This is what I'm going to do.
I'm changing careers at 32 years old! That's okay, right? I mean, lots of people do that, right?
As stated in an earlier post, I'm graduating from college for the very first time this week. I have previously found absolute happiness and peace within myself as a Montessori teacher, but I can no longer do this job because of my stupid food allergies. This has left a huge hole in my life and in my heart, and I've been trying to figure out how to fill it for a good two years now. This degree I'm getting was supposed to make me a better paid Montessori teacher, but now it seems it will only serve me well at parties when I spout useless historical knowledge. I might be better at Trivial Pursuit. I don't know.
But here's my new plan, and I'm sticking to it:
I'll get a full time job. Any job will do. My husband's job makes him cry, literally, so I will relieve him of that be becoming the breadwinner for a few months. Then, I will apply to grad school, where I'm sure to be accepted 'cuz I'm a smarty pants! I'll work full time now through fall, and when fall arrives, depending on what's going on in our lives at that time, I'll go either full or part time to earn my Master's in Social Work. Then I will be a social worker.
But I don't want to be the horrible woman that takes kids away from their moms. I'll be looking for a job in a hospital or youth center or such.
And that's the plan. Phew. I can't tell you how much better I feel! When I was a Montessori teacher, I felt like I was saving the world. Well, I was saving the future world by helping the kids become peaceful adults. But maybe I can save the world as a social worker. And I'll ALWAYS be a Montessorian at heart. No one can take that away from me.
I have to admit, though, I feel like I'm getting a late start on life. BA at 32, my MSW will come at 33 or 34, I already have a son fast approaching puberty. I've always feel like I've been behind on life and had to constantly work to catch up. I know it's irrational. How can I shake this feeling of never being quite where I need to be? Must I always be chasing the bus?
"Overcome the angry by non-anger; overcome the wicked by goodness; overcome the miser by generosity; overcome the liar by truth." -Buddha
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i am a devout montessorian but have always been the main breadwinner so the time needed to get the ami certificate has never been within my scope. i used to be a social worker at a homeless shelter and still have many social worker friends. it's a tough gig no matter what area you specialize in (and the market right now is dismal but that will change, so don't be discouraged). i will give you the advice that my mentor gave me: consider becoming a licensed clinical social worker. she had that but now says that even better for a working mother would be to become a psychiatric nurse as the pay is much better as well as the market and hours. this would also allow you to work at hospitals.
may i ask how your food allergies prevent you from teaching? just curious.
anyway, i wish you the best with your plans. i am now working on my ma in teaching online and racking up a bunch of debt but it is worth it. and don't worry about your age. my sisters are in their 40s (like way into them) and still consider changing their careers (both are teachers). i think that it is natural to question our direction in life and if you find that the answer is to change course, then i am glad that you have the fortitude to do so. good luck.
my husband is gluten intolerant as well. but his case is much milder. i'm sorry that it has made you seek a different line of work when you so obviously love what you do. i thought more schools were becoming sensitive to these matters, especially montessori schools. have you looked into other schools in the area to see if they might be able to accommodate you? or even starting your own? it definitely isn't worth risking your health over though. best of luck to you.
When I went back to school at 35 to get my masters in library/info science, I was nearly the youngest in my cohort. Lots and lots of people change careers at all different stages of the game. Best of luck to you on your new adventures!
"Do not forget. Remember and warn."
-- Plaque fixed to the hollow shell of Sarajevo's National Library
and Lolz!
I graduated last week with an English degree in creative writing---I'm laughing because I have totally decided to go back to grad school in Social work, because when I started my degree I was all amped about writing, now I have a degree that I can't really use for a whole lot.
I have this thing where I want to use creative writing as a vehicle to help women (young/older/moms/whatever) with self-esteem and something along those lines.
I've thought about getting a job at the local DHS in order to get some experience in the field (and just get a job)
Good Luck!
My MIL was 40 or so when she got her master's in social work - she was a nurse before that, back in the days when one did not get a bachelor's for nursing so she did that too. All while her kids where in junior high and high school! So you know, it's never ever too late! I changed careers - DRASTIC change from an evolutionary biologist to a teacher of Nia, a mind-body-spirit fitness practice. Let's see, I think I was 33 when I left academia. The Wee Papa- who is 37- is going from being a latin teacher to a beer store/bar owner with a stop along the way of being a stay-at-home dad.
All of this to say-- you are doing GREAT! Lives change, circumstances change, ideas of who you are, what you want to be, change constantly! It's an amazing, powerful thing to make these kinds of changes-- cos it's kinda hard an a lot of people just stay in the job/career/place that makes them unhappy. How much better to do something that you think will bring you happiness and all that jazzola.
I think being a social worker sounds great. There are so many things you can do as a social worker, aside from the classic stereotype of working for the DCS. For example, my MIL works with sex offenders (while they are in the prison system). Challenging as all hell, I would think, but absolutely necessary and someone's gotta do it and my MIL is good at it. Before that she worked at an agency that did lots of play therapy with children. Anyway, I'm just rambling....
I'm glad you have a plan--go get it, V!
Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough. -- Emily Dickinson
You want to do what you think is right and what matters to you, and if other people don't like it, as my father would have said, they can go fuck themselves. -- Amy Bloom
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I'm allergic to wheat, and working with small children means working with bread. They come into school with it on their clothes, they bring sandwiches and crackers for lunch, they eat pretzels or graham crackers for snack, and don't forget about the breadcutting work, right there on the shelf. And don't forget about play-dough! The last Montessori school I worked at I tried wearing gloves during lunch and snack time and I still breathed in bread crumbs and got sick. I tried to get the school to switch things around so that we could have gluten free play dough and gluten free bread for the breadcutting work, but it was too expensive and too much of a hassle. We had to go through the importance of washing hands before AND after lunch, but they're just kids! After getting sick at least once a week, I decided it wasn't worth risking my health and making it harder on the 20+ kids in my class.