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Re: Career advice for young people - follow your passion [BarryP]
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Re: Career advice for young people - follow your passion [vitus979]
[ In reply to ]
"Passion to teach" is a bit of an overstatement. Once I whittled it down to all of the *realistic* options (ie not professional runner, basketball player, bodybuilder, or cartoonist), I'd say teaching was the closest thing to being a passion.
I actually only have fond memories of it, but am reminded that I came home stressed out and constantly complaining just about every day. There were a few things about it, and the money was really minor.....that was more of a, "and this isn't helping" factor.
There's the misbehaving kids, but that wasn't really a problem. That was more of a kind of thing that put me in an emotional state to not be able to handle what really bothered me.
The real issue can best be described as ideological differences between myself and educational leadership. It would be like a Republican joining the Democratic party (or vice versa). I felt that they were more "form over function." To sum up my last review, after being told that I was doing everything wrong, "If I'm doing such a bad job, then why do my kids have the highest test scores in the school?" And I wasn't really doing anything controversial. I just had a way of figuring out how to explain to them math that they could understand. The only way I could have survived would have been to watch my crops starve while pouring more and more Brawndo on them when I know what they need is a little water.
That's it, in a nutshell.
The final straw was when I moved and tried to get certified in PA. I nearly failed an essay test that was full of case scenarios and how to address them, while acing a math test that only required a 26% to pass (and that half of the prospective math teachers failed on their first try), and then finding out that two other tests had to be retaken because they just expired......you know, to prove that I hadn't forgotten how to read since I took the test 5 years earlier.
Oh, and the stupid grading system we had that resulted in completely removing any motivation for my students to do any work.
....okay, a couple of nutshells. But I still actually *love* the actual process of teaching, hence my blogs.
-----------------------------Baron Von Speedypants
-----------------------------RunTraining articles here:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...runtraining;#1612485
I actually only have fond memories of it, but am reminded that I came home stressed out and constantly complaining just about every day. There were a few things about it, and the money was really minor.....that was more of a, "and this isn't helping" factor.
There's the misbehaving kids, but that wasn't really a problem. That was more of a kind of thing that put me in an emotional state to not be able to handle what really bothered me.
The real issue can best be described as ideological differences between myself and educational leadership. It would be like a Republican joining the Democratic party (or vice versa). I felt that they were more "form over function." To sum up my last review, after being told that I was doing everything wrong, "If I'm doing such a bad job, then why do my kids have the highest test scores in the school?" And I wasn't really doing anything controversial. I just had a way of figuring out how to explain to them math that they could understand. The only way I could have survived would have been to watch my crops starve while pouring more and more Brawndo on them when I know what they need is a little water.
That's it, in a nutshell.
The final straw was when I moved and tried to get certified in PA. I nearly failed an essay test that was full of case scenarios and how to address them, while acing a math test that only required a 26% to pass (and that half of the prospective math teachers failed on their first try), and then finding out that two other tests had to be retaken because they just expired......you know, to prove that I hadn't forgotten how to read since I took the test 5 years earlier.
Oh, and the stupid grading system we had that resulted in completely removing any motivation for my students to do any work.
....okay, a couple of nutshells. But I still actually *love* the actual process of teaching, hence my blogs.
-----------------------------Baron Von Speedypants
-----------------------------RunTraining articles here:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...runtraining;#1612485
Re: Career advice for young people - follow your passion [BarryP]
[ In reply to ]
BarryP wrote:
Quote:
I'll turn that around and say never, never go into a job just because you think there is money in it. You'll end up hating the job and yourself.I think people hate jobs that they hate, not necessarily jobs that make money. I don't see it as an either/or one extreme or another proposition. I don't love what I do, but I don't hate it either. I also don't make the most amount of money that I can make (believe me, I've talked to my boss about how I do NOT want a particular promotion because I will hate the work), but I do make significantly more than maybe something I'd like doing more.
Life's all about tradeoffs, IMO, not one extreme at the expense of all else.
^I think you nailed it with this.
Re: Career advice for young people - follow your passion [doug in co]
[ In reply to ]
There are more challenges to being self-employed than just mental perseverance and grit. This is predatorily luring working class people into an entrepreneur lifestyle as the answer to living a meaningful life and making loads of money. "
"Work becomes divided into two opposing classes: that which is lovable (creative, intellectual, socially prestigious) and that which is not (repetitive, unintellectual, undistinguished). Those in the lovable work camp are vastly more privileged in terms of wealth, social status, education, society’s racial biases, and political clout, while comprising a small minority of the workforce.
YES & YES.
What they don't tell you before you take the leap into being self-employed, being an entrepreneur etc . . . is for many doing this IT STILL IS A GRIND!
I made the leap 3 years ago when I parted ways with my last full-time gig, and decided to do two things at the same time - ramp-up substantially something that was a passion- Race/Event Announcing & Emceeing, which I had been doing on the side for several years, and carry on with my sales/business-development work, but now, solely on contract and commission with what are now my clients.
Thankfully my life long back-ground in sales has made me a relentless hunter-gatherer, and very used to having, "No" and "No thanks" said to me, many times each day!
