Nursing or Teaching

[Blush000]

Hi Everyone,

I am about to reenter school and I am having a hard time deciding which career to choose. I believe nursing is an excellent career field with a ton of opportunities but working with and knowing nurses it seems like I could get burned out pretty quickly with bedside care. I am aware that there are other avenues in nursing but I am not 100% sure if it is the field for me. I have looked into many different career fields and I am now ready to make a definite choice. I am choosing graduate school and I want to become a special education teacher for middle school children. Having worked with individuals with disabilities in another position, it was really the last time I truly enjoyed going to work. The kicker is I finally found a school that would allow me to get a graduate degree is special ed without having a teachers license prior to enrolling. However the school is online. Having never taught and being unlicensed I am not sure how principals will look at a degree from an online college. The program is fully accredited by the NCATE and seems to be a great program. The school is Liberty University and I would have to do 3 (1) week intensives throughout the duration of my program. I guess my main question is for current and former teachers. Is the job market for special education still strong? Is getting an online education a disadvantage? Is Liberty University a respected school? Where is the best job market for special education? And if anyone teaches special ed, can you share your experience?

Thanks guys and happy holidays!!!!! :)

[Sart45]

I taught for 30 years. Seven of them were in Special Ed; I had a basic teaching credential in Art first and attended grad school for special ed certification. As a previous poster replied your co-operating teachers are the most important in recommendations for teaching positions.

Do you know what area of special ed you are interested in? I was Certified in Learning Handicapped and Severely Emotionally Disturbed; I worked with both groups of students. Some positions are pull-out programs and others are self-contained. Remember this is NOT just working with kids; you have endless meetings with parents, teachers, support staff and administrators. You have masses of paper work to fill out due to funding. It is actually 2 different jobs; one is the actual teaching---the other is planning, meetings and paper work. No its not 12 hours shifts like a hospital but don't expect any time to yourself and plan on spending A LOT of your own money for supplies.

I could go on forever. I would highly recommend you get some classroom experience first; either as an aide or a volunteer and see what really is involved. I was more than burned out after 7 years; I continued teaching because I finally was able to get an art position. I substitute now and am also a CNA and I've applied for nursing school. If you have any specific questions feel free to send a pm.

[Blush000]

Thank you all for the advice, I am just very nervous. The program is not 100% online, it is blended and I will have to complete 300 to 450 classroom hours. I just figure I am 24 and now is a good time to go back and get a masters degree and if I want to do other things down the line , I can at a later time.