I am a man who left a job at corporate (and took a 65% pay cut) to become a middle school math teacher. Ask me anything!

Genuinely interested in doing the same thing. I'm currently and engineer. Do you have any tips?

Yes I do! I also have an engineering background! And 2 masters. My advice is no matter what find what makes you happy and pursue finding (or making) a career out of that 😎

Was it worth it?

100000% I absolutely love teaching and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I wake up everyday with a sense of purpose. Never had that at Verizon.

How hard was it to get certification to be a teacher? Did it take long and what did you have to go through in your state? And was it something you could do while working for corporate?

I'm in NJ. It wasn't hard at all. All I needed was to pass 2 praxis exams which were not bad at all 🙌🏾

Did you have to make major lifestyle changes to accomodate the pay cut?

I didn't thankfully. A great question. I took care of my finances, and to be honest, the salary I was making at Verizon, I lived rather modestly. ie, for my salary, I could have afforded a bigger house, much better car etc. I never cared to do upgrade in that way.

Everyone!!!! Super excited to be here and answer some questions! Let's get it! 🙌🏾🙌🏾

I was a teacher for six years. At the end of year five I thought, "I'm in this for the long haul." Halfway through year six, I thought, "I can't work for these morons any longer." How do you cope with administrators being the least competent educators in the building, yet getting twice the pay and all the power?

I've heard stories like this. I am super fortunate that my adminstration is AMAZING. And I'm not just saying that. My head of school and my principal are both very compassionate people who care about what they do. I've learned so much from them in the 1 year I've been here. Added (unexpected) bonus

As someone in the teaching field I (think) I understand the motivations to jump ship from a corporate job to the world of education. Congratulations!

Between me and my colleagues it’s generally thought that middle school can be the most difficult age to teach and is less desired than elementary or high school positions. My question is this, did you choose middle school? If you did, what were your motivations to do that?

Hey fellow teacher! Great question! I have heard the same. I did not pick middle school out right, the opportunity presented itself. However, MAN I LOVE TEACHING MIDDLE SCHOOL. Now I don't know if I would like other grade levels more or less, but its hard for me to imagine enjoying a grade level that I like more. Maybe eventually, I will have a chance to teach other grade levels :)

Thanks for doing this AMA. How have your family and friends reacted to your decision? Do they see it as a good thing, or is everyone like “how could you walk away from all that money?”

Mostly everyone was super supportive and on board! My grandpa coming from a different generation didn't understand it, and some teacher friends I had were super hesitant to give me their cosign. Perhaps because they were in schools with poor leadership.

How has your work/life balance changed?

So mentally I really feel like I am doing what I was put on this Earth to do. For that reason, I am a lot happier. While at Verizon I was very good at what I did but I did not feel I was making a positive impact in people's lives like the way I wanted. So Work/Life balance I would say is about the same because I was never overwhelmed with work or anything at VZ. Let me know how I did answering this question!

Are you actually answering questions?

I am!!! I'm sorry I'm a bit late! Ask away!

Why do you think smart, ambitious people (I'm assuming like you) start as engineers instead of turning their ambitions toward being a teacher in the first place?

Did working in corporate allow you to get a head start on home ownership and retirement in a way that will make being a teacher easier?

Amazing question!!!! Maybe my favorite so far. I think that being an engineering and working in corporate gave me an immense amount of experience and yes it certainly allowed for me to save up and buy a house and things like that. Ultimately, now that you mention it, it take pressure off the financial side of teaching because I am not concerned about the pay as much as I imagine most teachers are. Regarding why not get into teaching earlier, probably because I didn't know that's what I saw myself as. :)

Thanks for the thoughtful question

Why?

It's my passion!! And as I've gotten older I realized that money was not everything. Happiness and a sense of purpose meant a lot more or me 🙂

I bounced between several career plans before figuring out I should teach. Now I listen to all my corporate friends complain about work constantly and I never feel that way. My question though, how often do you integrate your real world experience into your lessons? Do you feel your middle school are old enough to grasp those lessons?

