I’m having health issues related to stress, and I’m seriously considering changing careers. I’ve been a teacher for something like 15 years now, and nearly every time the cycle is the same:
The school has a system that works, admin is satisfied, teachers can teach it easily, and students are satisfied with the results.
As time goes by, the admin starts to think “we can do better,” and decides to overhaul the system. Usually, this is spurred by a single complaint from a former student that wasn’t very good in the first place, or a situation that is blown out of proportion (3 students failing a given level in a given term while previously it was 0-1). Nowadays, this is also often spurred by accreditation. Universally, this is when the admin decides to step in and dictate classroom instruction, instead of allowing the teachers to improve the curriculum.
As new techniques, books and strategies are thrown around (usually by people who have no idea what they are), there’s a period of chaos where everybody is unhappy: the admin, the teachers, and the students. At my current school, the mantra is: “We don’t know what to do, so let’s just make the students work twice as hard as before.” Students get mad at the teachers, the teachers get mad at the admin, and the admin start interfering more.
So, here’s my dilemma:
Whenever this point of chaos arrives, this always increases my stress level to the point where I start to have health related problems. They don’t interfere with my job performance, but I have to go to the doctor more and more often. My issues have included ulcers, rashes, blurred vision, exhaustion, weight fluctuation, cold/flu’s (lowered immune system), and dizziness. This has happened 5 times in the past 8 years. At this point, I’m seriously thinking about changing careers.
Today’s economy is horrible. If you quit can you realistically expect to get another job at similar pay. Trading one kind of stress for another isn’t going to make any difference in your health. If fact if you’re med insurance is tied to your job it could be much worse.
Normally I would say to quit but in this economy with jobs, even simple retail type jobs are hard to get or will only give you a few hours a week, you can’t risk going from bad to worse.
On the money side, I’ll be OK I think. I qualify for unemployment insurance, so I could even take a training course before changing careers.
On the health side, these issues usually subside quickly when the stress is removed.
On the job side, I think retail sales might even be too stressful for me. I’m not sure at this point if I’m handling stress badly, or I’m one of those people who need a stress-controlled environment.
Please do not take this the wrong way, but have you considered some type of counseling / therapy? A good therapist (or psychologist, psychiatrist, etc.) might be able to teach you some stress reduction and coping techniques. This may even be covered under your heath plan.
I recommend giving this a try before tossing out 15 years of seniority as a teacher. Even if you do end up quitting, you will do so with some coping mechanisms in your back pocket. This could be useful in your next job.
Forgive me for asking, but I was under the impression that unemployment insurance was granted if you were wrongfully terminated (U.S.). It is not universally available so that people can just up-and quit.
Also, if your job is affecting your health you do have disability options with your employer (again U.S. - I’m not aware of where you are located.)
I’m planning on seeing a psychiatrist in the coming weeks to figure out exactly what’s happening to me. I’ve even considered going on permanent disability. I might be able to handle stress if I learned how, but I might also be a person who can’t handle stress.
When you meet with your psychiatrist, make sure to ask him/her if they provide counseling or just meds. If only meds, ask them to refer you to a counselor/therapist who can help you deal with your stress. I have personally never had a psychiatrist who provided counseling, and meds (if they are appropriate) are only part of the story. I imagine CBT - cognitive behavorial therapy - may help you deal with situations you feel you have no control over.
I think you should explore first whether the stress you suffer is something that you could learn to perceive differently and learn to cope with more effectively. If not, then work towards finding work that has less stress. Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water if teaching is otherwise something you enjoy.
I have no easy answer for you; there are stresses in any job (or in any place you live). You don’t want to uproot your whole life and find out that nothing is any better, but life is too short for your health to seriously suffer from your work. Talking to a counsellor might be a better first try at a fix than just quitting - they might be able to give you some tips on figuring out what you can and can’t change, and how to deal with what you can’t change. They might also help you clarify that there is too much that you can’t change, and your job just isn’t a fit any longer.
I agree that you might just need a tweak, not a complete career change. Maybe you need to teach adults instead of kids, or just in a different school system, or something like that.
I quit the IT field in 2001 because of stress issues. I’d had issues with ulcers, headaches, breakdowns, a suicide attempt, etc. I finally had a major stress related back injury where basically ALL of the muscles in my upper back and neck locked up rock solid, tearing themselves apart and taking a lot of surrounding tissue with them.
It was right at my 39th birthday. I looked at myself and said “If I don’t get out fo this field, I will be dead within a year”. I firmly believed it then, I still believe it.
After the fact, I came to realize just how mentally ill I was at the time as well. I was fucking nuts. I had an inkling of it at the time, but in hindsight I’m absolutely amazed at how far gone I was and the damage it caused without me knowing what was going on.
8.5 years later, I’ve been through hell in a hatbox. Married and divorced, working low paid jobs, teetering right on the edge of bankruptcy.
But even with the financial crap and the bad job…I’m a lot saner and a lot happier as a person.
My advice, with the benefit of hindsight as to my own situation:
Don’t go into it without a plan. Figure out how much money you need to live on, and how to make that income. Be very clear on that and even pad a little for comfort sake. Then before you walk out the door into the darkness of an uncertain future, start working that plan.
