Negative Aspects of Teaching
It’s not all a bed of roses. Some of the complaints I
hear most often are:
- It’s a lot of work — Doing a good job teaching
requires a great deal of time outside of the classroom. Research
must be done, lessons must be learned, and homework needs
grading. There are students to advise, departmental meetings
to attend, student extracurricular activities to supervise.
And in IT, just keeping up with the changes in technology
to keep your course material fresh can seem to absorb all
of your free time. There is always a new programming language,
new Internet standard or new hardware device to learn about.
- Compensation is meager — Compared to many other
professions, especially for the level of education required,
teacher pay is relatively low. This is especially true when
compared to IT professions where a shortage of workers has
kept salaries in the business world at a high level. You can
make a great deal more money as a Java programmer than you
can teaching Java programming. I’ve never met a teacher
yet who said they pursued a career in education to get rich.
- Lack of adequate classroom materials and technology
— Since public schools are funded by tax dollars, tight
budgets are a reality in most school districts. Increasing
technology needs for instruction (not just in IT courses,
but in all courses) are consuming ever-larger portions of
budgets. This means fewer funds available for general supplies,
teaching salaries and fringe benefits.
- Stress — Teaching can be very stressful under
the best of conditions. Most teachers cite issues such as
"too much paperwork, too many students, too many discipline
problems, and too little administrative or parental support"
as sources of stress.ix
So, what’s the best way to decide if an IT teaching profession
is for you? Talk to instructors who are currently teaching.
A view from the frontlines is always informative and your best
source of information.
After all of this you’ve decided to pursue a career as
an IT instructor. There are three basic choices of environment
for you to work in: 1) Elementary and secondary education (K
through 12), 2) Post-secondary education (colleges and universities
who grant degrees), 3) Corporate training (this will also include
teaching non-credit courses…that is courses that are not
part of a degree program). There are specific nuances about
each workplace so let’s explore them in turn.
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