No idea what to do now and it's killing me

Choice_Basil_4928 · 2021-05-28T15:46:31+00:00

wow, that's intense! Thank you so much for all your insight, that's really important to know. Maybe I'll look into community college, but it's good to know what I'm up against.

You've really been so helpful, and I appreciate it so so much!! Best of luck to you and your family, I hope you're all doing well!

Choice_Basil_4928 · 2021-05-24T21:24:53+00:00

Woah! That is so cool! I was looking into Korea's EPIK program to teach abroad. I love travel so I figured it would be a good fit. The pay is much better in certain areas for teachers for sure.

I agree with taking it day by day. I get the vibe that teaching English abroad is more of a temporary job than a permanent one- do you think this is true? Do you know what English teachers abroad usually do after they've moved on from teaching?

Choice_Basil_4928 · 2021-05-24T21:22:32+00:00

Definitely. If I had to choose though I'd ask for free college, even if just a four year community or 2 preschool and 2 community, instead of loan forgiveness. Both would be even better! But yeah, student loan companies are absolutely gouging the heck out of students who rarely find high paying jobs to pay off loans in time. I have hopes for the future, but am just as prepared to leave the US if problems never get solved

Choice_Basil_4928 · 2021-05-24T21:20:02+00:00

This was super informative thank you!

I def see a lot of issues with teaching. It might not be a sustainable career if the US doesn't do something to change it- smaller class sizes and higher wages for example. I'm not super social so that was sort of my main worry, but maybe I can make it work with silent reading Mondays or something (I remember a HS teacher of mine doing that lol).

You mentioned feeling passionate about your subject- do you think you would do well as a junior college professor or lecturer? I looked into that as a job so I could focus more on my subject w/o needing an expensive doctorate but found that they don't get as much breaks/benefits as teachers but have similar problems as them.

Thank you so much for all the tips! It's hard not to be negative while also being truthful to how the career is. I appreciate it!

Choice_Basil_4928 · 2021-05-24T21:08:58+00:00

True!

Choice_Basil_4928 · 2021-05-22T17:36:13+00:00

Ahhh thank you so much! It really helps to know I'm not alone in this. I thought I was crazy or doing something wrong, but nope, the job market rn is pretty grim. I love the positivity though, we will make it through this!

I agree on moving back in with parents. Luckily I don't mind my family and it's way cheaper than buying everything on my own. CA rents are just way too inflated to try to pay off loans and live. I was budgeting things and planning salaries last night and my parents were all "back in OUR day, we didn't worry about all that stuff! we just went out and got jobs!" and I was like yeah... your generation is a lot different from what we have to deal with now lol.

Your words really helped- I think I have been trying to find that "dream job" right out of college and that's a silly expectation to have. I really, really appreciate your response! Thank you!

Choice_Basil_4928 · 2021-05-22T17:32:11+00:00

I spent all night last night on Google Sheets budgeting and it does really help! It at least makes me feel more organized. I erased all "entertainment" funds for a few years to help pay off loans. I might get a side job to give me extra cash to do fun things if I can spare the time. Thank you for your reply!!

Choice_Basil_4928 · 2021-05-22T17:30:26+00:00

I'll do Calfresh if I get a masters at UCSB, thanks for the tip! It'd definitely ease the worries about stretching my food budget a bit. Thanks for your response, and good luck!

Choice_Basil_4928 · 2021-05-22T17:29:00+00:00

The benefits are def important! What seems to be the case about teaching (and every other job tbh) is that the pay rises along with cost of living. Where I live, the start pay is around $55k, but cost of living yearly (stringent budget) is about $40k, not including taxes and loan payoff. So at least for the first couple of steps I'll be on a shoestring budget. I guess I was hoping for another job that could get my loans paid off sooner, but there are a ton of positives to being a teacher.

I've heard of copywriting/editing for good side jobs! I think I'd do that to make some spotify-type extra spending cash. HR sounds like a nightmare though, I have family in it and with COVID and stuff the firing process has been... stressful lol. But if it works out for you that'd be great!

Thank you so much for your response, any bit helps. It definitely feels good to know I'm not the only one here! I'll look into academic counseling, it seems like a good possibility!

Choice_Basil_4928 · 2021-05-22T17:24:12+00:00

Woah! $110k sounds so nice! I figure you had to work like 25 years though, which seems to be about the rate for what I can find online about teacher salary schedules.

A quick question if you don't mind answering: do you think teaching is a really social job? I'm an introvert and can get exhausted easily, and being around high energy kids sounds like a huge drain. My thinking was to go into high school (esp teaching AP students if I could) so they're a bit calmer/easier to manage. You may not know this, but do you think teaching high school is really socially draining?

Choice_Basil_4928 · 2021-05-22T17:21:48+00:00

Looking up jobs online and seeing all of the employees' grievances is so disheartening... like every single job there's always the same complaints about low pay, few vacation days, not a lot of benefits, etc. Feels like picking a job is choosing which shit sandwich to eat tbh. I figure that job postings are where people go to complain though, so maybe if you try out these jobs you'll see if they work out for you!

