Nursing school or become a teacher?

This is an interesting thread for me because I am a nurse that has considered going back to school to become a teacher. Of course, I've considered going back for just about anything, LOL! I did always want to be a teacher when I was younger though. I am very close friends with a few teachers and I know that the profession isn't perfect. Your schedule does surprise me a bit though. What grade are you teaching? Are you a fairly new teacher? I ask because you mentioned spending a great deal of time writing lesson plans. I was under the impression that after you are teaching for a few years, it gets a bit easier because lesson plans are already in place and you may just have to alter them a bit.

Maybe teaching is a bit different in your area of the country, but the teachers that I know work very good hours, 7AM-4PM. And definately no weekends or holidays, which you may not realize how important it is until you are spending holidays with your buddies at work instead of at home with your family. They do talk about having to spend time outside of class grading papers, but it doesn't seem too bad though. Both of the teachers I know are able to hold second jobs outside of their regular teaching jobs, one as a fitness instructor and the other as a private tutor. I am not trying to minimize the difficulties you are having with your job, but I just want to point out that the grass is always greener on the other side.

Please do not be lured into nursing by the promise of better pay. I am a new nurse and I do not believe that the pay is adequate compensation for the amount of work and responsibilty that I have. Pay attention to the threads on this site to gain a better understanding of the issues that nurses are facing. It's not pretty out there. Make sure that you shadow a few nurses in different practice areas for a full 12-hour shift before you decide. Also, I would go straight for the RN. You already have a bachelor's degree, so this would make more sense and you would have more options available to you.

What grade are you teaching? Are you a fairly new teacher? I ask because you mentioned spending a great deal of time writing lesson plans. I was under the impression that after you are teaching for a few years, it gets a bit easier because lesson plans are already in place and you may just have to alter them a bit.

Maybe teaching is a bit different in your area of the country, but the teachers that I know work very good hours, 7AM-4PM. They do talk about having to spend time outside of class grading papers, but it doesn't seem too bad though. Both of the teachers I know are able to hold second jobs outside of their regular teaching jobs, one as a fitness instructor and the other as a private tutor.