The job situation, redux
Jan. 17th, 2007 09:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eveglassHere's the deal: I'm currently on my 8th week of ESL teaching. As of yesterday, I've done 65 hours of paid teaching (about 35 classes). If you combine this with prep time, that number probably shoots up to about 100 hours devoted to this field, plus the time I spent doing my CELTA (approx. one month of my life devoted to nothing else).
I know that in absolute terms, 65 hours (even 100 hours) is not that much. At a full-time job, that's less than a month of work. Even in the ESL world, where "full-time" is about 22.5 hours a week of class time, that's still only about 3-4 weeks. But for me, this has been my life since mid-October, or about 3 months. That's a long enough time for me to get a feel for what I'm doing, I think.
Looking back over the experience, I realize something very important: I don't really like doing it. I find it stressful and time-consuming to prepare lessons. I find it stressful to teach: I'm always looking at my watch and asking, "will I make it to the end of class without running out of material?" I spend at least 5-10 minutes before every class wishing my students won't turn up so that I'll be let off the hook.
Furthermore, I don't think this is getting me any closer towards my goals of cegep teaching. I had thought, when I started along this path, "any teaching is better than no teaching." I'm not sure I believe that anymore. The type of teaching I do for ESL classes is entirely different from the lecture-style classes I'd do at a cegep. ESL classes are primarily communication classes, where the students are supposed to speak as much as possible. The closest thing I can compare it to is a university seminar class, where the class is supposed to consist of student discussions as opposed to lectures. Heck, the workshops I teach in the SCA are closer to cegep-style teaching than ESL classes are!
Finally, it doesn't really pay me all that much. Yes, per hour it pays much more than minimum wage or even most secretarial positions. On the other hand, I'm only teaching 7 hours a week, potentially soon to drop down to five. And even if I were working full time (which, in the ESL world, means about 22.5 hours a week of class-time), I'd still only be making about 3/4 what I'd make as a low-paid secretary (at, say $13 per hour). I'd probably be working almost the same amount (I'd probably need to spend at least another 7 hours per week prepping lessons), and I'd certainly be more stressed.
If any of these were not the case, if I liked teaching ESL, if it gave me valuable and relevant work experience for my chosen field, or if it paid really well, I'd be in a deeper conundum than I am now. But looking at all the factors, and speaking to a few key people close to me, I think I've come to a new resolution: I'm getting out.
I'm going to start sending out my CV again. I'll hunt for some secretarial jobs in fields that interest me (namely, education or publishing, though I'm open to other options that seem interesting) and see where it takes me. If cegep jobs happen to come up, so much the better. If they don't, I don't mind working as a secretary for a few years, so long as the pay is decent and the field is something I can expand in. Who knows, there may be places I can pursue teaching / training within a large company. It's worth investigating.
I'll keep working my current ESL contract until I land a job, but I won't feel too upset giving them 2 weeks' notice and telling them to find someone else. Continued through to its conclusion, this contract would take me until the end of March, and quite frankly I don't want to wait that long.
So that's my thoughts of the morning. Now, for breakfast and to plan my lesson. This afternoon, the job-hunt recommences.
I know that in absolute terms, 65 hours (even 100 hours) is not that much. At a full-time job, that's less than a month of work. Even in the ESL world, where "full-time" is about 22.5 hours a week of class time, that's still only about 3-4 weeks. But for me, this has been my life since mid-October, or about 3 months. That's a long enough time for me to get a feel for what I'm doing, I think.
Looking back over the experience, I realize something very important: I don't really like doing it. I find it stressful and time-consuming to prepare lessons. I find it stressful to teach: I'm always looking at my watch and asking, "will I make it to the end of class without running out of material?" I spend at least 5-10 minutes before every class wishing my students won't turn up so that I'll be let off the hook.
Furthermore, I don't think this is getting me any closer towards my goals of cegep teaching. I had thought, when I started along this path, "any teaching is better than no teaching." I'm not sure I believe that anymore. The type of teaching I do for ESL classes is entirely different from the lecture-style classes I'd do at a cegep. ESL classes are primarily communication classes, where the students are supposed to speak as much as possible. The closest thing I can compare it to is a university seminar class, where the class is supposed to consist of student discussions as opposed to lectures. Heck, the workshops I teach in the SCA are closer to cegep-style teaching than ESL classes are!
Finally, it doesn't really pay me all that much. Yes, per hour it pays much more than minimum wage or even most secretarial positions. On the other hand, I'm only teaching 7 hours a week, potentially soon to drop down to five. And even if I were working full time (which, in the ESL world, means about 22.5 hours a week of class-time), I'd still only be making about 3/4 what I'd make as a low-paid secretary (at, say $13 per hour). I'd probably be working almost the same amount (I'd probably need to spend at least another 7 hours per week prepping lessons), and I'd certainly be more stressed.
If any of these were not the case, if I liked teaching ESL, if it gave me valuable and relevant work experience for my chosen field, or if it paid really well, I'd be in a deeper conundum than I am now. But looking at all the factors, and speaking to a few key people close to me, I think I've come to a new resolution: I'm getting out.
I'm going to start sending out my CV again. I'll hunt for some secretarial jobs in fields that interest me (namely, education or publishing, though I'm open to other options that seem interesting) and see where it takes me. If cegep jobs happen to come up, so much the better. If they don't, I don't mind working as a secretary for a few years, so long as the pay is decent and the field is something I can expand in. Who knows, there may be places I can pursue teaching / training within a large company. It's worth investigating.
I'll keep working my current ESL contract until I land a job, but I won't feel too upset giving them 2 weeks' notice and telling them to find someone else. Continued through to its conclusion, this contract would take me until the end of March, and quite frankly I don't want to wait that long.
So that's my thoughts of the morning. Now, for breakfast and to plan my lesson. This afternoon, the job-hunt recommences.
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no subject
Date: 2007-01-17 03:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-17 03:41 pm (UTC)For the type of teaching I'm doing, the standard rate is about $19-20 per hour for corporate classes (ie: at the company) and $15-18 per hour for classes at the language school. Once you factor in planning and travel time, that only works out to just about minimum wage.
I understand that college teaching is a lot of extra work: I've been a T.A. and I've taught a few classes and done grading. On the other hand, I think it's a lot more satisfying than the stuff I'm doing now, and it's certainly a more respected profession.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-17 11:35 pm (UTC)