Graduate school in Texas? (day care, find a job, preschool)

[sthom67]

Hey everyone!

I'm in a bit of a pickle and I would love to hear y'alls advice-whether its common sense or just from experience.

I am a junior/senior Child and Family Studies major at LSU and I will be graduating this December!

I have been going mad researching various graduate schools and trying to decide what it is I really want to do after undergrad graduation.

I don't necessarily want to teach (right after graduate school) but I am interested in Curriculum & Instruction and Educational Leadership (professions outside of the class room, but involving education).

I had all my hopes on going to graduate school in Texas until i realized 2 things.

1. Many of the programs I am interested in are online.
2. The programs that are campus based offer night classes bc most graduate students are professionals.

The realization of these 2 facts led to one conclusion. I'm gonna have to be working a professional job if I go to graduate school.

For whatever reason, I thought that I'd be taking classes during working hours like I do now in order to get a job later...Nope. That doesn't seem to be the case.

This wouldn't be a problem for me if I were to stay in Louisiana b/c I already have a job secured with my internship.

But if I go to Texas, I'm just gonna be arriving jobless just to go to school.

Should I be looking for jobs as I am researching grad schools too? I plan to start graduate school in January of 2012. I feel like it's still really early to be looking for a job if I don't even know what graduate schools I will be applying to.

[centralaustinite]

Stay in Louisiana and pursue the job you have available via your internship. Most Curriculum and Instruction programs are only interested in candidates who have spent years in the classroom. And guess what? thousands of experienced teachers just got laid off in central texas, some proportion of them will go back to grad school. A fresh grad is unlikely even to get a slot!

Put off graduate school for five years, maybe even forever! There is so much you can do without a graduate degree, just be willing to start at the beginning, work hard, and network.

[kiacook]

Or stay in LA and do one of those online programs.

[mark311]

Originally Posted by sthom67

Should I be looking for jobs as I am researching grad schools too? I plan to start graduate school in January of 2012. I feel like it's still really early to be looking for a job if I don't even know what graduate schools I will be applying to.

I would be looking for faculty researchers at the grad schools you're researching with research interests that are in line with your interests. If you can latch on to a good faculty researcher with grant money, you might be able to secure a research assistant position and draw a salary and/or have your tuition covered while you're in grad school. Make sure that your CV has things like your GPA, any honors programs, information about your internship, undergrad research programs, community service, etc.

[h886]

Stay in Louisiana. It makes no sense to come to Texas. You should keep your internship while you get your graduate degree in LA.

One thing you need to realize about education and any work relating to it, is that you will never get hired to do any sort of administrator or curriculum position unless you have significant experience teaching in a classroom. Period. Curriculum and Instruction or Educational Leadership is the sort of position that (BTW, would be the first cut in layoffs) would be filled by a former teacher with years of experience in the classroom. That sort of person is supposed to determine the curriculum for entire schools, entire districts... why on earth would they consider someone who never had her own classroom? You would need to not only have experience running your own classroom (i.e. teach for at least 5 years) but also be exceptionally good at it.

Teachers will never take curriculum instruction from someone who has no idea how to teach and no experience doing it. That's like a JV high school football player thinking he's going to be asked to coach the pros. Not qualified in the least. The district knows this and would never hire someone like that.

So, if you don't want to teach at all? Consider another field entirely for graduate school.

[sthom67]

Thanks for all your responses.

There are four programs that I am considering that will all allow me to get a teaching certificate. Teaching is definitely my security blanket.

But I will be going to Texas. If I don't go for graduate school, I will end up staying in Louisiana for the rest of my life. And that I do not want. lol!

As far as me freaking out about finding a job...I forgot that I have 5 years of (professional) experience working as a Teacher Assistant in day care and preschool preschool setting. I will be bound to find a job even if it will be changing diapers until I graduate!

Thanks so much!!