Quitting

[Wozezeka]

I am a first year teacher who wants to pursue a masters in PP, and a returned Peace Corps Volunteer. I am contemplating quitting my teaching job as it is overwhelmingly stressful and I know that I do not want to teach in the future. My biggest concern with quitting is getting another job/getting into grad school. Do you think it would affect my grad school applications to quit?

[publicaffairsstudent]

Never leave a job a) in the first year without having another job lined up. That's just what my parents told me.

[publicaffairsstudent]

I don't know why b ended up as an emoticon. disregard it, it should be point b.

[peachypie]

I wouldn't quit anything until you have something in place, regardless of within the first year or not.  you will always have to explain that gap in a job interview or in an admissions application or interview.  try to hang in there and find the time to get to something else without giving up first.  I know its hard, but you can do it.

[jujubea]

If you have a PLAN and you DO it, that to me is good enough..

 

I quit my job to pursue graduate studies (I quit for many reasons though), and I'm filling my in-between time with relevant educational activities, training, volunteering, and working freelance. I'm in an incredibly fortunate position and so trying to take advantage of it. I will be taking classes in my graduate major during this "off" time also, since I only had two-three classes in my grad major from my undergrad.

 

If you can show that you didn't just willy-nilly drop your job, that you had a plan to get you to grad school, and you're following it successfully, I would THINK you would be alright. I guess I'll let you know how it goes

 

My plan was to quit, handle the personal reasons that I chose to quit when I did, give lots of study time to the GRE, get something published before the end of this year, and start a freelance business in my field. I accomplished this and can put it on my application now, and I also learned a heck of a lot about running a biz.

 

If you're going in to public policy, look for an internship at a local office, at any level of government, or at an NGO in your subfield of interest; do a little bit of research, and see if you can get a relevant op/ed or even an article published about your field; start a relevant blog or organize a relevant community service group.

 

There are TONS of things we can do besides traditional "work" that is A, productive, B, good for your grad applications, and C, much more worthy of your time than traditional work anyway. If you do it right and if you have the luxury, you can spend your time GIVING in a substantial way to the world, while also progressing towards your grad goals.

 

I quit with no job-safety-net, and it has been an incredibly liberating and rewarding decision. It is scary sometimes. People think you're nuts sometimes. And you are a little bit nuts to take such a risk. But that's OK - if it's who you are, and it's for the greater good, you'll be just fine.

[chocolatecheesecake]

The biggest issue with quitting a job (especially if you're young) is appearing flaky or unreliable to future employers. Seeing as how you're a returned Peace Corps volunteer, I think you've already proved that you can in fact work somewhere for more than a year, and the typical rules of thumb about your first year of work wouldn't apply to you. I encourage you to think hard about what you'd like to explore, and as long as you've got a few ideas to run with, as @jujubea recommended, what with internships, starting your own business or non-profit, or even just a lot of volunteering gigs, it's okay to leave this job without having a guaranteed place to step into. While it's not a good thing to see that someone left a job without putting in a full year, it's really not the end of the world. Besides, you got something out of this job experience, even if you disliked it -- it's important to know why you want to leave and be able to articulate it. As long as you can think of a few things you'd like to try in the next three to five months or so and financially wouldn't be too burdened, I'd say go for it!

[Kosmosis707]

I am a first year teacher who wants to pursue a masters in PP, and a returned Peace Corps Volunteer. I am contemplating quitting my teaching job as it is overwhelmingly stressful and I know that I do not want to teach in the future. My biggest concern with quitting is getting another job/getting into grad school. Do you think it would affect my grad school applications to quit?

 

You are not alone.  I believe I read that 50% of teachers leave the profession in their first 2 years.  Personally, I left during the credential program because of my student teaching experience in public schools. 

 

Have you thought about subbing?  Perhaps it's less stressful and, depending on where you are, you can sometimes determine what grade levels you want to sub in.  The pay is low, but it's something that could hold you over until Fall 2015 rolls around. 

 

I think the best scenario is to apply, apply, apply and see if you can stick it out this year in your current contract.  However, if you are that miserable you should find an alternative.  The bottom line is, if you hate teaching, develop your escape plan and execute.

[Wozezeka]

Thanks for the advice. It's a difficult decision, but if I can get another acceptable job I will take it. I don't want to blather on about my job, but I know that the best thing for me would be to switch tracks. Hopefully I am accepted. It's rather difficult to work a demanding job, study for the GRE, prep for admissions, and apply for other jobs, but I'll manage.

[lbjane]

I wouldn't worry too much about a gap of a few months prior to graduate studies, at least as far as admissions or future jobs are concerned.  I left my pre-LBJ job about nine months prior to starting grad school because I was absolutely miserable in it and the gap never came up in an interview.  If it had, I could have explained that I took a couple of econ pre-req classes and did some traveling, which would be a reasonable thing to do before starting grad school, but it never did.  So, I wouldn't worry about it sending a red flag to admissions or to post-grad school employers.