What should I do with my life?

So, I have a couple of options that I could pursue in m life right now, and I’m having a hard time choosing which one is the best.

Right now, my fiance lives in Lansing, MI, and I live in Chesterfield Township, MI. We’re about 130 miles apart, which hasn’t been too bad. I work for a small cable provider, and am supposed to be going back this fall to get my teaching certificate. My internship is all set up, I’ve met my mentor, and she seems to be a good person. I’m going to go and observe her teach next Monday, and we’re going to discuss the coming fall at that time. I’ll be teaching 7th grade English, which is awesome, because I really enjoy kids who are that age. I’m older and much more prepared than I was the last time I attempted student teaching. The drawback is that I haven’t done anything school related since June of 2005. I’m also not 100% sure how I feel about the teaching profession anymore. Some days I want nothing more than to get back in the classroom, but on others I’m still so upset from my past experience that I become very anxious about this.

We’ll call doing my internship Option A.

Kate (my fiance) (BTW, how the heck do I insert the proper accent on the “e” there?) just accepted a job in Gilbert, AZ, teaching German at one of the high schools there. Gilbert is about 2100 miles from my home. Neither of us has ever been to Arizona for more than a stop on a long road trip as a kid, so we have no real knowledge of the area. She would love for me to move out there with her in July. The thought of being 2100 miles apart for 5 months is excruciating for both of us, but I could handle it. If I move with her, I could sub teach at the local schools for a year, then start a post-bac teaching program at ASU, which is only 10 miles from the apartment she’s looking at. Or, I could get a different job in sales or (yech) cable. Cable would be easier, since I have earned national certification as an installer. Then, I could work on a MA and eventually my PhD, which I’d like to do anyways.

We’ll call an immediate move to Gilbert Option B.

Staying here has some definite advantages: I’ll (hopefully) get my certification, and be able to get a full-time teaching job in the Phoenix area fairly easily next year. Well, actually, that’s the only advantage to staying.

Going there also has advantages: Immediate gratification, starting our life together in the same place, and the adventure of moving to a totally new place to us are three of the biggest.

So Dopers, I ask you teeming millions, what should I do?

I vote that you can’t go wrong, because either of those sound like such a good setup that you’d never regret it.

More specifically, I guess if you could stay on your teaching track with some kind of program in Az, even if it included volunteering or making low wages, that’d be best. On the other hand, if you thought moving to Az would entail going back into sales or cable work that you didn’t think was your calling, then it’d be best to do the 5 months apart. But the worst of these combinations is still plenty nice!

Enjoy it…

Serious, I would go. It sounds like a decent plan, plus, if you don’t like it, you can always look into leaving. I am in the same boat as you (teaching-wise) - I started a teacher ed program and dropped it because of my own feelings, now I am graduating college and I don’t know what to do, so I’m talking to Ohio Dept. Ed. about alternative license stuff (mentor and some coursework and performance based) - maybe that would be a decent option for you? Of course, if you don’t want to teach, there are a ton of other things you could go into…

I say go to AZ. Everyone needs a little adventure…

Brendon Small

None of the above. Become a professional assassin that only goes after extremely high profile targets (the cable installation background is obviously a major benefit in this career).

You can set up a home base anywhere you want, even Arizona (the closer to the boarder the better, of course) and tell everyone that you’re working for an international company traveling the world teaching cable stuff.

If Kate is female, I’d worry more about spelling it properly (“fiancee”) than about decorating it properly. :slight_smile:

By the bt, you can create an accent over the é by holding down the alt key, then pressing 1, 2, 3 (on the number pad on the right), then releasing alt.

The first thing is to bring Kate in on the decision-making. Now and always. Even if front of the Dopers.

All things being equal, head for Az. The teaching certification is not a big enough plum to stay. Start looking into similar possibilities in AZ, as well as other avenues.

The key with any job is to find where your passion is. If you find the passion first, the odds of success and contentment over the long haul are much bigger than trying for competency first and hoping you like the job in which you have gained competency second. By going to AZ options which become available will be local to AZ, where your love is. Even for teaching you’ll be 5 months ahead in establishing local relationships. Stay in Michigan and you risk something becoming available in MI, which is not where you want to be longterm.

Am I the only one who was wondering how to pronounce Katé?

Go for Option B.

Your fiance has to move to AZ to teach German? Don’t any of the high schools in your area offer German classes?

Sorry i’m not an educator so I’m not sure how the whole system works

I just did this and it gave me: {

The employment situation in Michigan is horrifically bad. I have a friend that gave up after looking for work as a teacher for a couple years and finding no opportunities in a 200+ mile radius. I wouldn’t be too suprised if there are more than a handful of school districts in Michigan anymore that offer German.

To the OP – go for it. Move to AZ sooner rather than later. It could be an excellent opportunity and definitely an adventure. JMHO.

Is your girlfriend quite sure this Gilbert place is a city and not a compound, or a living Aryan God?

I believe you mean 2, 3, 3

Do whatever you think will make you happier in the coming year. Try not to worry yourself sick about the long-term effects of your choice. If you want to be a teacher, focus on one year at a time.

A few specific points to consider:

You can get a job teaching in a private middle school or high school even if you aren’t certified. The National Association of Independent Schools lists job openings. Also, there’s probably some placement agency that works in that part of the country.

If you do decide to stay in Michigan and become certified this year, make certain that the state of Arizona accepts certifications from other states. Some states do not.

Thanks for all of the replies. And, FTR, the Michigan Teaching Certification is recognized in all but two states.

This method requires very close attention to your spontaneous reaction:

Flip a coin. If you are disappointed with the outcome, choose the other option.

Move to Arizona.

One of you already has a job - big plus; no fear of starvation or homelessness while you are looking for work.
Working and studying there will be an advantage when it comes time to find work - you will be able to network (it helps when trying to get into the right schools to teach) and you won’t come across as a snowbird who got a sudden whim to move where it is warm. Trust me - the Phoenix area, like Las Vegas, is leery of hiring employees who haven’t lived there very long - knowing the transient nature of people moving to the Southwest for the first time.
The adventure of moving, together, to a new location is something you will never forget nor regret. New friends, new restaurants, new everything…

Still, both plans are solid, so whichever you choose sounds good. I just think you will enjoy Arizona and being together more-so - and it doesn’t sound like a big hardship to do that.

Nope, that gives me: Θ

Regardless, I don’t know what I was smoking when I made that previous post. The actual number order is: **Alt+ 1, 3, 0 **

Depending on the app, font, where the cursor is in the app, etc., 233 can work (in the subject line of an e-mail, for example, at least on my version of Outlook, but definitely not in the body text). But quite right, I always use 1,3,0 too.

As to the OP, if option A is ultimately better for you (or both of you) and it just means five months of long distance longing, that’s not a very high price. Five months goes by in a flash, and I assume you’ll be able to meet up once or twice during that time. On the other hand, if both options are essentially identical, avoid the five-month absence. It sounds as though you prefer Option B anyway.

>The first thing is to bring Kate in on the decision-making. Now and always. Even if front of the Dopers.

Well, jeez, let’s not get carried away.

You see what happens, '93? Anybody can go too far with their advice. I think you’re doing just fine, sitting back and letting us hash this thing out reasonably. We’ll keep you posted. Don’t get Kat~e all confused and worked up over the details while we’re still tidying up, OK?