dont want to be a teacher

fashionista · 20-11-2006 12:37pm #1

in second year in college doing this course and i hate it. i dont even want to be a teacher. end up fighting with my parents every weekend cos they think i should be studying more, they also want me to quit my part time job but its the only thing keeping me going right now cos i love working there. anyway i told my parents that i hate my course a few months back but they want me to stick with it and get my degree (even though i'm not even interested in the job i'll get out of it as i dont want to go into that field anymore). only going to about 4 lectures a week at the moment out of 22 and hate it here so much. college just doesnt suit me but my parents dont get that as they are very education orientated and think that without a college degree i've no hope of a good job. help i want to drop out! i know i'll end up failing if i continue like this, which is worse...but what can i do? my parents wont let me drop out. help!

ateam · 20-11-2006 1:20pm

fashionista wrote:

in second year in college doing this course and i hate it. i dont even want to be a teacher. end up fighting with my parents every weekend cos they think i should be studying more, they also want me to quit my part time job but its the only thing keeping me going right now cos i love working there. anyway i told my parents that i hate my course a few months back but they want me to stick with it and get my degree (even though i'm not even interested in the job i'll get out of it as i dont want to go into that field anymore). only going to about 4 lectures a week at the moment out of 22 and hate it here so much. college just doesnt suit me but my parents dont get that as they are very education orientated and think that without a college degree i've no hope of a good job. help i want to drop out! i know i'll end up failing if i continue like this, which is worse...but what can i do? my parents wont let me drop out. help!

Drop out, you're an adult.

fashionista · 20-11-2006 1:58pm

its not as easy as that. if i drop out my parents will hate me and my whole family will see me as a failure.

Gurgle · 20-11-2006 2:02pm

fashionista wrote:

its not as easy as that. if i drop out my parents will hate me and my whole family will see me as a failure.

You're only in second year ffs, its not as if you're nearly finished - drop out & start something else next year.

melekalikimaka · 20-11-2006 2:02pm

have a plan before you drop out then, dropping out to do something you want to do and make a career of isn't being a failure, having a degree after 4 years and no interest is a failure

Tom Dunne · 20-11-2006 2:25pm

fashionista wrote:

its not as easy as that. if i drop out my parents will hate me and my whole family will see me as a failure.

I'm sorry, but that sounds very immature to me. If you were 14, you might have an excuse, but as an adult, you don't.

You need to sit down as an adult and explain how you feel. No matter what anyone says, you cannot be 'made' like a certain career. Decide what you want to do and see what courses are available. If you don't know what you want to do, consider taking some time out and maybe go travelling.

kittex · 20-11-2006 6:24pm

Whether you use your degree for what you want to do in life or not often doesn't matter. Ideally, yes, you would, but having that piece of paper shows a maturity and willingness to commit which opens doors to employment and further training.

Is it a teaching degree you are doing? I'm not 100% sure why you think your only option is teaching?

Also, have you looked into transfering course within your uni to something you like more?

sunnyjim · 20-11-2006 7:03pm

tom dunne wrote:

I'm sorry, but that sounds very immature to me. If you were 14, you might have an excuse, but as an adult, you don't.

Bullshi7. There's nothing immature about it. Some parents are complete arseholes. I'm in my 2nd year of teaching too, and I get the same crap....

"Shouldn't you be studying", "You spend far too much time on the computer", "Your always playing football, I never see you sitting down with one of your books".

Some parents actually do treat you like **** if you drop out. I know that my parents would. If I did, they'd constantly drop references to me dropping out, like during a row or whatever.

fashionista (is it safe to assume you are doing a science ed course?), try transfer to another course. I know you mightn't like collge, but you could always transfer to something a bit easier like business, or a humanities subject.

slickmcvic · 20-11-2006 7:05pm

i know a girl who stuck with science ed teaching course even though she hated teaching...shes doin some postgrad now that'll lead into medicine so i'd say stick with it YOU DONT HAVE TO BE A TEACHER!!
I done a teaching course with no intention of teaching but i went into it cos its a great life we to have when your young (june july & august off to travel etc!!)
I cant see me doin it for the rest of my life though
I'd say fill in a CAO form anyways,stay in the course and decide what to do next August....Its a crap time of year to be droppihng out now anyways!!

