Career/school ideas?

[vmack]

Hey, I'm looking to move to Calgary from Winnipeg to get some change and start up my life. I'm 22, single no kids. I currently have a Kinesiology degree (which is pretty much useless I'm finding). Took it since I was a university athlete and I needed to take something.

I'd rather go to a school like SAIT and not U of C (don't even think I have the grades to get in). Don't know if I'd be cut out for engineering, but I am interested in business (accounting and finance) or even the medical programs (which are crazy competitive apparently).

Any suggestions or ideas on what I should look at? Obviously I'd want something that has a decent starting salary that I could get by on

[valo403]

Wait, so we're talking a second degree here? If you don't think you'd have the grades to get into the U of C I'm thinking Med School may be out of the question, and possibly other graduate programs.

If we're talking just some 1 or 2 year programs there are likely a ton of options depending on your interests. I'm sure there are people here that could help, but more info would probably be beneficial.

[TSXCman]

Masters related to business? Second degree related to business?

SAIT is very interesting for many eng tech, construction, etc. programs to look through.

Don't step into engineering lightly though if you are actually going that direction.

I suggest choosing something 2 or less years long if anything, may be time to just start working, endless years of school don't get you further than work experience.

[Sliver]

You're two years away from getting the best job in the world...be a teacher.

Being a teacher in Alberta is like winning the lottery - great salary and benefits, short days, short years, insane pension.

Seriously, work for 25 years and you'll get paid an awesome pension until the day you die. It's unbelievable. No money worries forever. Plus you work 3/4 of a typical work day, 2/3 of a typical work year, and fewer years than a typical career. You start your career off with about 12 weeks of paid holiday time. Medical and dental benefits are first class. After your first couple of years when you're working out your lesson plans, it's smooth sailing if you want it to be for the next couple of decades until you cash out and start enjoying a paid-for retirement in your 50s.

Your degree will lend itself very well to being a gym teacher, I'd imagine.

[Brewmaster]

Originally Posted by Sliver

You're two years away from getting the best job in the world...be a teacher.

Being a teacher in Alberta is like winning the lottery - great salary and benefits, short days, short years, insane pension.

Seriously, work for 25 years and you'll get paid an awesome pension until the day you die. It's unbelievable. No money worries forever. Plus you work 3/4 of a typical work day, 2/3 of a typical work year, and fewer years than a typical career. You start your career off with about 12 weeks of paid holiday time. Medical and dental benefits are first class. After your first couple of years when you're working out your lesson plans, it's smooth sailing if you want it to be for the next couple of decades until you cash out and start enjoying a paid-for retirement in your 50s.

Your degree will lend itself very well to being a gym teacher, I'd imagine.

Being a teacher is like winning the lottery? Not sure if you're serious or just trolling here. Either way, I'll take the bait. Teaching is a good profession but they are not working 3/4 of a typical work day. The hours teachers put in are long and don't end when the students leave.

[First Lady]

Yeah.... looks like Alberta teachers have a different outlook than Sliver.

A new work-life balance study has found nearly 30 per cent of Alberta teachers consider quitting their jobs at least once a week.

http://www.660news.com/2013/03/13/al...gher-bus-fees/

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by First Lady

Yeah.... looks like Alberta teachers have a different outlook than Sliver.



http://www.660news.com/2013/03/13/al...gher-bus-fees/

Having worked in the education field I would be inclined to believe that is because all they have ever done is go from high school to college to a job teaching and so have no idea what a real crappy job is.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Sliver

You're two years away from getting the best job in the world...be a teacher.

Two years?

Also, I've heard it is harder to get into Teachers College than Law School these days?

[First Lady]

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

Having worked in the education field I would be inclined to believe that is because all they have ever done is go from high school to college to a job teaching and so have no idea what a real crappy job is.

I get people occasionally not liking what they are doing - but to have one third of them thinking about quitting every week.... That's high and perhaps they are in the wrong field.

Sorry for derailing thread...

[troutman]

Lawyers and Dentists have the highest suicide rates.

[Makarov]

Originally Posted by troutman

Two years?

Also, I've heard it is harder to get into Teachers College than Law School these days?

Based on this link, this is not the case.

[Makarov]

Originally Posted by troutman

Lawyers and Dentists have the highest suicide rates.

Lawyers also have the highest alcoholism rates. So, if lawyers are drinking a lot and are still unhappy enough to kill themselves in lemming-like numbers, you know it sucks.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by troutman

Two years?

Also, I've heard it is harder to get into Teachers College than Law School these days?

He already has a degree, so it's just two more years to become a teacher through UC.

What Bachelor of Education degree programs are offered at the University of Calgary?

The Faculty of Education at the University of Calgary offers:

the Bachelor of Education Program, a two-year full-time study after-degree program offered in both the Elementary and Secondary routes.

I'm not sure how high your GPA needs to be to get into law school, but to get into the program the OP would need all that is required is a GPA of 2.5, which isn't exactly tough to achieve for most people of average intelligence.

From the link:

The minimum GPA considered for admission into the BEd program is 2.50 on a 4-point scale.

I would assume, like any other program, the minimum requirement would be enough in some years and not enough in others. There is an ebb and flow to the supply and demand for teachers.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by First Lady

I get people occasionally not likely what they are doing - but to have one third of them thinking about quitting every week.... That's high and perhaps they are in the wrong field.

