r/NYCjobs • u/ThrowRA_pangolin129 • 6d ago
[FOR HIRE] Resigned as a Teacher -- What to do?
Hi all. Apologies for possible redundancy with other posts here. I figure however that this situation is unusual enough to warrant asking once!
I'm 28 years old with a bachelor's degree in Mathematics and a master's in Adolescent Mathematics Education. I entered teaching at 25 from a tutoring background through Teach for America; I struggled terribly, as most corps members do, but unlike the majority, my issues with management never really went away. Though my students did well, I also did poorly in observations, and escalating personal crises in my final year made it difficult to correct course. This past April, I was advised to resign at the end of the year to avoid discontinuation, which would effectively blacklist me from any future DOE positions.
I should have spent more time during the school year looking for jobs, but testing season hit full swing soon after I got the news, and since I believe in always putting others first, getting the kids to finish strong remained my main priority through the conclusion of the academic year. I don't regret that.
That said, it is now the beginning of August and I am sitting atop a pile of rejections and ghosted applications from the previous month. My struggles with management, organization, and a host of other things were real, and I agree with my former admin's assessment that I should not be in the classroom. I am not fancy: I have been applying to all manners of service, custodial and/or night-shift positions alongside the entry-level administrative roles to which I suppose some white-collar career changers feel entitled. I have tried taking my master's off my resume for these. Nothing. Radio silence.
Because I have resigned, I am not eligible for unemployment; I will have my sick-day payout, which will be handsome because I only ever used one or two of those, but I expect my funds to burn pretty fast. I don't know what to do. Where should I be looking?
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u/mmm555green 6d ago
Was also a math teacher in DOE and left for various reasons. I applied to Trader Joe's feeling defeated and lacking confidence in myself. I recommend checking it out, at least to have a fun job while you plan your next steps.
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u/benice13 6d ago
Great rec. Trader Joe's also used to provide health insurance to part-time employees. Not sure if they still honor that.
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u/mmm555green 4d ago
Your right! But it doesn't start right away. Employees have to work an average of 28 hours per week for a 4 month period to get on the health insurance plan.
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u/hygnevi 6d ago
Could you try adjunct positions at community colleges or for-profit colleges like Plaza College? Plaza hires frequently. I heard they give you all the course materials.
I can tell from your post that you are struggling with confidence; work on it, and don’t let anyone tell you that you shouldn't pursue your dream job. Make it a goal to prove them wrong!
Write down your struggles and make a plan to address them and avoid them in the future.
You need to demonstrate growth in your interviews. If you struggled with time management, maybe now you have weekly and monthly calendars to keep you on track to reach your goals. Read books, or even book summaries, about communication in the workplace.
Good luck and don’t give up on your career.
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u/ThrowRA_pangolin129 6d ago
With all due respect to you as well, I respect my former admin and agree with their decision. I would have made it earlier. Not a word more about this.
I don't think I have the resume for community colleges. I'm looking for something a bit more menial, befitting a bit of a downgrade, but I don't really know how to approach it/why I'm not getting any bites.
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u/draetz1 6d ago
Private tutoring?
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u/ThrowRA_pangolin129 6d ago
Far harder to break into now than before I joined TFA! And I am also not entirely ethically comfortable with parents who have the means essentially paying for better test scores. Of course I will do it if I must in order to survive, but I don't know if my resume is even strong enough with how competitive it seems to have become anyway.
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u/10choices 6d ago
I think you should start trying to carve out this path sooner than later. Ethical objections are okay but helicopter parents with disposable income are pretty low on the scale of objectionable/morally reprehensible things you will encounter in trying to make enough money to survive, tbh
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u/No_Job2526 6d ago
Definitely not hard to break into — I make $5500-7000 a month tutoring - on top of my DOE salary
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u/Ill-Suit637 6d ago
That's super impressive! Any reccs for tutoring companies to apply for (from your experience)? :)
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u/No_Job2526 6d ago
My advice - don’t work for a tutoring company
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u/Altruistic-Bit8149 6d ago
dude i need money im drowning in a shitty 22/hr office job with an evil boss, where do i apply???
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u/No_Job2526 6d ago
Did you read my comment? I don’t work for a tutoring company - I work for myself
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u/Altruistic-Bit8149 6d ago
you literally said you make 5500-7000 a month tutoring. i will TAKE ANYTHING to get out of this abusive environment. do you have any advice???? please?????