Gurgle · 21-11-2006 9:20am

kittex wrote:

Is it a teaching degree you are doing? I'm not 100% sure why you think your only option is teaching?

I'm open to correction here but if its a teaching degree then its primary school teaching and that does leave you limited for work outside a school.

slickmcvic wrote:

i know a girl who suck

hehe

kittex · 21-11-2006 6:15pm

Gurgle wrote:

I'm open to correction here but if its a teaching degree then its primary school teaching and that does leave you limited for work outside a school.

There are concurrent teaching and subject degrees for secondary also, for e.g. in Home Ec, PE and science.

Also, a primary teaching degree can be useful for moving on into youth work, social work, child development etc it's not that restrictive and as said, can help pave the way to a masters in something you do want to do.

fashionista · 21-11-2006 6:42pm

yes primary school teaching is what i'm doing. i know there are lots of options after this degree but its the course that i hate and college life just doesnt suit me. i miss home and would just prefer to be out there working rather than studying for a degree i wont even use......

monkey tennis · 21-11-2006 6:54pm

Have you a tutor or dean or whatever in college that you can talk to about this? There may be other options other than dropping out altogether.

I would recommend trying to stay in college if possible (you should get that out of the way early, otherwise you'll find it very hard to go back). It's over quicker than you think. See what other courses you could be doing. You'll be better off in the long run, and it might look to your parents like you're offering a compromise (not just unceremoniously dropping out). There would be advantages even to having a degree in a subject you have no interest in, but it's definitely not the ideal situation. I sure as hell wouldn't throw away another three years of my life to get a (to me) worthless bit of paper.

Watching Office Space the other night reminded me of an interesting way to look at careers: if you were a millionaire and didn't necessarily have to work, what would you like to do to occupy yourself? What line of work is most similar to that? Find a course that lets you enter that line of work.

kittex · 21-11-2006 8:29pm

fashionista wrote:

yes primary school teaching is what i'm doing. i know there are lots of options after this degree but its the course that i hate and college life just doesnt suit me. i miss home and would just prefer to be out there working rather than studying for a degree i wont even use......

Have you looked into transferring?

Though the thought of working and earning right now might seem attractive, those with a degree behind them earn 30% more than those without. And over 75% of employers look for a degree - whether relevant or otherwise - from their employees.

Also, a teaching course is often very different to the job itself. I hated my training but love the job and the same goes for most teachers I know.
I guess the horrible course was mroe bearable as they had a drive to do the job at the end.

Look into a transfer! Don't write off 2 years of work. Surely there are option open to you. Be a bit pro-active about finding a solution.

E.T. · 28-11-2006 6:29pm

I hated most of my B.Ed course, thought (and still think) that most of the subjects were useless, but I love teaching. It's nothing like teaching practice, you can't compare them at all. It is worth sticking it out for the next year and a half, unless you come up with a definite alternative. Good luck either way!

extra-ordinary_ · 28-08-2024 8:01pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122556017#Comment_122556017

absolutely!!

IBTL

Kurooi · 28-08-2024 8:08pm

Parents don't like to see their young adult have no plan in life, quit a career path because of a few lectures.

You have time now between lectures, have you gone out to research alternative career paths? There are some out there, you can be an apprentice, you can look into all sorts of gardai, bus driver or similar paths that will train you and land you into a job. But you should show that to your parents. That you're not quitting, you're re-evaluating. I would wonder whether they would be more receptive and understanding if they saw that you aren't running away, you're still motivated to make a life for yourself.

They're right, if you don't have a better idea, stick to the course. It may grow on you, or you may find opportunities to switch majors (rather than outright quit then try to reapply) and indeed you could even finish the darn thing and still not go into teaching. Plenty of jobs out there even well paid ones take random grads it's almost like some sort of diversity for them to have someone from unrelated fields.

College experience, the idea that you should enjoy your lectures, that's horseshit. If you had that delusion well you were fed lies. In any useful major , most people have at least a few subjects where you have to grit your teeth and survive through it. Look at the career path ahead and judge whether you wan that.

DeepBlue · 28-08-2024 8:18pm

Hopefully in the 18 years since the OP originally posted they figured something out and aren't still going to lectures and arguing over life goals with their parents.