For a while now, my career goals have been fairly broad. I’m interested in several things: communications and content creation for Disney, working in a publishing company as an editor or book reviewer, or becoming a teacher/professor for English and writing. Recently, however, I’ve honed in on the idea of teaching in college. I have considered teaching elementary or middle school, but teaching creative writing at a university is my ultimate goal.
Like most fields, it is a very competitive atmosphere. Getting a teaching position at a university isn’t guaranteed and could mean packing up your bags and moving across the country. This competitive environment stems from a buyers-market idea for the students, meaning that in this case there would be more schools students can choose from than there are students willing to attend, and an increase in corporate and for-profit institutions. While schools are competing against other public and private schools, funding is also being affected. Certain areas in the world receive more resources and money than others because the government is choosing to prioritize them. This means that not all schools are being treated equally, teachers aren’t receiving enough pay and the educational resources are lacking (computers, classrooms, textbooks, overall safety for students and staff, etc.)
Sadly, I don’t see there being many changes to this field in the foreseeable future, but I’m hopeful that we will still manage to accomplish our dreams eventually through hard work and perseverance, in spite of the competitive job market.