Teaching is not for the faint of heart. You do not get your summers off (people just think you do because you are most often required to take classes, write curriculum, etc. w/o pay) and there is no 8-3 (I got to campus at 6 am and left after 5:30 everyday).

I think the grass is greener to many people. I think social work is noble but grossly underpaid and overworked. The burnout rate is higher than what is found in education. No one talks about the fact that most teachers only teach 5 years or less.

I suggest you research interests, pay levels (you will have to repay student loans somehow unless you are lucky enough to have everything paid by scholarships and grants, but very few are that lucky), and working environments. Check with university programs, ask if you can meet with directors of those programs, ask to talk to their intern coordinators, see if you can visit workplaces, etc. That is all part of data gathering and it really pays off in the end.

I guess I should have explained teacher salaries a little better. Teachers are paid on a 187 day contract in my state. Those are the number of classroom days (campus/contact with students). Then we are required to have x number hours of extra training every year on our time, workshops that hone skills (usually on our time), writing district curriculum (or special program curriculum) OUR time...these all are summertime things. My 187 day pay? Well, it was spread out over a year so that I would be paid every month (school districts realized they actually made more money by keeping as much in the bank as long as they could and acrue interest). To most people it looks like I get paid for doing "nothing" in the summer.

Retirement packages depend on where you live. Not every state treats teachers equally so where you live may be critical to your decisions.

You might want to combine both areas and become a school guidance counselor. I am afraid social workers have not obtained the same benefits as teachers. At least that is my impression. If you can score a guidance job in a school you get benefits and a good retirement plan. No career is easy to achieve these days. If you want to avoid the college app pressure, look at middle schools.
And good luck! Dotty

I have been teaching for fifteen years, but I get paid for only eleven. This is because I moved (due to my dh being active duty Navy). That is a HUGE drawback to teaching - the loss of pay because most districts only pay for five years of experience. If we moved again, I would lose over $15,000 a year for the remainder of my teaching career, not counting how this would affect my retirement, so I am completely STUCK living where we do. That is another consideration when going into teaching. You pretty much have to stay in one location if you want to make a decent living. You also have to continue your education in order to stay licensed. I am currently taking five hours of graduate classes (I already have a Masters), just so that I can complete my MA+15 to get an extra $1000 a year. Pay is based on years of experience and level of education. You don't get raises for being a great teacher. You just end up getting more duties (such as being a mentor for new teachers), and the district expects more "volunteer" time (as in writing curriculum).

I love teaching. I didn't love moonlighting at least 30 hours a week on top of my teaching high school English for the first four years of my career so I could make ends meet. I signed up for every sporting event and coached two sports to make extra money too. It was tough in the beginning, but now I am making enough to not have to work two jobs and afford to put my kids in a private school. (Ironic, huh? - since I teach in a public school...)

Yes, it is not easy. I taught for 38 years, did every extra pay thing, and 16 years of special ed summer school. Put 3 kids thru great colleges as a single mom. It was hard!But now I have an excellent pension, health benefits, and a lot more security than my peers who can't afford to retire. I know every state is different. Just look at the long term potentials when changing careers.

I quite agree with advantages and disadvantages to teaching. I consider myself of the very lucky teachers. I alternatively certified which means my degrees are not in education. I am a trained chemist and physicist. I went into teaching after being an engineer for many years. Now I consult in those fields and sometimes write for textbook publishers.

Yes, teachers get warm squishy feelings once in a while. Yes, it is rewarding. I just wish people would stop thinking teachers work 8-3 and have summers off. Education is one field where continueing education is required, higher degrees are preferred, but there is no pay reward or assistance for doing so. In my area the pay difference between a bachelors degree and a masters is $500/year. That doesn't pay for 1 hour of graduate school.

If you are going to go back to school, make sure that the field you are entering is going to allow you to pay back your loans otherwise you are back to square one financially.

Well said!!

Yep. My loans will not be paid off until I retire. That is really hard to swallow. I pay $388 a month for my loans. The increase I got for my masters only covers about a third of this. (I got my masters in technology, so I have a bit more versatility.)

I value all of your opinions! Thank you!

My plan is essentially to get my bachelors in Elementary Ed then continue on to get a Masters in Social Work (then I guess I could do either one :))

I currently work at an elementary school, this will be my 4th year there and I just decided today and got information to volunteer at the Police Department in their children's center :)

Thanks to your suggestions on volunteering and scoping both options out I think this semester will be a semester full of BIG decisions :)

It's hard to decide what you want to do for the next 30 years when you are 18. At 18 DD followed her pocketbook and wanted to be a pharmacist. She hated the classes and at 20 decided to be a nurse. She spent a year in classes and hated it. Took classes hear and there for a while and finally at 25 went back to her original idea. Being a special ed pre school teacher. She is on her way and is the happiest I have ever seen her. She is three years into the program and loves her classes and the field work. She spent three months working in a special ed preschool program last year. It may not pay as well but she loves it and that's what is important.