Blather, rinse, repeat

My friend dropped off all her birds today and we talked about me going back to school to be a teacher and she said, "Definitely do it, but realize that a lot of schools don't want to hire someone who's out of their twenties."

Not at all to bash on your friend or any data she might have to support this statement, but her experience and hiring practices she observed don't jive with my own observances (admittedly second-hand.

The woman i lived with in NYC this summer is a teacher (has worked in both public school programs and privately-funded school programs over the course of her life). She went back to school at 30 for a masters and teacher's cert--previous to that she'd been working at museums and as an office temp--and has had no trouble getting work in the greater NYC and LI areas. 75% of her coworkers (actual figure, not a guesstimate) are woman and men 35 and older.

Of course, she's willing to work with underpriveleged children, with special needs children, and in predominantly minority schools (her first job was in Spanish Harlem, which she loved). Her current school is partnered with a charity-program-funded group home that helps women who've been in jail get back on their feet--the school works with the women on parenting help, pantry food distro, WIC if needed, etc., and she LOVES it. Like, fiercely.

So, y'know, i think you should do it and i think that YOU won't have a problem getting hired because i think you probably would gladly accept work with those demographics of kids as well.