What I have to do

So....my plans for becoming a teacher....I haven't really thought a lot about it. I guess I've had this idea in my head that I'll just go to Kirkwood and do my Gen Ed's (because they don't offer a specialized teaching program)and after I got the credits I needed from there, I'd enter UI or ISU. I've decided on UI just because it's closer to where I plan to be living while in college. Dorms aren't really an option, because of the expense, so I'm trying to arrange living arrangements with friends while in college. I want to do a double major- history and either Japanese or German (it's a hard pick because I've taken Japanese for 4 years, but I've always wanted to be fluent in German). Either way, I want to make sure I'm qualified to teach more than one subject, it'll give me a better shot at getting a job in a school district.

While this is the ideal plan, it probably won’t happen like that. I’ll probably get my 1st major in history and probably do something like JET (see previous post) for a year— if I can’t get a teaching job right away—and then come back to teach in the United States.

As for where I want to teach, I’m not sure yet. If my relationship keeps going as it is, I’ll probably be moving to the East Coast (something I’ve wanted to do for a long time), or to Seattle (another top pick). The only downfall to teaching in Seattle I have seen is that the pay there is horrible. Teachers with a PhD who teach in the Seattle area earn about as much as a teacher with merely a Master’s do here in Iowa. That’s majorly disappointing to hear, especially since I’ve always loved Seattle’s atmosphere. I found this article listing the 6 highest paying cities in the US for teachers....only a few sound like places I could actually stand to live.

We’ve discussed in class the possibility that money isn’t everything in a career, but for me, it’s pretty big. I've lived in the lower middle class with only one income all my life pretty much....and I hope to do better in adulthood. So why teaching, you probably ask.... I know teachers when they start off don’t earn much. That I’m fine with—but if you stay in the district for a long time, teachers can do pretty well for themselves. Especially if they’re qualified to teach in more than one area.