I am a high school English teacher.

@Jazz said:

@Klei: Translated and will it be on Kindle? My french is a bit rusty but i'd be interested to take a look

Yes. Every single of my books will be available for Kindle and Ipads and so on. They are as of now, in french though.

I'm a fake teacher going to Grad School to get my masters in Elementary Education and Special Ed. By fake teacher I mean substitute.

I'm over 30 in my freshman year of college studying to be a RN. It took me a while to get here but I'm liking college and I'm learning a shitload. I dropped out of high school and got my GED in '96 and have worked until my wife had our son. I stayed at home with him for 2 years while my wife worked, she made way more than me. At which point we decided it would be better for me to go to school and have a great paying secure job instead of, most of my paycheck going to child care. I've worked in all sorts of jobs though; painting houses/wallpaper hanger, cabinet finisher, industrial paint-shop, hardwood floor finisher, line cook, caterer, pizza cook, pizza delivery, video store clerk, office support, and stay at home Dad(yay).

Working in San Francisco with my B.S. in Computer Science. I've been working for ~2 years now, straight out of college.

@YI_Orange: That's a combined list between all of my different classes. I love teaching Shakespeare because it gives kids a lot of insight into what life was like during Shakespeare's lifetime, and it helps us see the evolution of the English language. A lot of people don't usually take into account how much history gets taught in English classes, but it's so necessary. As you get deeper into Shakespeare, you can also see the parallels with a lot of modern fiction, which I am keen to point out. Students can easily get past the language if they try, and they usually end up enjoying the Shakespeare stuff more than anything else throughout the year.

As for Catcher, the number one thing that I hear from students is that they like the book but HATE Holden. It always makes me laugh, because Holden is so similar to 90% of teenagers out there in the world, and that tends to be exactly why so many people despise him. They hate him because he reminds them of themselves. That said, I show Girl, Interrupted after finishing Catcher, and I have the kids compare Susanna with Holden in an essay. There are always some great parallels that the kids point out.

Quizzes? Ugh, you're the worst. In my day, our teachers didn't give as quizzes, but tests with preparation well in advance. And that's how we liked it.

@TheHumanDove: I usually give discussion questions during the reading, quizzes at the end of significant sections of material (to evaluate student understanding of the whole breadth of concepts we covered in class), and writing assignments in lieu of traditional tests at the end of units.

@WilltheMagicAsian said:

Hey Mr. Hill, what are we doing in 5th period?

I totally had an english teacher named Mr. Hill, you are scaring me now.

I just graduated college this past December. I got out a semester early, but it doesn't seem to have helped very much. In college I double majored in English and creative writing. Turns out there are absolutely no writing jobs in my town and I don't want to be a teacher. Right now I'm working at a large local retailer changing the prices on products.

When I get enough cash saved up I'm going to move far far away from here. That way I might actually be able to get a decent job.

I'm a 47 year old caregiver for my wife. For the past four years I've also worked for my wife in her private practice. Her health is well enough that she can work part-time as a mental health therapist.

@MarkWahlberg: I was so fucking scared that it was actually one of my juniors for a second. I've been talking Skyrim with them recently, which they always find awesome. I still have no idea how he knew my last name.

Don't ask me about my business, Kay.

I'm 22 years old and am currently a senior at Concord University (my cousin and I were the first two people in our family to go to college) and my major is English with a Writing Emphasis, will be here an extra semester though. I'm currently employed as a Resident Assistant in two dormitories, one is co-ed and the other is a female dorm (the two are right next to each other and so RAs in both buildings work together, all under one Resident Director).

It's a pretty fun job, one that allows me to help others, and it also helped me out a lot as well. I'm very introverted but being in this job has helped me to really express myself more to people, something my boss noted while doing evaluations last semester (my first as an RA) when he told me he wasn't sure I was cut out for the job, but said I'm almost an entirely different person now. When I graduate in December I plan to work as a Technical Writer somewhere in Blacksburg, Virginia. I had a required Technical Writing course about a year and a half ago and found I was pretty good at it, and it pays well so I think I can see myself doing this for a living.

Student of history and what not.

I'm a store assistant at a supermarket. It's all very classy; working on the checkouts, putting stock out, cleaning the store.

