Maybe this is the profession to get the last 5-10 years towards retirement now.

I had a thought that is starting to linger in my mind a lot. I 32f got a degree in biology followed by a ACP program and taught middle school for 3 consecutive years then took some time off for kids. Went back in but realized I just can’t.

I keep thinking of what made me coworkers more susceptible to keeping this profession despite stating the same issues. I realized many of the people who lasted (at least that I noticed) were in their second career as a teacher. Their kids were grown or finishing their last years of middle or high school so their level of responsibilities were different.

I, on the other hand, have young kids that need my attention when I get home and I’m drained. The last school I was at kept us up to till 5:20pm for meetings at least once every 2 -3 weeks and we were voluntold to do sports and activities. We also kind of needed to up our pay a bit because our base salaries weren’t up to par with the cost of living.

Maybe this profession used to fit young parents but now I think it’s better when your kids are older and you can take time to grade at home and do lesson plans. I struggled so much with time with my young children and my family needs.

For now, I’m leaving the profession and going to nursing school for the schedule mostly but will keep my license active to make sure this will stay an option for me in the next 10-15 years when my kids are older and I have less responsibilities as a mother.

Maybe I’m wrong but I’m curious what everyone else thinks.