Why I Chose to Pursue a Career in Secondary Education

Abstract

Over the last few months of my research into pursuing a career in education I have been told many negative statements. A career in the education field is not all that it is cracked up to be. Teaching is not always fun, and if you are a person that craves constant recognition and likes having people say thank you, don't bother becoming a teacher are just a few. However, I believe that the rewards will out way the negativities.

How do people decide what career to pursue? For some it is a matter of a skill they possess, for some their families have decided for them, and for some people it is a desire in their heart. Most people decide to become a teacher fairly early in their life; however, I decided only recently to pursue a career in education. I can remember teachers over my years in school that has had an impact on my life; but, this did not influence my decision to become an educator.

I have spent most of my adult life involved one way or another with the education system. Whether it was being a member of the PTO and dealing with the school board or volunteering at my child's school I have been around educators for many years. But it was not until I took a job at a private high school about 2 years ago that I began to consider a position in education. As it turned out this position has been the biggest influence in my decision to become an educator. In this position I was able to interact with the students a great deal; I was able to relate to them and still be able to help them in many of their decisions for their futures. I began to care about the students and hope that their futures would be bright. I started to think about a career change and go into education.

As my own children grew and the more time I spent around the students the more I realized that there are many