@Brewmaster_Andy said:

@MarkWahlberg: I was so fucking scared that it was actually one of my juniors for a second. I've been talking Skyrim with them recently, which they always find awesome. I still have no idea how he knew my last name.

Well, my Mr. Hill was really into Halo. I am not sure how I feel about there being this many video-game liking english teachers named Mr. Hill.

I've been a Business Intelligence Consultant (computer guy making database stuff) for the past 5 years.

When stuff works you feel great when it doesn't you do not feel great.

College grad. Currently a freelance video editor and videographer. Under employed, but getting by.

I'm 16, and I HATE YOU I WAS ONLY LIKE TWO MINUTES LATE FUCKIN ASSHOLE FUCK.

I'm 16, and I HATE YOU I WAS ONLY LIKE TWO MINUTES LATE FUCKIN ASSHOLE FUCK.

Noooo, Brewmaster_Andy is making me reconsider not going into high school English teaching. I've been bouncing back and forth between which career options I should pursue for the past year and it's been driving me up the wall. At the moment, I'm currently unemployed and working on my English degree. Due to convoluted financial shenanigans I had to switch out of the 4-year college I was attending and go into a community college, so I'm a little iffy as to what my standing is now, but I guess technically I'd be a junior. I was a tutor for my community college for the spring semester last year. It was interesting, to say the least. Often kind of nerve-wracking because I really didn't want to be seen as that one shitty tutor by all the students who came to me, but I only fudged up once or twice, so my time there was mostly successful.

Anyway, I really do love the major I chose. It's absolutely awesome when my literature classes actually get decent discussions going, which doesn't happen all too much because a majority of the students always seem unwilling to speak up, so it gets all awkward, instead. Doing something creative with it would be a dream come true, but I know how hard it can be to break out in such a business, and I definitely need to motivate myself into consistently writing more than 1 or 2 paged blurbs of unconnected story ideas before I can look into such an avenue. So, I figure that if I can't do the creative thing with writing, then I might as well try and help people in some fashion with it.

Every now and again I entertain the thought of trying to get into the gaming industry. The appeal of that possibility tends rise and fall pretty sharply, though.

@UltorOscariot said:

I'm 27, and a Financial Analyst. I suppose Financial Analyst in the context I know it is a nice way of saying I'm a spreadsheet jockey. I have a BS in Accounting, which I was thankfully able to parlay into something not quite accounting after working for a large, evil empire as a contractor for 3 years after I graduated in '07.

What kinda of company do you work for now? And what do you mean you were a contractor earlier? Were you like a temp at a large firm?

I'm in the process of becoming a history/social science teacher in California. Put my application into my Credential program today.

Have a month left in architecture school, and then I'm out into that great, wild blue yonder. I've at least got a job already, though.

I was an English professor but now I'm a divorce lawyer. It suits my personality better.

@Sweep said:

I'm a hamburger. I want to be inside you.

mmmmm

I'm a third year student of Anthropology. My main focus is archaeology and I plan on going to grad school and will probably go for a PhD after that. Hopefully 6 or 7 years from now I will be a university professor or some kind of working archaeologist.

disabled, currently put my college education on hold because I'm unable to take care of my self

@WilltheMagicAsian said:

@Brewmaster_Andy said:

@believer258: To be honest, it depends. Some students can't break themselves from the habit of writing the way they post to Facebook, but others can.

@TobbRobb: The district I'm in now doesn't have as many issues with student motivation as my old district did. For the most part, the kids want to do well and try their hardest. There are slackers, but it's pretty clear that the students know the importance of the stuff we do. I guess it helps me out that I am young and at least somewhat in tune with the stuff kids are into these days.

You also have a beard. When I was in high school, the best teachers I've ever had had full beards. Beards are the way to go to motivate students to succeed.

This. Every single teacher I've ever had who had a beard has been highly memorable and well worth remembering.

working on my MChem at Aberdeen University. Hopefully working on an OPITO after that. Right now work as a till jockey for Co-op.

Also I have to agree with the beard statements!

I graduated from U.C. Santa Cruz with a B.S. Computer Science: Computer Game Design degree last June.

I now work in Wisconsin as a software developer making healthcare software. It's not exactly what I went to school for, but it pays quite well.

College. I go have an on campus job at the Media Services department. Its pretty boring so I'm usually on here.

