What are those three jobs really like?

Are there particular characteristics that you would need in order to like and continue with these particular careers?

Can you tell us more about the average day in one of these careers?

This is my 20th year in education. I love my job...I'm a Special Ed. teacher.
I've taught elementary, middle school and now I teach high school.

I get up early, I get to work and get myself organized. I usually have to make copies, so I try to find a machine that works in the building. I have TONS of paperwork besides grading and planning because I have reports to complete because of the nature of my job.
I teach 5 classes: 2 "replacement", which means I have an English class and a US History class that I teach to students who are in Special Ed. Then I do three periods of "in-class support", where I work alongside 3 different general ed. teachers- American Lit., Drama, and US History. I co-teach the subject matter to students in both populations. This position requires walking all over the building, up & down stairs everyday.

I have a BA in psychology (child development), a Post-BA in Special Ed, A Master's in Special Ed, and I'm working on a Doctorate in "Social & Philosophical Foundations in Education". I was "Teacher of the Year" in my School District in 2004.

Besides academic knowledge and a knowledge of disabilities, I think my job requires a lot of patience. People think that teaching is "easy", "would be fun", or that we do it because we couldn't do other things. A lot of times, we spend more time with their children than they do... Dealing with kids is not easy. Just ask the moms who hate breaks!
Nothing is more offensive than when people think it's okay to point out how much time we get off and that we don't work summers. A lot of us DO work in the summer because we only get paid during the school year and need income during the vacations months. So, we wait tables, work in the mall or do whatever we can to make ends meet till those paychecks come again.

I love my job... there is nothing else I'd rather do. I hope this gives some insight...
-L-

Natisse said:

I'm still in school for nursing, but I work at a hospital as a tech and end up doing a lot of the duties of a nurse minus administering meds.

There is a lot of paperwork. More than I realized. I work in a psychiatric hospital which is a little different than a regular hospital. There aren't any patients that have major medical issues. So, if you work the night shift you don't have much patient contact. But, it seems you always have someone that wakes up or gets out of hand. Beware of the nurse with the syringe!!!

You have to be able to stand gross stuff like bad hygiene, blood, poop, urine, throw up. If you can't then nursing probably isn't for you. I've learned some funny techniques to keep myself from puking. You also have to be comfortable with seeing people naked and such. You get used to it as it's just part of the job. I don't think nurses can be shy. You really need to be a people person and be able to effectively communicate with all different types of people.

One of the coolest things about nursing is the seemingly endless opportunities. If you work in the ER for a few years and you decide you don't like it or are bored you can always do something else. Nursing is recession proof and you can travel with it too if you like.

I hope this has helped and I'm not rambling. I just got home from work myself and haven't slept in a while.



Good luck!

I have been a RN for 12 years. I am an Assistant Clinical Director at a Pediatric Home Care Agency.
I use to work out in the field in home health and I loved it. With Peds you have to be very flexible and creative in how you deal with the wide range of ages 0-18yrs. In home health I love how connected you can be with the entire family and the teaching you can do. The farther up in management I went, the farther away from patients I have gotten. I stay in management because I have a large family of my own, and a lot of nursing positions involved weekends, holidays, on call, and evening/night shifts.
Nursing is a great profession in the sense of you will NEVER be out of a job and there are so many different areas to branch into. But there is a huge shortage in nursing right now, and some of that is due to burnout. I think you really have to have a certain personality to continue to feel fulfilled and be ok with the level of responsibility and sacrifice. You can't always clock out at the end of your shift.

chocolate1 said:

that was very inspiring.

I'm studying right now to take my educational certification test.

thanks!

I work as a home teacher for kids who can't attend school, and I love it. It can be frustrating trying to motivate the expelled kids who don't want to learn or do work, but when they really try hard and succeed the rewards are amazing

Thank you all so much for your responses! lots of food for thought Thanks again!

Natisse said:

You're welcome! Are you thinking of one of these as a career?

hokie said:

I have a cousin who has been a teacher for a very long time... I got the chance to talk to her about it recently and she confirmed my suspisions that I wouldn't be right for that and nursing, I'm not sure of. Vet nursing I would have a hard time emotionally because Animals are one of my main passions but on the other hand I love the thought I'd be helping get them well, some of the time at least.

Not sure...

Natisse said:

Well, any time I can help you with info just let me know. I'd be happy to share what I've learned and am learning.