When you watch or read the news or speak to those who don’t know firsthand, you might be forgiven for thinking that teaching is a terrible career choice. After all, teachers seem to burn out quickly, they don’t get paid a lot, and they never get thanked for their huge contribution to society. Or at least, that’s how it might seem. The reality is often – although not always, it’s true – different. In many cases, teaching can be the ideal career for many people, and there are a lot of reasons why this might be.
If you’re wondering whether or not teaching is the right choice for you, it’s crucial you do as much research as possible. Embarking on a career like teaching won’t work for everyone; there are certain character traits and a specific level of knowledge you’ll need if you want to succeed and enjoy what you do. If you are the kind of person who would be a great teacher, here are some of the best reasons to make that choice; here are the reasons why teaching is such a good career choice.
A Satisfying Job
How many hours a week do we work ? Although it will vary wildly depending on the job we do, the average is around forty hours. When you consider how many hours that is out of our days, weeks, months, and years – how many hours it is out of our lives – you can see why it’s so important to find a job that you enjoy, that stimulates you, and that you find satisfying.
Many teachers say this is how they feel about their profession. They do find it to be a satisfying job, and they enjoy it, meaning that although it might take up a large percentage of their lives, they are happy with this.
Why is it that teachers find their jobs satisfying? It is likely to be the fact that they are truly making a difference. In some jobs, it can feel as though if you didn’t do the work, it wouldn’t matter too much in the end. Either it wasn’t really important, or someone else could take your place. This is not the case with teaching. Teaching is a crucial job, and because everyone does it differently, a replacement teacher is never going to be quite the same and could be detrimental to the progress of the class. This makes the work satisfying.
Teaching Is Rewarding
Something that often comes hand in hand with a job being satisfying is a rewarding job, and teaching falls under this category. Again, you are making a difference in your students’ lives, and you are helping them to be the best adults they can be.
There will be moments when you see that a student has understood a concept or when you read an essay that shows they have grasped the facts and even researched on their own. This is another way to see that what you are doing is the right thing, and it is a reward in itself for most teachers.
When you can see the direct positive impact you’re having on other people’s lives, no matter how small that impact might seem, you are sure to feel a tremendous sense of reward and happiness, knowing that you’re the one responsible – this is another reason why teaching is such a good career; there aren’t many jobs that offer this level of rewarding outcomes.
Time To Recharge
There is no doubt that teachers work hard, and they often work in the evenings and weekends to ensure their students have everything they need at school. This might not seem ideal, and it could be that you would prefer an office job with real set hours, or perhaps something you can do from home. However, it’s important to remember that although teachers work very hard, they also get time to recharge and ensure they are mentally and physically healthy.
When children aren’t at school, teachers aren’t usually at school either. During summer, winter, and spring breaks, teachers can recharge their batteries and keep themselves healthy for their return to school in the next semester. They will get to spend plenty of time with their family and friends without worrying about work. They can make plans without suddenly having to do overtime or step in for a sick colleague. Although this should not be the only reason you become a teacher, the fact that there are plenty of chances for rest is certainly something to bear in mind.
Job Security
The world of work can be problematic; businesses grow quickly, but they can fail just as quickly, and it might be that wherever you are working, no matter how good you are at what you do, simply won’t exist in a few years or even months. This can be worrying, and not having that feeling of job satisfaction can mean that you never truly settle, and you’re always on the lookout for something else, just in case. In other words, you never really relax and just focus on your work.
When you are a teacher, you won’t have to worry about that. There is great job security in teaching, and if you like where you are working, and you’re good at your job, there is no reason to suspect that you couldn’t stay there and work there until you retire.
Of course, if you do want to be a teacher for the rest of your working life, you must stay up to date with new trends, methods of teaching, and curriculum information, which is why it’s a good idea to apply for an MA education to hone your skills and ensure you remain as relevant as possible so you can continue to help students for many years to come.
There Are Retirement Benefits
As we’ve said, teaching is certainly a profession you can do from the moment you graduate college until the day you retire, and many people do exactly that. They might stay teaching the same subject or grade for their entire careers, or they might change things and teach different subjects or switch around with age groups, depending on what they’re looking for in a career. However, whichever option is the one they choose, the point is that they can do it for as long as they want to.
Then, when a teacher retires, there are retirement benefits to consider. Teaching offers great security not just in terms of the job itself but also in terms of what happens afterward; teachers receive excellent retirement benefits. Although teaching can be a demanding job that challenges those who enter into it, there are many rewards, and it will be worth it.