So even with the passion work - the Race/Event Announcing & Emceeing, which I really love doing, and which is now well over half of my annual income, and which I'm told, I do very well at, and am one of the best, in a very small and niche business, I have to constantly solicit and sell myself and, get told "No" and "No Thanks", a number of times each week! Bottom line, you have to deal with A LOT of negativity, but that you have to just keep going!
This is the aspect of being self-employed and an "entrepreneur", that I think many don't understand. It's grossly oversimplified and romanticized, and it dupes A LOT of people unfortunately. We know a couple, who had to completely bail-out of it all, because they were close to bankruptcy and starting to get in a LOT if financial trouble and difficulty - in talking to them, they kept talking in those romantic tones about entrepreneurship, and none of the above - the grit, the rejection, the keeping-going.
And that's a segue into the other reality I'm making in total, quite a bit less than I made when I was a full-time emploed. You have to be ready somehow for a period, and perhaps an extended one, of lower income, and cutting back on a LOT of things.
For both my wife and I, who are both self employed and working on a variety of separate projects, - it's been three years to get to the point we are at now, and just now it's starting to all make sense. But all along, we have kept an even keel - never missed a mortgage or bill payment, always kept stashing a bit away for a rainy day, lived a bit like monks for some time now, but we do both love what we do and are happy with it all!
Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog
"Work becomes divided into two opposing classes: that which is lovable (creative, intellectual, socially prestigious) and that which is not (repetitive, unintellectual, undistinguished). Those in the lovable work camp are vastly more privileged in terms of wealth, social status, education, society’s racial biases, and political clout, while comprising a small minority of the workforce.
YES & YES.
What they don't tell you before you take the leap into being self-employed, being an entrepreneur etc . . . is for many doing this IT STILL IS A GRIND!
I made the leap 3 years ago when I parted ways with my last full-time gig, and decided to do two things at the same time - ramp-up substantially something that was a passion- Race/Event Announcing & Emceeing, which I had been doing on the side for several years, and carry on with my sales/business-development work, but now, solely on contract and commission with what are now my clients.
Thankfully my life long back-ground in sales has made me a relentless hunter-gatherer, and very used to having, "No" and "No thanks" said to me, many times each day!
So even with the passion work - the Race/Event Announcing & Emceeing, which I really love doing, and which is now well over half of my annual income, and which I'm told, I do very well at, and am one of the best, in a very small and niche business, I have to constantly solicit and sell myself and, get told "No" and "No Thanks", a number of times each week! Bottom line, you have to deal with A LOT of negativity, but that you have to just keep going!
This is the aspect of being self-employed and an "entrepreneur", that I think many don't understand. It's grossly oversimplified and romanticized, and it dupes A LOT of people unfortunately. We know a couple, who had to completely bail-out of it all, because they were close to bankruptcy and starting to get in a LOT if financial trouble and difficulty - in talking to them, they kept talking in those romantic tones about entrepreneurship, and none of the above - the grit, the rejection, the keeping-going.
And that's a segue into the other reality I'm making in total, quite a bit less than I made when I was a full-time emploed. You have to be ready somehow for a period, and perhaps an extended one, of lower income, and cutting back on a LOT of things.
For both my wife and I, who are both self employed and working on a variety of separate projects, - it's been three years to get to the point we are at now, and just now it's starting to all make sense. But all along, we have kept an even keel - never missed a mortgage or bill payment, always kept stashing a bit away for a rainy day, lived a bit like monks for some time now, but we do both love what we do and are happy with it all!
Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog
Re: Career advice for young people - follow your passion [racin_rusty]
[ In reply to ]
racin_rusty wrote:
BarryP identifying with a known celebrity conservative, there is a sliver of hope. (btw 1st posts aren't blocked)Why do you say Mike Rowe is a conservative? I think if you asked him he would refuse to be characterized as a conservative/liberal/whatever.
If he is a "celebrity conservative" who would be some other "celebrity conservatives". I only ask because I have a great deal of respect for Mike and think he has some really good perspectives. Anyone I can think of that is a "celebrity conservative" would be self-serving douchebags like Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, orRush Limbaugh, who are nothing like Mike Rowe.
Re: Career advice for young people - follow your passion [BarryP]
[ In reply to ]
BarryP wrote:
I Mike Roe from dirty jobs has a pretty good take on it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVEuPmVAb8o
Anyway....any thoughts?
One of my top 3 favorite TED talks. When I was doing youth mentoring I made them watch it, because in general I can't think of a better piece of advice to give to young people. Of course I also showed them Dazed and Confused, so maybe I was all mixed up;)
Re: Career advice for young people - follow your passion [BarryP]
[ In reply to ]
I though Jennifer Aniston's response in Office Space was pretty spot on. Everyone hates their jobs, find something you like to do when you are not working.
Rambler wrote:
I though Jennifer Aniston's response in Office Space was pretty spot on. Everyone hates their jobs, find something you like to do when you are not working.That's a bit of an overstatement. I'd guess that the majority of working people actually enjoy the work they do, but would still rather be off the clock than on. Some people live for their jobs and are miserable when not working, and some are miserable at work, and live for their time off. I'd also guess those people are in equal proportion to each other.
I can't think of a job beyond my teenage years that I absolutely hated, and even those had some redeeming qualities that I appreciated in real time.
The devil made me do it the first time, second time I done it on my own - W