Congrats on that!! We can relate.

Good question, I do think my real world perspective has been super helpful to make some things in math make sense. Think, mean salary vs median salary for a large or small business. Perhaps HS (and definitely College level) would be even more effective. I get the impression my middle school students really appreciate the real world perspective!

I've forgotten pretty much all of my maths learning from my school days (32 now). I know khan academy helps but are there any places online that you suggest to your students that you could recommend for someone wanting to relearn everything?

Im 32 as well! I think Khan Academy is fantastic... I use Kuta as well as they have a lot of practice problems with answers. I have used (I think its called) Purple Math as well. And of course YouTube will have explanations on how to do any type of math :)

What was your biggest hesitation leaving the corporate job? How did you overcome it?

I needed a reason to "not leave all 12 years I worked hard for behind for nothing" if that makes sense.

There was a voluntary severance package offered to the entire company. The day I found out about this, I felt like a weight was lifted from me!

The rest is history!

Well, math.

I often hear teachers say that the kids are great and they love the actual teaching part, but the parents and school administration makes their life a living hell. Do you feel your background in the corporate world has prepared you for these situations?

Another amazing question. In a word, yes! That's exactly right! Being able to communicate with adults is a skill I've learned in corporate. Now that I think about it maybe that's why people straight from college struggle with that. They've never worked somewhere where they have to work with adults. Hmmmmmm interesting

What did you do at Verizon? Was it difficult to make the change from that job to teacher?

I did a lot: Engineering, Operations, Project Management, Product Management, Marketing, and some Pole Climbing during the strike. I thought it would be a lot harder. But it really wasnt. I was a bit nervous the first day (really, just a bit) but after that I felt like a complete natural. A natural who was super appreciative of the awesome staff he works with who were willing to coach and share experiences, and feedback.

Anything you miss from the corporate world?

Yeah, The gym is the first thing that comes to mind. And the cafeteria. Meeting up with coworkers for coffee at the on site cafe after a long morning.

And my 1 on 1 with my mentors. I still keep in touch but haven't met in person... yet.

What are some things you would like to say to parents that they could do at home to help their children improve their math skills? I really admire you for changing your career to teach.

Appreciate the kind words.

I would recommend having a routine and getting adequate practice. As easy or straightforward as that may sound, it's critical in my opinion. Also having a mentor or tutor that can relate to the student is super helpful 🙂

What's the best and what's the worst of both jobs? and why?

Verizon

Worst - No sense of fulfillment

Best - Really a combination of: Salary, Lack of Stress, and Work/Life Balance

Side note - do these "best" items make it more intriguing that I left?

Teaching

Worst - hmm HONESTLY, having to enter homework into PowerSchool every day lol. That's it.

Best - Knowing I am having a positive impact in the lives of our next generation. There's nothing that comes close to that sense of fulfillment

What is your stance on bullying? Too often during school I watched teachers turn a blind eye to students who were being bullied. How do you hope to prevent bullying in your class?

I haven't seen or heard of too much of it in my school, however, in my class if anything close to that happens, what I would do is call the student up, and speak to them privately outside the classroom. I've learned that speaking to students with RESPECT at all times is crucial. I think now, my students respect me in a way where they don't want to disappoint me. That's how I feel, at least.

How have your teaching techniques changed under quarantine? Are the kids engaged?

Also... Verizon? What is it like serving the devil?

Apparently bad enough he took a 60% pay-cut and a career dealing with hords of little psychopaths to get out of it

Hahahahhaha good one

LOL

Quarantine reassures me that I am in the field I belong in, because I truly miss being in the classroom. Most kids are engaged, yep! Some are not. Working on and thinking of creative ways to keep everyone engaged! It's been fun and challenging!

Was the move voluntary or was there a tipping point to make the career change?

