I'm in a very good mood.
I have been in a very entry level position with a local psychiatric hospital. I was willing to live with the pay cut as long as I liked it there. I loved it when I was a float (I was sent to whatever unit needed me). I decided I liked working with a particular population, and the management in that unit was heavily recruiting me, so I went to this unit perminantly. Well, immediately after I switched, the management changed. The new manager was horrible and even before I noticed that I found out that many of my new co-workers were horrible (no teamwork, low class, backstabbing, some were lazy and some were mean to the patients). It hasn't gotten any better. So, I've taken a huge pay cut to work there (in order to get psychiatric experience to help me get into graduate school in counseling and/or psychology) and now I'm also miserable in the job itself (a job I loved before I stupidly switched into this unit). Not so easy to take any more.
So, I've been applying to various human services related positions.
I just got a job teaching high school special education. I will be working for Kennedy Kreiger in a program where they are operating the special ed services within a regular Anne Arundel County Public School (Southern High School- Norton, can you tell me anything about it that I can't learn from the websites). I'm not a ceritified teacher so I will need to put off grad school for counseling/psychology for about 2 years since the job requires that I take the classes I need for certification, but it should be about as helpful in grad school admissions as my psych hospital position, it pays a normal wage (horray, I'm making a middle class wage again), and has great benes (100% tuition reimbursement- that alone is worth about $10k/YR once I start grad school).
There were two openings, one for a science teacher and one for history. They can't tell me yet which I'll get, either will work for me, though history is my first choice (I love history and have more history coursework than hard sciences, but I also enjoy science and I was a psychology major so I do understand the scientific method).
So, I was very happy and just wanted to share my good news. Also, Norton who frequents around here is a teacher. Aren't you in AA County? If so, can you tell me anything about Southern HS? Other teachers (and Norton), it has been about 2 years since my substitute teaching experience, any advice on how to do well?