uncertainty

I'm in the process of a career change. I'm pursuing a teaching career, and my goal is to be teaching in my own classroom this fall. I've made lots of progress; I have an interview next week with an organization that selects teaching candidates for charter schools in the LA area. I already registered for the CBEST, and once I get my hands on some extra cash I'm registering for the subject matter exams for the grade level I want to teach.

I ran across another good opportunity teaching for a summer reading program. I applied for it on a whim, because it seems like a good way to gain experience in a classroom setting and I'm very passionate about books, reading, and learning.

Despite the fact that these opportunities are promising, I feel uncertain. That stupid negative voice in my head is nagging me and making me wonder: if I quit my job to take the summer teaching position, what if I don't get a teaching job after the program ends? I can't afford to spend any time unemployed.

No matter what the negative voice says, my gut is telling me to go for it. I'll just have to deal with the consequences later. The relentless optimist in me thinks that this is a golden opportunity because it's a way to gain valuable experience, and it's a way for me to leave my shitty job sooner than I originally thought I would. If I get the summer teaching job I'll be out that bitch by Memorial Day rather than August or September.

It's not like my current job is stable to begin with. My company got purchased by its partner, and all operations except for my department are being relocated to Texas. Supposedly my department gets to remain alive since there isn't any internet marketing talent in the new city. Granted, web marketing thrives mostly on the coasts. But think about it, how many startups have your heard of that pop up in the middle of nowhere? Also, the fact that there isn't a plethora of web marketing talent in TX doesn't mean that they won't find any and replace the people on my team. It would be cheaper and more efficient for the company to hire local talent rather than to keep us in LA. We're all expendable.

I'm 90% sure that I will have a teaching job with full salary and benefits at the beginning of the fall school year. LAUSD is hard up for teachers, maybe due to their faulty payroll system. Compton Unified is so desperate for teachers that they will not only pay you full salary and benefits, but they will pay for your credential program and help you pay off your old student loans. There are over a hundred charter schools in LA, many of which have a desperate need for teachers. Despite talks of proposed state budget cuts in education, it's a job seeker's market in the education game.

I may be without benefits for the summer, but it's very likely that I'll have a job this fall. In the interim, that's why God made COBRA.

This is where going back to church has inspired me so much. It helps me to have faith when I'm not sure what road to take. All I have to do is take a step, because it's already done. God's gonna work it out.

Peace.