Holding Out For Your Dream Job?

Story of my summer.

I've been bad about updating this blog lately, because I finally got a job!  After spending the entire summer filling out countless (and repetitive) applications, many phone calls, and a few interview offers, I was sick of the job hunt.  My whole life I've excelled at academics and extracurriculars.  It sounds bratty, but I'm used to getting the things I apply to: College, graduate school, study abroad program, summer jobs, etc.  So it was very frustrating to keep filling out applications and making phone calls when most of them were never returned.  I was job hunting for so long, that I was able to think about what I really wanted.


This past year, I earned my teaching certification in physics (grades 5-12) and mathematics (grades  5-12).  I really enjoyed student teaching both high school physics and middle school math, so I knew my last choice for a job would be high school math.  However, as the summer went on and I was still unemployed, I began to apply to everything.  Even high school math.  Even high school math long-term substitute positions.  I wasn't interested in these jobs; I just wanted A job.  I felt guilty because there was an abundance of jobs back in Indiana that I didn't apply to because I didn't want to live in Indiana.  Every job I was qualified for, but not interested in, I felt guilty for not applying.  So which is the "right" thing to do:  Getting a job you don't want (like high school math), or remaining unemployed and open to continue searching for the job you do want?  If you choose to do the latter, should you feel guilty like I did?  I was lucky in that my parents were (and are) willing to support me until I find a full-time job which will allow me to support myself.  In the end, I found a job that allows me to work with middle school math students.  However, it's not full-time, and I will be living at home the whole year.  No doubt if I were living on my own, I would have had to take a job I didn't want in order to sustain myself.

I love my job.  I love the school, the staff and the kids.  I'm happy that I got my foot in the door, and I'm hoping this will help me get a "real" teaching job in the future.  My coworkers have encouraged me to keep looking during the school year, but for now I want to take a break from the job hunt and just enjoy myself.