Tipping point was a voluntary severance package being offered and I knew I would get money to hold me over until I landed a position. Thankfully it didn't take too long!

Did you have a “nest egg” from your corporate days to make the jump to a lower paying job more palatable?

So I guess you can say I did. However my savings are set aside and haven't been touched. So it wasn't needed in my case, I've been paying bills and living life with only my teaching salary :)

How on earth do you have to take a 65% pay cut? Here in the Netherlands we think that there is a large wage discrepancy between corporate and education, but I am pretty sure it is not 65%!! Does that mean that you earned a lot of money in your corporate job or does the salary suck so much with your teaching job? Anyway good for you that you made the switch, glad you like it!

Hahahah. Sounds pretty crazy right? I was in 6 figures. But under $150k for context

What made you quit corporate?

Was it the 9 to 5 time?

Family?

Midlife crisis?

Boring?

What advice do you have for someone in their 20s? Thanks!

The fact that I really felt a strong conviction about doing something with my life that will allow me to make a positive impact in the lives of as many people as possible.

Teaching (coupled with me tutoring, and playing the piano LIVE on Reddit sessions these past few days) allows me to do just that!

How do you feel about the paycut and lack of mobility in teaching? (Assuming you made more in corporate)

I did! I took a massive paycut to teach. I feel that it's not right and that teaching is a super important job that should pay more. That being said, I don't need more money personally. I supplement with tutoring and have some ambitious goals for myself for the near future 😎

How do I the opposite? I'd quite like to earn triple what I do now, and work, I suspect, less hours.

I don't do quite the same job, and I'm in a different country.

Ha... That was my wife's best friends question. She ultimately settled on finding a different teaching job and she is loving it and thriving! I suppose making the change the other way isn't as easy because our society values corporations more than teachers, perhaps.

Can you stand and deliver? Seriously, congratulations! I hope it brings you the fuller life you deserve.

Ayeeee! Appreciate you. Super satisfying so far. Love teaching!

As someone about to retire from the military and is heavily considering teaching somewhere in the 8th-10th grade range. How was the conversion and certification process?

Congratulations and thank you for your service!

It was a super smooth transition for me personally. And the cert process was straight forward. All I needed in NJ was to pass 2 praxis exams :)

Hey! Thanks for the AMA. Was it the fascination for math or your passion in teaching that led you to this decision?

You're so welcome! Super exciting that people are interested! For me I love how there are several ways to get to the same answer in math. How cool is that?!

I'm a teacher and I feel conflicted about this. It is basically like saying I am so successful in my field let me just try teaching ....it can't be that hard? I have seen 4 teachers up close do this from the STEM field and fail miserably and most have no idea how badly they are failing because their egos are so big and schools are hesitant because it looks good to have unconventional teachers.

Just because you have all the degrees and experience (and a guilty heart) does not mean you can teach high school math etc.- in fact is often an impairment. I have my MA in my field and you know what? It's useless FOR my job as a hs teacher. Whenever I hear people say I'm going to make a lot of money and then I'll retire and teach I cringe.

*If you genuinely think you will be a great teacher don't sit on it- a great teacher can change everything.

This is a super interesting perspective! And one I have never heard. So from my end, I can say for certain I am not in that category, as I love doing it, and I know my students enjoy and appreciate my teaching style. However I can TOTALLY get how the statement you've made can certainly make sense in many other insurances. Thanks for sharing! 🙂

How many days a week do you question the choices you have made in life?

0 days. I have never questioned this decision. It was really an easy decision for me.

How do you feel?

Unbelievably amazing. I love teaching so much. Being in quarantine and having to transition to teaching remotely reminds me how much i love and appreciate being in the actual classroom.

Middle school???? I tried one year of middle school and then went back to high school.

I am glad you found what brings you joy. I love teaching.

Awesome, maybe I am missing out! lol I have heard HS and elementary are more preferred to middle school as well.