I got the job!!
I am officially a kindergarten teacher! I’m so excited, but it’s been less than a week since I accepted my job offer and I already have SO MUCH going on. I officially start on the 24th since I had to give notice to my preschool, but I’m still working on my lunch breaks and going to my new classroom after work AND doing online training every spare second I have. It’s overwhelming.
How does this change my plans for next year? Well that’s what I’ve been working out. Florida has something called a temporary teaching certificate which gives you three years after passing your subject exams and working in a school to take more Professional Development and General Knowledge exams and apply for your Permanent Teaching Certificate. Right now my plan is to do everything necessary to accomplish that within 2 years and then move to New Zealand after my second full year of teaching. That still leaves me with some wiggle room with the working holiday visa (I’ll turn 29 in August that year) and I think that with a Permanent Teaching Certificate it will be much easier for me to keep current with my certifications and and get another teaching job when/if I return to the US. If I move back to the US permanently, I definitely don’t see myself moving back to Florida full time, so having permanent certification will make for an easier transfer to another state.
Am I worried that taking a year off after only 2 years of working will hurt my chances at getting a job after? Not really. I think this working holiday visa exists specifically for young people to take advantage of and I don’t want to put my dreams on hold for a job, any job. I’m willing to work while I travel and I look forward to using that as a way to really get a feel for different cultures and and different ways of living than what I’m used to, and I think that takes a certain bravery and adaptability that makes me a great asset anywhere I choose to work.
Especially after the pandemic, it seems foolish to pretend like we have unlimited time in our lives to pursue our passions, and jobs and careers can vanish in an instant.
What’s really exciting is how this new job is going to change my budget. I don’t have actual numbers yet but I’m pretty sure I can expect somewhere in the range of an extra $1000 a month, almost all of which I plan to put towards savings and debt pay off. I now have two official goals to pull off by the end of the year.
By January 1, 2021 I will have
- $4000 in my emergency savings and
- I will pay off my lowest credit card balance (~$1300)
After I meet my emergency savings goal in January I’m going to start building a travel fund and next summer to reward myself for working so hard and kicking butt at my budget (because I will!) I’m going to plan an extravagant trip abroad. Some of the ideas I’m toying with right now are a month of Spanish immersion either in Spain or somewhere in South America. Maybe 2-3 weeks of WWOOFing and then a week of adventure? Maybe a month with a host family? Having summers off opens so many doors for travel choices, including long term travel!
Since most of my travel will be relegated to summer now I’ve decided to take the plunge and pay for Premium on Scott’s Cheap Flights. For their 5 year anniversary they’re having a deal where you can get 2 years of Premium for the price of one! So it fits my plans perfectly and will help me save money on those usually high summer fare prices. If you don’t know about Scott’s Cheap Flights, you should look into it now! The deal goes until August 31!
I wrote most of this post last week before I actually started working at the new school and I had always heard that teachers buy a lot of their own supplies but I always thought that meant bringing some of your own paper or writing utensils, maybe any special projects you want to do with your class. But they actually expect me to buy *a lot* including most of the fundamental decorations for the classroom, rugs for the floor, etc. I’m creating an Amazon Wishlist for my classroom because I’ve seen some great resources supporting teachers, but there are definitely a lot of out of pocket expenses coming up before I even start making those bigger paychecks, so we’ll have to see what creative ways I can find to try to stick as close as possible to my budget.
So many changes! This is such an exciting time for me! I’ll get back on track with posting regularly soon but obviously my students are the main priority for now.