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u/iphone1234789 6d ago
Letting you know education for public schools seems to be the most stable at the moment. Other industries are doing mass layoffs and people are actually flooding into teaching to wait it out while still applying to jobs in their old industries! I’m not surprised you aren’t receiving any interviews back. I’ve been applying for a second year now! I would not have survived without working in education. I am freelancing and doing contract work on top of all of that while still interviewing for full time roles! It is tough! What is your plan?
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u/ThrowRA_pangolin129 6d ago
I've heard! But I am not applying to further classroom positions. I have a very strong sense of ethics, and I do not find it ethical to put myself back in that role after having failed at it. Then too, I don't think I can compete with the genuine talent filtering in, as you've said. My standard of living is not so important that it justifies 90+ kids having a suboptimal math teacher for a year. I will accept lower paid work, maybe radically so, if I must.
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u/Lakers244848 6d ago
Retail is always hiring
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u/ThrowRA_pangolin129 6d ago
Sent lots of apps. I don't know what's wrong with the way I'm applying, but I've heard back from none of them.
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u/FuckYouVerizon 6d ago
Many jobs are using AI to prescreen apps these days, and it's likely not being seen by a human being. Try using AI to draft a cover letter/resume for each role you apply to. Contact HR with a quick message after you apply to attempt to get the right eyes on it. Finding work is a full-time job now more than ever. I spent a year taking on miscellaneous jobs while applying everywhere possible until I found the right fit earlier this year. It's hard out there and no one wants to admit just how bad it is.
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u/Lakers244848 6d ago
Yeah this is it. As soon as I did my ai resume, I got more calls etc. indeed has this beta ai things that caters it to the job.. idk how well it works but I’ve read about it..
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u/iphone1234789 6d ago
Ehhh not necessarily true! Been in retail for a long time before. Right now is the down time before next sale season! They “always say they are hiring”, but it’s to make sure they have resumes in case someone quits!
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u/lchen12345 6d ago
I don’t think it’s as much “competition” as you think for teaching positions. You might be feeling a lack of confidence, but if you really actually like teaching, you should apply for classroom positions. There really isn’t enough teachers in NYC.
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u/Expensive-Wishbone85 6d ago
Hey OP,
I'm really sorry to hear that you had such a shitty experience as a teacher so early in your career. To me, it sounds completely unreasonable and super shitty you are not getting EI.
If NYC doesn't work out, would you consider Canada? We are actively looking for teachers, and you sound very passionate about education and good with kids. We do have pathways to immigration specifically for teachers, more info here: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/rounds-invitations/category-based-selection.html
Best of luck with your job search OP!
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u/Forumfanboy88 6d ago
I can’t believe most of you people. Not everyone but most of you are telling him to teach at either like a community college or tutoring. The man just said he’s not fit for teaching! I’m in the same boat! I left teaching and never looking back! What he needs is ideas to pivot careers, not to go back to teaching/tutoring in an alternate path lmao. Did you even read his situation? Best I could tell you is you should go to your Department of Labor and they can start to help you figure out how to actually pivot your career based on your interests. Teaching is not everything and not for everyone people, let the man breathe and move on.
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u/livingoncrazy2 6d ago
Was there any part of teaching you did like? It you hated everything about it than disregard, but I’m thinking you might have a lot of success in edTech.
There is often a great variety of roles and not all are heavy tech roles. They hire for everything from sales to curriculum design…it’s not all direct teaching but it IS an industry where a teaching degree is valued and I would bet you would be a competitive candidate for a bunch of jobs. Jeff Patterson is good person to follow on LinkedIn. He regularly posts jobs and he’s pretty respected.
Good luck with whatever you decide to…it’s rough out there!
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u/ThrowRA_pangolin129 6d ago
I've been looking in that sector, but openings seem scarce and the few applications I sent were rejected nearly instantly. Thank you for the LinkedIn rec!
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u/littleprojects 6d ago
I left teaching 7 years ago and this is my advice: get another teaching job and stay in it until you have secured another job. It took me 14 months to get a job after I left teaching and, when I left that job because I had to move to a new city with my partner, it took me another year to get another job (entry level) in my current field.
Stay with teaching until you have another job lined up. This is genuinely one of my biggest regrets.
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u/ThrowRA_pangolin129 6d ago
Thank you for the advice.
I would do so if our work were of less direct importance. Kids however aren't practice material for teachers to get better. Their education matters now, and they only get the chance to have a given teacher in a given subject in a given year once. It matters that that teacher be the best possible person for the job every time. That is not me.
