Let there be light

So, I probably should have started this blog about 6 months ago as I have undergone a pretty dramatic amount of introspection and life changing decision-making in that time. So let me hit the rewind button.....

Almost 8 months ago, my family added a member. My job had been quite hectic and busy during the months leading up to this momentous occasion and I had decided that when the day arrived, I would put family first. "The best laid plans of mice and men go oft astray". Not only did I not slow down, I actually returned to work early from my paternity leave. I knew that something had to change.

I had spent the past several years contemplating my career and been on the edge of making the leap, even initiating a job search. A few things happened that led me to give the old job one more good faith effort to revive my career. See, I had started off with a bang, promotion after promotion, raise after raise, AVP by age 26, the sky is the limit.

Somewhere along the way, I got derailed. I think the company didn't believe I could go further and I vascillated between busting my butt and looking in other directions as my ascent slowed. However, career inertia was the primary culprit in how I got here, 11 years later. Add on to this fact that our business had turned due south for several years, leading to terrible salary increases and bonuses, dramatic restructuring and upheaval, unbelievable turnover, incredible business ineptitude....

So, post paternity leave, I knew it was time to go. Where and when, I was still trying to figure out. But I had to go.

For the past several years, as I have toyed with the idea of moving in a different direction, one appealling option that came to mind was teaching. The schedule is fantastic. The ability to work with youth and serve as a leader and role model to students was also very appealling to me. And the ability to see and feel the direct societal impact got my juices flowing. Of course, there were two little problems:

One: I would need to get certified to teach. I did some research and while there were some programs that would allow me to go straight into the classroom, they involved a great deal of commuting and giving up a lot of flexibility as far as career choices early in my teaching career. That meant I was going to have to go back to school. More on this later.

Two: I would be taking a dramatic paycut, greater than 50%. With 3 kids and a stay at home better half, this was a pretty major problem.

This seems like a good place to break. A little bit of housekeeping; I'm really starting this blog to chronicle my journey from a professional fleeing corporate America (aka corporate flunky) to becoming a teacher. I expect in the early stages to be updating this blog frequently, at least weekly but probably more frequent than that. Beyond chronicling this passage, I also want to examine and flesh out some of the other things bouncing around inside my head. I expect topics to vary widely - I hope that is interesting to anyone who may take the time to read. I would like this to be thought provoking and entertaining at the same time. On occasion I take myself a bit too seriously, other times I'm a bit too silly. Hopefully we'll find a good middle ground here

Until next time

Ace