Opinions on Teaching?

[orchid2]

This is going to be slightly long-winded with a lot of background info!

I graduated in December (with a non-education degree) and spent the first half of 2006 in training for the Army Reserves. When I got home, I posted my resume on Monster and Careerbuilder.com, looked for local listings, and started interviewing. Non-teaching jobs, might I add. A huge issue seemed to be my lack of work experience! Most positions that required a college degree also wanted 3+ years of work experience as well. I didn't expect it to be so challenging to find a job out of college... but the only relevant work experience I had prior to this was 4 years as a student worker on campus and a barista at a coffee shop. LOL. I never did an internship (which I regret) and actually explored the possibility of interning down here, but nobody seemed interested in a college graduate. Big surprise!

When I was still in school, I didn't have a solid idea of what I wanted to do, so I got a degree is in Economics. The field fascinated me and I felt like it was a "safe" degree-- part business, part social science. So when I began my job search, I decided to look for "office jobs" first. I interviewed with 2 insurance companies and submitted my resume to several banks in the area... but after each interview I went home with the same feeling of dread... that "I can't believe I am trying to work here" feeling. Nothing felt right and I declined an offer from one of the insurance companies because I couldn't imagine being happy in that job.

My husband is in the military too, so I went to the spousal employment office on post to see if I could find anything else. Aside from some "office job" openings, they knew of an opening for a gymnastics instructor in my town. It was something different... and I have a background in gymnastics... so I called on a Tuesday, interviewed Wednesday, and started on the following Monday. I started in early July...I like my job and I will stay here until my husband finishes flight school (probably early 2007), but when we get stationed somewhere else I would like to move on. I would like to go back to graduate school for a more relevant degree, and I am wrestling with what to do. Working at the gymnastics academy has opened my eyes to the world of teaching. I love working with children... I love designing the lesson plans, setting up my classes, seeing their progress and watching their faces when they finally "get" something they've been working on for a long time. I know it's not nearly the same thing as being in a real classroom, but I am considering doing some observations and perhaps getting a masters in Elementary Ed if I do decide it's for me!

So with all the background info out of the way, you know my story now. Those of you who teach, do you still feel like it was worth it? Have you changed careers and gone back for another degree in order to do it? What about some of the different ways to "break" into teaching? I know you can go back to school for it, but I have heard of people with other-than-education degrees going to teach. How do you do this? By writing to the school board and telling them you want to teach? I have also heard of the "Teach for America" program but I doubt I will be able to take that route. Just interested in hearing some perspective and advice from anyone who knows or has "been there." Thanks!