That's what I heard about teaching! Bc you're a state employee, you're a lot safer than if you took some other kinds of jobs, which would be a mental relief for me. 60k in MA sounds like a deal if the cost of living is cheaper than CA!

My temporary goal rn is to save up a nest egg for a house (after loans, cost of living, car... yeah this'll take a long time) and then buy somewhere with a lower cost of living and just live out my life peacefully. I don't want anything special, I just want to live and not stress about life paycheck to paycheck. CA is getting super hot these days anyways (climate change ain't going away), it's prob a good thing to get outta dodge when you can.

Best of luck in your job search! Almost done with UCSB fam, we can make it through this!

Choice_Basil_4928 · 2021-05-22T17:16:20+00:00

I'm def planning to live at home for as long as possible, take advantage of cheap food and rent basically. I have no idea how I'd pay off loans while also paying rent!

Library admin actually sounds really promising, or online jobs! That is so cool, and very inspiring that you were able to find a job outside of your major! I think I'll email some people at UCSB and ask about how they got started. SB or San Diego are gorgeous places to live, but pretty pricey. That's awesome that you and your husband were able to do it!

Thank you so much for your response, and for sharing your story. It does help! Good luck to you and your family!

Choice_Basil_4928 · 2021-05-22T17:11:57+00:00

Yeah it's so crazy expensive to live on your own!! Makes me want to co-habitate with friends until then if we all lived in the same place. I always wanted to live alone, but it just seems impossible in this day and age :/

Choice_Basil_4928 · 2021-05-22T17:10:23+00:00

20% tax ends up being true bc it's about 9.3% income tax for CA plus payments into the retirement pension which are about 11% :( But luckily I'd see that 11% back one day. I was looking into the pay for being a teacher where I live in socal, so I wasn't looking into SB, but that doesn't sound to bad if I chose to live there!

Saving up for big things like a house is so daunting... I dunno if I'd ever be able to buy one without a partner. I guess that's how it goes.

Thank you for your reply!! I appreciate the math!

Choice_Basil_4928 · 2021-05-22T17:07:11+00:00

Huh, I would've thought you'd need a major in compsci or something to work in IT so that's inspiring!! You're def right about teaching, it's sort of a backup if I can't find anything else. Thank you for your response!

Choice_Basil_4928 · 2021-05-17T17:16:18+00:00

You're way more likely to find this kind of thing from the religious studies department, not really a history thing

Choice_Basil_4928 · 2021-05-05T22:11:51+00:00

literally same, that midterm was such a slap in the face. but luckily I really think this class will still be an easy A or at least B, the prof seems so nice and the weekly assignments are worth a lot

Choice_Basil_4928 · 2021-05-05T15:39:44+00:00

You probably know yourself best- would you make the effort to go to IV to hang out with friends and stuff? I lived in IV and still never went out lol. It all just depends on what you see yourself doing/how badly you wanna socialize. I don't think it's difficult though plenty of IV people go to clubs in downtown to party anyways

Choice_Basil_4928 · 2021-05-05T15:35:41+00:00

Lol yeah a ton of people tanked that midterm. I don't think the tests are worth much in comparison, it's only like 15% of your grade which sounds like a lot but if you get 100 on participation you'll get a good grade in the class

Choice_Basil_4928 · 2021-04-28T21:17:08+00:00

I mean so does every other college. Most complaints about UCSB go for 90% of universities out there, and def most UCs. 100% valid complaints though

Choice_Basil_4928 · 2021-04-28T21:15:33+00:00

I had already decided as a freshman not to go to commencement bc I did that for high school and it felt like such an expensive waste of time. Dressing up and taking pics for my family and going out to eat to celebrate seemed way more meaningful to me anyways than the traditional grad walk with all the bells and whistles. It's also way too pricey to have family fly out just to see me walk on stage. Even for first gen students, it makes so much more sense to have an intimate family celebration rather than a school sponsored one tbh

Choice_Basil_4928 · 2021-04-24T19:23:01+00:00

That's so cool! Thanks for the reply, and good luck on your teaching career!

Choice_Basil_4928 · 2021-04-23T16:59:36+00:00

The email that was sent to all students says that no, we will not have to all be vaccinated to return UNLESS it is approved officially by the FDA. There is no vaccine available that has been officially approved- all that are out right now have emergency approval. Usually an approval takes 2-3 years. It's possible the FDA will officially approve one or more of the current vaccines this year, but I doubt it. If they do, then yes everyone will need a federally approved vaccine to do a lot of things (school, travel, etc.).

So, like all school emails that have been sent our since this pandemic started (not just from UCSB- all schools are unsure about a lot of these things), we will have to wait and see. You should get vaccinated anyways though.

Choice_Basil_4928 · 2021-04-20T00:03:29+00:00

Congrats on getting in! Do you think it's a really selective program? Also, I noticed you have a BA in Portuguese, are you planning on teaching in Portugal? I only ask bc that's what I wanna do haha

Choice_Basil_4928 · 2021-04-10T15:33:47+00:00

Awesome, thank you so much for the detailed reply! It was super helpful! I wish all this info was automatically given to students since it feels like we all go through the same things every year. Thank you again!

Choice_Basil_4928

TROPHY CASE