Major Career Change!

As of today, I have officially been working at my current job for two whole years! I work as a marketing assistant/secretary/mortgage loan processor/happy hour companion for my boss. It is just he and I in our tiny, yet swanky (we have a fully stocked bar ;) office. When I first started, bossy had pretty big plans for me and our company, but with the current economy and markets that have gone to hell and back we just have not had a steady in-flow of work and his need for me is pretty minimal at best. I realized about a year ago that I would need to start looking for a new career, one that would be more stable, long lasting and most importantly, fulfilling. That is when I decided to get certified to become a teacher.

I definitely thought it would be a lot easier than it has been. Along the way, many people have offered their encouragement, saying things like "there is a shortage of teachers, they always need more" or "they especially need math teachers, you'll definitely get hired". I too thought these exact things and believed I would be a shoe-in. Well, the fact that I am "alternatively-certified" (meaning I didn't get a degree in education) coupled with the fact that this economy has probably made this the most difficult year EVER to get a teaching position has really made my goal of becoming an educator a little harder to reach than I initially believed it would be. It is unlikely that I will get hired before school starts and so after much deliberation, I have decided that in the next month (probably around mid-Septemberish), I am going to quit my current job and become a substitute teacher!This is probably the scariest decision I have ever made. Leaving the security of a salaried position to work part-time with no stable income, no health benefits and no promise of a future job....ahhh! Scary as it is, I have decided that it is what I need to do to get my foot into the teaching world. I have sent countless emails (probably atleast 300), made many phone calls and even had interviews with human resources of various school districts and have concluded that the only real way to get a teaching job, is to actually be in their faces, meeting the principals, and showing them what a great teacher I have the potential to be. This just can not be conveyed in an email or resume. I have submitted my substitute application to two school districts (the two that I would most like to work for) hoping that by spreading myself out I will have steady subsitute jobs as well as an increased opportunity of getting a full-time teaching position.
I have weighed the pros and cons of this decision with Mason and my family over and over again (I'm sure they are sick of the topic by now), but they have been very supportive and agree that it is the best decision for me right now. There is always a chance that I will get hired during the school year sometime, but if not, I'm hoping that substituting will at least land me a full-time job by next school year! I just don't want to waste any more time waiting for my ship to come in. It's time to start being more proactive and really start working towards my dream of becoming a teacher. If that means that I have to be a broke substitute for a few months to a year, then so be it... ;)

Wow, that was a long post... but it IS a major life change and although I am a little nervous, I am mostly excited! I still need to break the news to my boss (even though I know he already knows, but he doesn't know that I know he knows, haha). Anyway, I'll keep you posted on how it goes!