I have returned to Uni (In Ireland) to study computing with game development but im gonna swap tocomputing with multimedia as I don't think I have the programming ability to handle a game development course. Hopefully I can still go into character design etc via multimedia. My grades have been quite good so should make it into 2nd year easily enough, Previously did a 3 year degree in Business Managment, spent 3 years working in retail management and hated it so with the economy as bad as it is over here, was the perfect oppurtunity to go back.

I graduated last year and still looking for a job while studying for LSAT. Yeap... Exciting

I'm studying Audio Production in San Francisco, just about done with my first year and hoping to go into sound for film when I'm done. Which is handy because SF has television and documentary type work all over, and LA has movie work, but I'd really prefer not to live in LA.

@Brewmaster_Andy: I am a nuclear risk engineer. Do analysis and quantify risk for power plants and do side work for other things that may involve risk such oil platforms and ships.

I am a web developer/programmer for the education department focusing on interactive flash stuff. Flash appears to be dying so I may move into App development.

I am currently majoring in computer science in my second year. For the summer I acquired an internship at a national laboratory as part of their application development department. I am pretty damn terrified because this is going to be my first real world experience with my major, but I am also excited about the project and what I will learn from it.

@Brewmaster_Andy: I'm an English major and 25. I graduated with a Writing degree. I'm basically doing paralegal work on contracts for a PR consulting company. How much more school would I need to presumably start teaching, what kind of salary expectations can I have, and would you recommend it for someone like me who is a bit directionless at the moment and just paying the bills?

I'm unemployed and a high school senior. You guys are a lot older than I expected and I'm not saying that because I'm 19, I figured most people who go onto a website about video games would be around my age or younger.

I just graduated with a diploma in Computer Systems Technician - Network Systems and I find it hard to land a job unless they have a Jr. position available anywhere. A lot of older/experienced folks are still around occupying the jobs. I won't lie, I knew it wouldn't be easy finding a job early but I guess I have to keep trying.

So for now I'm unemployed :(

I'm twenty five years old, and have been a designer in the game industry for 5 going on 6 years. Worked at a couple studios in Germany and the UK before moving out to the great white landmass known as Canada to work at BioWare, where I have been happy to be part of the family ever since.

It's occasionally very stressful work, and the days can be pretty long from time to time, but the thrill of creative work with talented people and making games I love makes up for that.

@Sjosz: Want a decent writer?

@Brewmaster_Andy: I got my bachelor's degree in English language arts, but I only taught 11th grade English for one year. I ended up getting my Master's in science and I currently teach mostly chemistry and AP chemistry. I work at a pretty rural school though, so I end up teaching physics and other sciences as well.

How long have you been teaching, because you seem really enthused about it? I have been teaching for 8 years, and I absolutely love it most of the time. I do find maintaining that level of enthusiasm can sometimes be the hardest part of the job though.

I'm a 27 year old former freelance journalist who is now working in procurement for the New South Wales Ministry of Health running tenders. I'm also an author, who will officially be considered professional after one of my short stories is published in a print anthology later this year (woo!)

I am also not university educated, although I have a Diploma and Certificate IV in Media and Communications from TAFE (which is a technical college in Australia, I think maybe roughly equivalent to American Community College, although more respected depending upon industry).

I had literally zero practical procurement experience before landing a role as a contractor with Health, but through a combination of hard work and incredible luck, I managed to make my way into a full time position that I love with great people, and I am making a metric anus load of money.

I'm also getting married in May and spending 16 days in Hawaii, so I'm pretty stoked in general right now.

I'm a College Student who should be done with school, given the amount of time I've been in. My major is Electrical Engineering but I'm almost done with the requirements for a Computer Science Degree (and its never been my declared major). Yeah. I may go into Applied Math. Who knows?

I also work as a Computer Technician for a large corporation. Nothing like being at the bottom of the ladder. Shit roles down hill.

All of you college students and graduates are making me feel bad about myself. I still work in a supermarket....

Being a teacher has to be such an awful job. Kids, no matter what, are always such total shits. You have my respect, TC.

@Wrighteous86: Check the BioWare website for open positions. :) (though you're probably just trying to be funny)

i graduated from a community college with a multimedia degree.

right now i am working at a grocery store pushing carts. sadly, it's a part time job. when i am not at work i am either sleeping, posting here and other internet stuff, or playing video games.