Sorry for derailing thread...

That's a completely and utterly meaningless number you've thrown out there without any basis for comparison.

How often a week does the average McDonald's employee consider quitting? How often a week does the average cop consider quitting? How often a week does the average lawyer consider quitting? How often a week does the average nurse consider quitting? How often a week does the average soldier consider quitting? How often a week does the average worker at any job in Canada consider quitting?

[valo403]

Originally Posted by Sliver

That's a completely and utterly meaningless number you've thrown out there without any basis for comparison.

How often a week does the average McDonald's employee consider quitting? How often a week does the average cop consider quitting? How often a week does the average lawyer consider quitting? How often a week does the average nurse consider quitting? How often a week does the average soldier consider quitting? How often a week does the average worker at any job in Canada consider quitting?

Often. Very, very often

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by First Lady

I get people occasionally not likely what they are doing - but to have one third of them thinking about quitting every week.... That's high and perhaps they are in the wrong field.

Sorry for derailing thread...

I spent several years working in an alternate program attached to a high school, thing that amazed me was, to be frank, how lousy the teachers were at dealing with kids, keeping them quiet and knowing when they were loosing the class, that ended up becoming my job essentailly, but also how relatively easy the work was and yet how crappy they thought it was, granted in the first few years the teachers had more work to do but the guys who had been teaching for 4 or 5 years had their lesson plans laid out and had little to do after the day was over, I routinely was stuck behind doing my paperwork long after the teachers had finished marking and gone home.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Brewmaster

Being a teacher is like winning the lottery? Not sure if you're serious or just trolling here. Either way, I'll take the bait. Teaching is a good profession but they are not working 3/4 of a typical work day. The hours teachers put in are long and don't end when the students leave.

Does anybody here have a job that ends when 4:30 comes around? How many of us have email coming to our phones that we're expected to respond to? How many of us stay late, work through breaks, work through lunch, go above and beyond at our job? Teachers aren't unique if they have to work longer than their 8:10 - 2:36 job, including an hour off for lunch and breaks throughout the day in a lot of cases. Plus, a lot of days they don't have to work longer. That's like a six hour day my kids' teachers put in.

Plus I'll tell you when a teacher's job does end...the last day of school before their nine-week break. I don't know anybody that has a professional job that can take off for nine weeks, not have any work pile up while they're gone and not be contacted by the office for the duration of the holiday. In my experience, most people need to be contacted a couple of times while they're on vacation for one week, let alone 9x longer.

Hopefully it doesn't sound like I'm criticizing teachers here. I truly believe it to be one of the best jobs in terms of time off, benefits, pay, and pension in the history of humankind. My wife and I are strongly encouraging our kids to become teachers as I believe it offers the opportunity to have one of the best lives a person can have.

[opendoor]

Some people who become teachers really aren't suited for it. They're likely the ones who either quit early in their careers or stick it out for a while and think about quitting all the time. I think some people probably just get blinded by the perks (3 months off a year, excellent benefits, fairly short workday, largely recession proof, etc.) and don't actually consider whether they'll enjoy it or be good at it.

While the academic and intellectual requirements for being a teacher aren't as stringent as some other professions, you definitely have to have the right personality for it to be effective and not hate it. If you have that personality and the skills it can be a great job, but if you don't the vacation and benefits are going to be of little comfort if you hate every minute you're at work.

As for the OP, if it's something you think you might like doing, I'd definitely consider education as a field. But many, many people aren't suited for it so don't get too enticed by the perks if it's not something you'd otherwise consider.

[First Lady]

Originally Posted by Sliver

That's a completely and utterly meaningless number you've thrown out there without any basis for comparison.

I bet to those 33.33% of teachers it's not such a meaningless number.

How often a week does the average McDonald's employee consider quitting? How often a week does the average cop consider quitting? How often a week does the average lawyer consider quitting? How often a week does the average nurse consider quitting? How often a week does the average soldier consider quitting? How often a week does the average worker at any job in Canada consider quitting?

You make is sound like everyone is a miserable as you seem to be.

The vast majority of people I know, quite like the work they do. And the ones who aren't happy tend to move on and find something they do enjoy.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by opendoor

Some people who become teachers really aren't suited for it. They're likely the ones who either quit early in their careers or stick it out for a while and think about quitting all the time. I think some people probably just get blinded by the perks (3 months off a year, excellent benefits, fairly short workday, largely recession proof, etc.) and don't actually consider whether they'll enjoy it or be good at it.

While the academic and intellectual requirements for being a teacher aren't as stringent as some other professions, you definitely have to have the right personality for it to be effective and not hate it. If you have that personality and the skills it can be a great job, but if you don't the vacation and benefits are going to be of little comfort if you hate every minute you're at work.

As for the OP, if it's something you think you might like doing, I'd definitely consider education as a field. But many, many people aren't suited for it so don't get too enticed by the perks if it's not something you'd otherwise consider.

When I was a kid the vast majority of my teachers were middle aged dudes who had worked at something first, my geography teacher had worked for a mining company, most had done miltary service etc.
As such they were virtually unperturbable and we viewed them with, in some cases, fear and awe. All of them had choosen teaching very specifically.

These days teachers seem to be mostly female college grads who seem to not really know what to do when they get to the end of their education, not quite bright or driven enough to make it on to a masters program, teaching becomes the easy option, it is essentially just an extension of college.