Teacher
(Female, Age 30) from Texarkana, NY
This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Female aged 30 who works as a Teacher in Texarkana, NY. We have removed all names and personal information in order to protect privacy. This professional kindly spent a bit of their time to complete one of our job profile surveys so that prospective job seekers like you could read their insights. Please excuse any punctuation or grammatical errors in this profile.
At a Glance
Current Job
Basic data on your current job
| Job Title | Teacher |
|---|---|
| Salary | $30,000 |
| Other Compensation | None Set |
| Hours/Week | |
| Company Size | (not answered) |
| Location | Texarkana, NY |
| Years Experience | 2 years |
Career Ratings
Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)
| Years in Career | 0 |
|---|---|
| Education | (not answered) |
| Income Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Interest Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Work-Life Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Fulfilment Rating | 0 / 10 |
Current job Q&A
Describe the type of organization you work for.
I work for a public school district in the secondary school, or high school.
Describe your job role and responsibilities.
My first and foremost duty is teaching. I teach both 10th and 11th grade English Language Arts, with one Pre-AP level course for the 11th grade. Each teacher in our district is required to sponsor a class, so I am a permanent Junior sponsor, which means I do prom. I am also the Student Council Advisor and the Junior-Varsity Cheer Coach. In addition to all that, I coach 3 Academic UIL events in the Spring: Spelling, Prose, and Poetry Interp.
Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
We are allowed 3 sick days leave with pay, and I have a 403b.
Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
I feel that for all the extra’s I perform I am grossly underpaid.
Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
Being a teacher, I am required to collaborate with the other 3 teachers in the English department. We all have the same goals and expectations for our students, so we enjoy getting together and planning our teaching strategies.
Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes
Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes
Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it.
I work in a classroom. It’s my home away from home, and I love it!
Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 4
Benefits: 5
Hours: 6
Co-Workers: 2
Supervisors: 3
Job Title: 8
Level of Responsibility: 7
The Actual Work: 1
A day in the life of…
Please describe a typical workday for you in your current job:
| 5am to 6am | |
| 6am to 7am | |
| 7am to 8am | I arrived at work at 7:30 and prepped my board for the daily activities. |
| 8am to 9am | 1st period
The students were rewriting their TAKS essays, but first they had to take a 30 word spelling test. |
| 9am to 10am | Conference
I worked the entire conference on grading journals and getting ready for posting my 6 weeks grades. |
| 10am to 11am | 8th period
The students rewrote their TAKS essays or finished reading The Scarlet Letter. |
| 11am to 12pm | 8th/lunch
8th period continued until 11:50. My lunch and second conference last until 1:10. |
| 12pm to 1pm | Lunch/conference
I continued grading. |
| 1pm to 2pm | 9th period
The students rewrote their TAKS essays, and I began to work on paperwork for Cheer Tryouts that evening. |
| 2pm to 3pm | 9th/6th periods
9th lasted until 2:45, and then 6th period rewrote their TAKS essays. I continued to make preparations for Cheer Tryouts. |
| 3pm to 4pm | The judges for tryouts arrived at 3:30 and tryouts began at 4. |
| 4pm to 5pm | While Varsity was trying out, I was in the old gym with my Junior Varsity cheer candidates keeping them from panicking. |
| 5pm to 6pm | JV Cheer tryouts began and continued until 6. |
| 6pm to 7pm | We took the judges forms over to the administration building to be tallied. |
| 7pm to 8pm | The Varsity Cheer coach and myself returned to the high school to post the results of the tryouts on the school website. |
| 8pm to 9pm | |
| 9pm to 10pm | |
| 10pm to 11pm | |
| 11pm to 12am |
Table of Contents
How you got your job
How did you get your current job?
I applied to every district within a 60 mile radius.
What was the application process?
You submit an application, transcripts, and resume.
Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
Yes, I interviewed twice for my position. My interviewers were another English teacher, my principal, and my assistant principal. All 3 interviewers were concerned with my level of experience, why I want to be in education, and how I will contribute to our team.
If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
How will you handle classroom management?
Can you teach writing?
What are your areas of expertise?
Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
Nothing really prepares you to be in the classroom. You have to experience it first-hand to gain experience.
Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
Training consisted of two years of education courses. We also undergo continuous professional development.
Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
Somewhat; like I said before, nothing compared to being in the actual classroom.
If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
NA
If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
First, you have to have a college degree in your area of teaching AND a teaching certificate. It takes a lot of time and effort, but it is worth it.
What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
Teachers have to be both sympathetic and empathetic people. You have to love working with children! Organization is a must when teaching; the students know when you are not prepared!
Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
You MUST have a college degree and teaching certification!
What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
If you do not think you will enjoy teaching, do not go into it. Some people choose this profession because they think it’s an 8-3 job with summer’s off. This is not the case. I am routinely at work 2 hours past the last bell, and work throughout the summer and holiday’s on various lesson activities.
Long-term career plans
Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
Absolutely, this is what I was made to do. I love working with kids and imparting my “wisdom.”
What are your current career goals?
I plan to continue in my district until my own children have graduated, and then plan to move on the university level of teaching.
Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
NA
Prior work history
Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:
| Title | Length | Salary | Description | |
| Prior Job 1 | Beauty Associate | 1 year | 15000 | I was a beauty associate for Lancome. |
| Prior Job 2 | sever | 4 years | 18000 | I was a food server, sever trainer, and food expoditer. |
Educational background
Please list your educational background:
High School GPA:4
| GPA | School | Degree | |
| College (Undergraduate) or Technical/Vocational |
3.4 | Texas A&M University | English |
| Graduate or Professional (Masters or Doctorate) |
4 | Texas A&M University | English |
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