[tvp2003]

Originally Posted by Sliver

I think you should do it, MattyC. It's probably the best career in Canada. Plus you only work 3/4 of the year and have a guaranteed pension and insane dental/medical benefits until the day you die.

It's a fantastic job and I really hope my kids are interested in it because the lifestyle it offers you is unrivaled: best two months of the year off, every Christmas off, every Easter off and a smattering of holidays throughout. Your day will end by 4:00, too (at least that's when the parking lot is cleared out at the schools in my neighbourhood). You may have some work/marking to take home, but that's to be expected in any professional job so I don't think it's a strike against teaching.

Another great thing unique to teaching is work doesn't pile up for you while you're on holidays. You can take two months off, and it's like you didn't even miss a day. Nobody will ever call you while you're away and there is nothing to go wrong while you're away. It's amazing. Once you have kids, you'll have every day off they have off.

Finally, the pay is terrific. My teacher friends are making six figures (or close to it in some cases). That's full-time money for a 3/4-time job. If it's not enough, you can work in the summers if you choose and you'd still end up with many weeks off per year. And I know I mentioned the pension, but that's worth noting twice. You are completely insulated from economic swings forever. You're never going to see a pay cut. You're never going to get laid off (or fired for that matter). And regardless of what the economy does, you'll have a monthly paycheque FOREVER! My Grandma retired from teaching in the 1960s and still gets an insane pension, every month. I can't even imagine that.

Good luck with your decision! It's definitely time to do it as the longer you wait, the longer you'll likely have to work to maximize the pension, which is the pot of gold at the end of an awesome rainbow.

Just an observation -- your entire post talks about "perks" of the job, and nothing about the actual job itself