Well, I'm out...and opinions wanted (teachers, come in!)

EveKing79 · November 2010

I'm actually on CD 2 now, didn't post yesterday because I had a busy afternoon/ evening.Spotting turned in full-fledged AF.

So this was the last cycle that would have fit into an ideal "window" for me to find a teaching job for next September. (I will be getting my masters in May) I know there are a lot of teachers on this board, and I wanted to get some opinions...I post a lot on here and feel pretty comfortable, so I want to write details about our situation and you ladies come in and tell me if you think this is a sound plan or we're being irresponsible.

DH and I have decided to keep on TTC'ing because this will be cycle 6 and this whole process is taking awhile. However, we know that say, I get an EDD for November (hypothetically) it will drastically reduce my chances of getting hired anywhere, especially in this tight market. We live on Long Island, NY, so teacher salaries are good here, however, the cost of living is also super high. I could be working less or not at all for up to a year, depending on what I can find, how well it pays, when I actually do get KU, etc.?

DH has a secure job- he makes a little less than 70K. I could sub if I can't find a job for September and I'm confident I could bring in at least 24K.We have a very small mortgage for the area, and we have been saving a lot every month, and by the end of this year we should have around 40K in savings (hopefully going up as we continue to save).

In my situation, what would you ladies do? Would you wait for the job and then TTC or just go for it? I'm 31 and we don't want to wait forever, however, I was brought up in a family that taught me *no* financial responsibility, so I am very unsure of my own judgment these days. DH wants to go ahead, and so do I, with all my heart- but there are so many factors that I can't control (when I get KU, if I would find a job for September anyways, etc.)

I'm coming to teaching as a career-changer, after working as a freelance artist and owning a retail business, which is why I'm getting a bit of a later start on the tenure track than many of you, I'm sure!

mego36 · November 2010

I'm an elementary teacher on long island and say keep trying. ?I hate to be realistic but the jobs are hard to come by these days. ?I work in a large district and the current staff is pretty young. ?In my building we won't have anyone retiring for at least another 3 or 4 years. ?In addition the class enrollment is also going down. ?Where we used to have 6 kindergarten classes we are lucky to have 4 now, and it's not looking like it is going to go up for a number of years. ?You can't keep your family plans on hold forever. HTH

Country Girl in the City · November 2010

Ok, I am not a teacher but I will share my opinion anyway. I would not give up to work around the school calendar. Even if you can't find a full time job as a teacher there still may be other option. My SIL did tutoring until she found a full time teaching job. Our original TTC attempt was a big fail but at that time we decided to try around DH work calendar. Now we will take it anytime we can get it. Having that flexibility has taken away one stressor from TTC.

Jessiree · November 2010

I'm in a similar position as you - I'm finishing my bachelor's in May and would like to find a teaching job in September, but I'm also planning on starting my Master's in September as well. When we first started this, we had decided that we would stop trying once we got to a point that I would have a phantom due date that conflicted with school starting.

We're at that point now, and continuing to try. We have to be realistic about where we are, and 6 cycles and nearly 8 months in, we either need to go for broke or put our baby dreams on hold for a while. Neither of us is ready to make that sacrifice of not continuing to try. There are other, very reasonable job opportunities out there for me even if I got pregnant this cycle - I could tutor or sub and wait for a job opportunity because right now teaching jobs aren't terrible to come by, but most of my teacher friends did wait between 6 months to a year to find a job.

I guess the gist of this is: continue to try! Babies will never come at the 'ideal' time and if you want a baby, keep going for it! Just my thoughts. HTH! GL!

pinkflipflops44 · November 2010

I have a teaching degree and no full-time position. I've had many part-time positions or long term sub jobs and job interviews but nothing perm. Honestly, if you and your husband want to keep going, keep going. I never put off for ajob (we can afford it) because otherwise I would be waiting forever or I'd have to take a job I hated.

LauraElizabeth85 · November 2010

I am not a teacher but thought I would share my opinion anyways. I recently accepted a new job (will start Dec 2nd). At first I thought that DH and I should put TTC on hold until I have been at this new company for a while. After speaking to a couple working mom's (that I genuinely respect) DH and I realized that even though it might make sense to wait, we didn't want to and we have the right to keep TTC even though I am starting a new job. I am currently starting cycle #5. We have no way of knowing when we will get our BFP but we don't wnt to kick ourselves for putting TTC on hold because of work. There is always going to be something going on in life (work, family, friends etc) that might make it seems like "less than perfect timing" but when that urge to have a baby is that strong sometimes you need to just keep truckin'!

That's just my two cents Big Smile

EveKing79 · November 2010

Meg- it seems like so much about finding a teaching position on LI is based on luck as well as skill/ academic background. My cousin got her job at Garden City within months of graduation, tenured right away, etc...but her husband has been starting a new position every year, it seems like, as budgets gets cut, etc.

I feel like it's the most important decision of our lives and there's so much we can't control- scares the neck out of me.

EveKing79 · November 2010

EveryWednesday:
scares the neck out of me.

Um, I meant scares the "heck" out of me;) Not the neck.

leiainoz · November 2010

I'm in a similar situation (coming to teaching after career change/working on certification + MAT degree) & have been wrestling with similar questions. I have endo and would rather keep trying in case it takes awhile, but I have a feeling I'm out this cycle too, and I'm out of "convenient" planning windows for TTC. I think I'm going to just keep on TTC though & trust that everything happens for a reason & will work out in the long run. (Does that make me a crazy idealist?)

GL!

Mrs.Slick · November 2010

I'm a teacher as well and if I were you, I would keep trying. DH and I are also going to keep trying even though if this were to be our cycle, I would be due right around the start of the school year. Would it suck? Yes. But family is the most important thing.

As far as getting a job/possibly interviewing while pregnant: some principals mind and some don't. Just be upfront about it.

And not to sound like a debbie downer, but maybe it will take longer than expected and you won't get pg for another 4-5 months. Then you probably wouldn't have a huge baby bump and no one would know. And if you did wait and then it still took several more months, then you'd be kicking yourself for the lost time. Do whatever you and your dh feel the most comfortable with because that is the right decision.

EveKing79 · November 2010

Thanks everybody for responding. I'm glad to hear people think we are not totally foolish for continuing TTC. I do agree that there is no "ideal" time to have a baby. I also have to say I'm a little relieved to hear from so many other people who are in a similar situation...life doesn't always wait for all your ducks to be in a row, I guess.

JuneButterfly85 · November 2010

Well, I'm not a teacher but I think if you are financially secure (which it sounds like you are) and you think you could afford to not get a job right away (and do the subbing like you said) Then I would not stop TTC.

I mean you never know how much longer it will take and for me personally, I'd hate to wait 6 months or so and just have to start this crap over again. Dh wanted to quit after this cycle because he doesn't want me to be big and pregnant in the summer. But I said that I'd like to keep trying because who knows, it might take us 6 months to conceive and it then at that rate I wouldn't be big and pregnant in the summer. I'd rather just take my chances and then just deal with what life throws at me when it comes

melissa721 · November 2010

We are in the same situation except one cycle behind you. Only difference is I already have a teaching job so the risk is losing the job as opposed to you not getting one. We thought if anything we could have me on unemployment and his job where he makes great money til the following year after giving birth. The hopefully I could find a new teaching job. So my opinion is don't stop.

Want a personalized experience?

Well, I'm out...and opinions wanted (teachers, come in!)

Re: Well, I'm out...and opinions wanted (teachers, come in!)

Choose Another Board

Search Boards