Tempted to leave but I shouldn't... Right?

Greco1014

So I've been at my new job for about three weeks now and I'm feeling totally burned out. Maybe you guys can slap some sense into me... 

The backstory: I've been a public school teacher for the past 7 years, and until recently I taught ninth grade English in an excellent district. I taught three classes a day instead of five so that I could spend more time at home with LO. Dh and I had always thought that  I would probably become a SAHM when we have baby number 2. We are planning to start TTC for number 2 in a few months (our plan was always to have two kids about two years apart). So we had always seen me maybe staying at work until the end of the 2013-14 school year, and then maybe taking some time off if TTC went according to plan.

At the end of last school year I was laid off from that great part time teaching job that I had. I was tempted to start my SAHM life then, but DH and I both agreed that if I could find another part time teaching job with similar pay and hours, I would take it. See, we want to save up to buy a bigger house, and pretty much all the money I'd earn right now will go straight to our "bigger house" fund.  I thought my chances of finding exactly the right job were slim--but, as it turned out, I found a job with the exact pay and hours I was looking for almost right away. So I took it.

Long story short, the new job is not going well so far. WIthout going into too much detail, the kids are much more challenging than I had last year. Plus, I'm spending so much time planning new lessons, e-mailing parents, and so on that I'm working more hours in general than I did last year, and spending more time away from LO. Also, my new commute is much longer and more frustrating. The distance itself takes only about 30 minutes, but I'm driving home in heavy traffic every day. TOday it took me over an hour to get home. The school year is only about one month old, but so far I'm pretty much miserable every day. I'm not sure I can deal with a whole year of this. My first day of work I came home sobbing (I had had a horrible first day followed by two hours straight sitting in unusually bad traffic). My DH said that while the money I'm earning is great, he's fine with me quitting if the job is going to cause me this much stress. And it is very, very tempting to quit because this is really not the kind of job I want for right now. It may be officially part time work, but right now the stress feels very full time.

Basically, we can afford for me to stay home if I absolutely can't take this job. BUT here's the thing: I don't consider myself a quitter. I would be very upset with myself if I walked away from any teaching job mid-year. Besides, I know that the money I'm earning right now is good for our family in general (because I do want that bigger house for all of us). For these reasons, I really do want to stick it out for at least the year. But right now that feels like a very long time. 

Sooo...anyone got any words of encouragement? Anyone want to give me a good kick in the pants? I'll take whatever I can get right now.

MNgirl326

Um without sounding like a stalker, where are you working?  Because your job sounds like a place I worked at last year and ended up quitting 3 1/2 weeks before the school year ended (May 15th to be exact) 

If its bad, get out of there.  Seriously, you can sub you can find long term subbing positions if you want to stay in school systems or be a stay at home mom. 

Being in the school I was at for 2 years caused serious damage to myself and my marriage.  As much as you aren't a quitter, there is only so much one person can take. 

 

Greco1014

abartow said:

Um without sounding like a stalker, where are you working?  Because your job sounds like a place I worked at last year and ended up quitting 3 1/2 weeks before the school year ended (May 15th to be exact) 

If its bad, get out of there.  Seriously, you can sub you can find long term subbing positions if you want to stay in school systems or be a stay at home mom. 

Being in the school I was at for 2 years caused serious damage to myself and my marriage.  As much as you aren't a quitter, there is only so much one person can take. 

 

Just sent you a PM...

MNgirl326

I responded.

lolob45

If you truly believe you'd be unhappy with yourself for quitting then I'd try to stick it out another month and see if things get better. I know for my commute it is always the absolute worst in September and for some reason the traffic lessons within a few weeks.

If you decide to quit you're really in a good place to sub and still contribute to your new house fund. So it's not a total loss.

JWSchwarz

I think that is awesome that your DH is so supportive. It sounds like you will feel better if you give it a little more time though. Just take it day by day and decide to reassess in a month if you still feel this way.

One thing I do if I am feeling unusually miserable for more than a couple days is to make a list of 3 great things that happened that day. Sometimes it is just that DS said a new word, or that I talked to a friend, etc. But, as cheesy as it sounds it has helped me when I am miserable. Do it for a week and it just might help!

daisy662

I am sorry your new job isn't what you expected, but I am going to give you the kick in the pants post you asked for lol! First off, you are brand new there, did you really expect to walk in and be right where you left off in your old job where you were for 7 years? You didn't expect there to be some different expectations? You have only been there for 3 weeks I think you need to let yourself settle in a bit before making a decision. Further, you are still working part time. There are lots of moms who work many more than 40 hour work weeks. You are fortunate there. Your commute sounds yucky. I have a long commute also, when I am in town with no traffic it takes me over an hour each way. Today though, I am about to board a plane and won't be home for 2 days. I tell you this so you can put things in perspective. At the end of the day, you are a teacher, part time, who is only planning to work this school year anyway. That means you only have, what, maybe 8 months left? And, a bunch of breaks in between! You said your working this year will help your financial goal, I would focus on that. When you think of the big fat down payment on your new house, that should make your next few months much easier to swallow. To me, it sounds like you really don't have it bad. I would love to work a teachers schedule, and a part time teachers schedule? I wouldn't know what to do with my extra time! Best of luck, and try to think of all the positives.