Been gone awhile, so I have a story of encouragement!

[cooljeff]

Has anyone else ever had so many career ups and downs as I have had since college? Geez!

I started my college life driving a truck for an oil company, after 2 years of college I applied and got hired for a job at OK county sheriffs office as detention officer. HATED THIS JOB!!!! a year later I got on at Cleaveland county sheriffs office. HATED THIS EVEN MORE!!!!!

Decided I did not want to pursue law enforcement anymore, so I decided to finish out college driving a truck for the oil company I left in 08. After finishing school I just could not justify all the student loans and driving a truck, so I went to work for Brinks driving an armored car with the intention of maybe moving up to management. After a year of this I had enough of the politics and crazy hours and days!

SO HERE I GO AGAIN! Then I went to work for a flooring company delivering flooring products. Long story short I was not very good at it and destroyed a lot of product in warehouse/ forklift mishap! I was shortly releived of position.

I was soooooooooooooooooo down in the dumps about life, I felt like I just wasted 4 years of my life at college. Then I gained over $40,000 in student loan debt and now it was all USELESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!1



BUT luckily I have one of those wives every man should have, she kept encouraging me not to give up and we came up with a plan for me to try to get back on at a public school working so I could have more time off with the family.
AND thankfully God is soooooo good, I stepped into a job teaching special ed children on an individual basis because of my work with in-home foster kids and my Bachelors degree. I WAS SO ELEATED!!!!!!

AND now after half of a school year into it, I know in my heart this is Gods perfect design, and this is where I was always meant to be. And what I was meant to do for the rest of my life.

Well as God would have it, the Department of Education has several programs to offer Teacher Certifications to people with alternative degrees in something besides Education.

So I am now only 1 test and a few months away from getting my Certification as a Mild to Moderate Disablities Special Education Teacher for Moore Schools!

The moral of this story is to encourage and uplift anyone who maybe going through a very difficult time in life in regards to schooling, careers, or and job situations, You may feel like you have lost all control and there is nothing good left to work for. YOUR RIGHT!!! It is all Gods plan and only he can give you what you need! So don't give up, and remember where you are is not where you will stay as along as you believe and have faith!!!!!!!!

 

[andrsnsm]

Glad to hear you have found your calling, Jeff! My mother was a Special Ed teacher, which to me is almost Angel status. Thank you for loving a job that most of us could not do. It takes a special person (hence the Angel status) to teach Special Ed! You are a good man and it sounds like your wife is awesome.

 

[cooljeff]

Glad to hear you have found your calling, Jeff! My mother was a Special Ed teacher, which to me is almost Angel status. Thank you for loving a job that most of us could not do. It takes a special person (hence the Angel status) to teach Special Ed! You are a good man and it sounds like your wife is awesome.

THANKS so much for the kind words sir! It does take a special person to do this for sure, In fact the general education teachers in the building always comment about how they would go nuts if they had to deal with the kids they refer to our room. But I just see it in a different way, when normal education kids understand a concept they are happy and then they move on. But when Special ed kids finally understand or master a concept it makes them feel like they just moved a mountain! And the look in thier eyes and the love they show you for helping them understand is worth more than the gold in Ft. Knoxx! LOL..

Honestly the most frustrating part of the whole thing is trying to get parental consent to test a child that is struggling to learn and needs the one on one assistance and the parents refuse to believe or see that anything is wrong with them. ughhhhhhhhhhhhh!

 

[bigchuck83]

Takes a special person to take the career you have. Utmost respect to you and hope you have great success

 

[dennishoddy]

Finding ones calling in life takes some turns, and occasionally a backup or two, but it sounds like your happy now. I've left some jobs for lower paying ones back in the day because it hurt to get up and go to work. Work should be somewhat fulfulling, and a little fun to go to.

 

[Lurkerinthewoods]

As the parent to an 11yr Autistic child, I applaud you in making this career choice. There isn't enough money in the World to properly compensate someone who truly has the desire to work with disabled children. God bless you!!!!!

 

[zseese]

Work hard doing stuff you didn't like to support your family and then after years of unhappiness with careers being rewarded with a career that you not only enjoy but involves helping others? Hats off to you sir!

 

[AirMech74]

I'm glad to hear that things are falling into place for you man. My grandma worked with special ed kids and I know it can be very demanding and require a lot of patience....I couldn't do it...glad to know that there are folks out there that have the ability and skill to do so.

 

[shooterdave]

My wife taught Special Ed for a couple of years and loved it! She, too, is Alt. Certified and now is curriculum director and district test coordinator. So glad to hear of someone who actually feels like they are doing something important with their life, not just earning a check. Stick with, you'll be great at it!

 

[okietool]

Congrats. Once you get certified, you might check and see if some or all of your loans are forgiven.