Should I Become a Teacher?

How to Know if Teaching Is Your Calling

When someone takes a job as a barista or dog groomer, they rarely get questions about whether they felt called to their profession. Teaching is a different story.

It’s undeniable that there is something deeper at work when it comes to choosing a teaching career.

When asking yourself why you want to become a teacher, it’s possible to find yourself settling on one of these common answers:

• It is the only profession you can imagine pursuing.
• You have strong memories of how impactful your best teachers were on your life.
• You wanted to be a teacher from a very young age.
• You have many positive relationships with young people and feel compelled to help them learn and grow.

Of course, you can still succeed as a teacher, even if none of the above factors are true. If you feel called to teach, that is a good sign that you should take the next step towards beginning a teaching career.

Is Being a Teacher Worth It?

Becoming a teacher does require a significant investment. At minimum, teachers in New York must have a bachelor’s degree to get started. But most have a specialized teaching degree.

Before investing time, energy, and money in completing a teaching program, a prospective teacher would want to know if the investment is worth it. Ultimately, the decision is yours to make, but there are a few reasons why someone would want to become a teacher.

1. Being a Teacher Is Emotionally Rewarding

Great teachers develop close bonds with their students, and the reward of seeing them learn new things, grasp new concepts, and grow as people can be endlessly satisfying. Teaching young students can mean seeing them read for the first time, while older students may learn an entirely new language or discover a book that will become a lifelong favorite.

The emotional rewards of teaching can be virtually endless.

2. A Variety of Work Environments Are Available

The difference between working in an elementary school and a high school are like night and day, but both environments need teachers.

It’s possible for aspiring teachers to find the right work environment to best suit their strengths and preferences. Just because kindergarten does not appeal to one new teacher, it doesn’t mean that teaching is not the right path. A teacher may simply be better suited to teaching older kids, teens, or even adults.

3. Many Opportunities Exist to See a Real Impact

Teachers not only see how a student changes from the beginning to the end of the year, but they are often treated to visits from those who have left their classes and gone on to the next grade, level, or school.

Few professions can offer such a clear view into how one has had a direct impact on another human being.

4. School Schedules Offer Significant Time Off

Another benefit of becoming a teacher can be the schedule. Although there is plenty of preparation that must go into every lesson, teaching hours extend both before and after school. There is still significant time off in most teachers’ schedules. Many teachers have not only weekends but also summer break, spring break, and a winter holiday break off as well.

5. New York Teachers Earn the Most in the Country

Although teaching is not the path to riches, teachers in New York can earn a competitive salary. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, teachers in New York earn the most out of any teachers in the U.S., with elementary school teachers in NY earning a mean salary of $ 87,700 and high school teachers earning a mean salary of $ 92,660 as of 2021.

How to Start the Process of Becoming a Teacher

The first step to becoming a teacher is to find an undergraduate degree program. For those who already have an undergraduate degree in another area, it is possible to qualify for a teaching certification by earning a graduate degree or through other specialized programs, depending on the state where you intend to teach.

The College of Saint Rose is a perfect place to take those initial steps toward becoming a teacher, with the support of a highly regarded staff and countless alumni who have gone on to become educators in New York and beyond.

Other Compassionate Careers to Consider

Choosing a career in teaching is not to be taken lightly, and there is certainly no shame in deciding it is not the right path.

Luckily, Saint Rose offers several programs that can fulfill the compassionate drive that many career-seekers have to teach the next generation. For instance, nurses are also essential caregivers who have an enormous impact on those they care for in their professional lives.

The Saint Rose nursing program can help students excel in the nursing field.

Saint Rose also offers a psychology program, a school counseling program for those who still want to work in an educational setting, and a master’s degree in social work. Just because teaching is not your calling does not mean that your career choice can’t be something that makes a difference.