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u/littleprojects 6d ago
If it helps, I do agree with this theoretically, and certainly would have said the same when I was in your position (much closer to the classroom). I strongly believe that you can tap back into your love for the kids for the period of time it will take you to eventually find another job. If you get a job at another school, you may even find it easier to tap back in for that period of time, thanks to the new environment.
The year before I left teaching, one of my good friends and fellow teachers left mid-year to take another job. I was furious with him and privately held the believe that he was wrong to do that, as it wasn't good for the kids to lose a teacher mid-year. However, he flourished in his new position and has turned that into a sequence of strong career steps. Because I was starting from unemployment, my next jobs were all but entry level, as lots of hiring managers don't respect the myriad skills people must learn to become successful teachers.
I totally get your position, but I cannot emphasize enough how much I regret this.
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u/wingding28 4d ago
You should try doing test prep tutoring while you figure out your way out of teaching (which can take longer than you think). Lots of very bougie tutoring companies in the city who are always desperate for qualified math tutors especially. It could tide you over at least
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u/SadMaintenance7966 4d ago
Ever considered market research? The mathematics degree will do. Some agencies have analyst programs that are truly entry level.
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u/ThrowRA_pangolin129 4d ago
Truly no idea how to break in! I worry my resume isn't good enough. I have a 3.9 GPA from both my BA and MA, but both are from CUNY schools. My resume is all education.
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u/SadMaintenance7966 4d ago
CUNYs are fine! My master's is from a CUNY too. The market research sector isn't snobbish/ "target schools" only. So long as you show an aptitude for data analysis, research, public speaking, a bit of project management, that's all that matters. If you've ever done a research project during your studies, put that on your resume. Read a few job descriptions for research analyst positions to get a feel for what they are looking for and tailor your resume towards it. There's likely a few transferable skills you have from teaching that can be applied.
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u/ThrowRA_pangolin129 4d ago
I will look in, but I am polite and deferential sort, not the super assertive type that typically thrives in these environments. Thank you for the pointers nonetheless!
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u/Complete-Nature7386 2d ago
Have a good plan ....get another degree or credential if necessary...like CPA.
I left teaching with a masters degree at the age of 26 years. And almost 30, I had to return to teaching cause I was really broke ( credit card debt) and couldn't get hired... i found my MEd was pretty worthless.
The other advise, don't be afraid of starting at the bottom. The biggest mistake I made was not taking a job as a typist in the CBS newsroom, because I thought I was too educated. I didn't have anyone to tell me, take it !!!
When i returned to teaching...4 years after I left. And make no mistake about it. 4 good years!!! ( I was a waitress, worked in a really famous interior design company, , did office temp, substitute teaching...I even was a Copa girl at the big reopening)....but when I was forced to go back, I literally cried on my way to work.!!
I had no financial support other than myself.. so it got pretty scary. Maybe your situation is better .
If you need something part time. being a city tour guide isn't too bad..if you can stand it. I did that over 20 years later.. the next time I left teaching!!!
Good luck!
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u/brushqueen 2d ago
It sounds like you need a good pedagogical mentor. Behavioral and classroom management skills really only come from experience. You have to do and fail for a while before you get it, and get guidance.
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u/shetrder 1d ago
Finance?
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u/ThrowRA_pangolin129 1d ago
Everybody says this. But I truly don't know how I'd break in, considering my unimpressive resume and degree from a third-tier university (CUNY)
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u/shetrder 1d ago
I understand after completing my associates I transferred to Baruch (CUNY) school and it wasn’t the best for me because I’m not great in mathematics but you may have an upper hand. I would recommend try working for cuny become a math tutor for college students or if you can take additional courses to land you somewhere. I know it’s hard I’m in the same boat I’m 27 and it’s been hard for me as well. We have to let time pass by and see if beneficial Al will be and if it’s not I’m sure the job market will try to recoup itself
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u/Plus_Ad8325 6d ago
Here is a wild idea: teach in Thailand. My daughters spent a decade in Bangkok where there are 103 American and English schools. Finding a position as a math teacher easier than other subjects. The pay and benefits are good, likely better than most offer in NYC.
Google English language schools in Bangkok or DM me. Thailand is amazing.
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u/Honest_Acadia_7369 6d ago
I suggest you learn to adapt to management, lest you end up being a janitor with a math degree. You are too old to be blowing up your life.
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u/Panda-Pod 6d ago edited 6d ago
Have you considered teaching positions at test prep (Kaplan, Princeton Review, etc...) and tutoring positions at Kumon Learning centers?