. I still have my T-shirt with Camp Meenagah on the front. Buster Crabbe, the actor, spent summers at the camp with his family. Great memories.

 

[controlnovice]

In high school, I wanted to go to college to study education for teaching as a profession. My high school teacher said I could do better than that....

______________________________________________________________________________
This is normally the space where people post something insightful.

 

[berkshire]

controlnovice,
That sounds like a teacher who had been out in the real world.
B.E.

 

[jmw]

It must be fun and rewarding, if we believe all those Hollywood films that every aspiring or failing star seems to make; Glen Close teaching Violin, Antonio Banderas teaching ballroom dancing, Ted Danson teaching Chess, someone else spelling and on and on and on (Danny De Vito teaching Shakespeare to dumb Marines), the list of inspiring teachers who make a difference, in Hollywood films, is near endless.
Most inspiring is where they take 20 year old looking students who are borderline thugs/ drug addicts/pushers and make them useful citizens....

So engineers would make a big difference....

Yeah.



JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[KENAT]

I'd like to model myself more on 'the substitute' or 'the principal' if we're gonna copy film scripts;-). I don't think I can pull of Michelle Pfeiffer ala dangerous minds, I just don't have the cheek bones for it.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[spongebob007]

My mother is a retired teacher. I am 40 years old and as Mechanical Engineer with an MSME I am currently making about $30K more a year than my mother made before she retired. Nuff said.

 

[spongebob007]

I would like to teach at the college level. I used to tutor in math and ME courses when I was a student. I couldn't handle teaching below that. Part of teaching at the grade school level is being a prison warden. Dealing with the rotten apples takes time away from the important work and adds more headaches that you have to deal with.

By college you can assume that the kids want to be there, and if they don't, it's not your problem.

Maybe I am just becoming a grumpy old man, or maybe it was my upbringing, but when I was a kid, if any adult accused me of wrongdoing, it was punishment first, ask questions later. Parents today seem to have come down with a serious case of denial-not my little angel. The parents of these future serial killers don't take any responsibility, it is always the fault of the teacher or the school.

 

[ysm]

I tutor an 8th grader. He had agreed reluctantly for the tutoring. He thought he was good enough in science and math and doesn't really need a tutor. I said "fine, if you think you are smart then figure out a simple math puzzle". I boasted that i had figured it out when I was his age. "If you figure it out I'll tell your parents you don't need any tutoring". Unfortunately he couldn't but before jumping into math I told him about a few great mathematicians, interesting anecdotes and that math is not just in books but in everyday life, in traffic patterns, in trees in parking cars. Showed him some cool 3-D graphs and what equations generate them etc
While I was giving him this pep talk I wasn't sure it would work but it did. He seems more interested in math and science now and is getting better grades.
Observations:
1. I don't think kids get challenged enough (like do only 10 problems out of an exercise of 50)
2. Pep talks do work
3. They need to meet and interact with professionals of the area they are interested in.
4. Inspiring a student to do well and helping him do so is very satisfying

 

[mauricestoker]

I have the last teenager almost out the door. I can't imagine putting up with teenagers every day. Parenting is about as close to teaching I ever want to get again.

I did teach two years of high school, chemistry and mathematics. Enough of a reason to get the engineering degree.

 

[curiousmechanical]

Mauricestoker:

Out of everyone, you have the most direct experience; you were a teacher and now you are an engineer. How was teaching worse than engineering? Was there anything better about it? I can imagine what you might say, but you might surprise us with more!

Thank you for your posts everyone.

 

[Sideswiper]

After I got my master's degree I ended up teaching a semester of high school algebra and geometry as an emergency certified teacher. After that I got my career started in electric utilites.

Teaching is rough, but I might go back to it later as a sort of retirement.

Many of my students refused to do homework, sometimes even take tests, and had parole officers. The most challenging part was teaching the students who were there to learn while placating the students who weren't. Where my creativity and lack of experience allowed I would create games and puzzles to illustrate the concepts, which worked well for both groups (the learners and the others).

The worst part was when I KNEW a student knew how to work a problem but they just wouldn't lift a pencil during the test.

It sounds like I'm describing a nightmare but it wasn't. I was there to teach, and I taught, and I felt like I made a connection or at least an impression. While my goal was for everyone to learn, on some level I can't beat myself up for all the circumstances working againist the students. You do your best.

Some of the other emergency certified teachers I know went to much better funded schools. Where you teach will have a lot to do with your experience. Very entitled students can bring a different set of challenges.

Anyway, I can see doing it again. Though teaching an electronics lab on the college level would be a lot easier and more fun.