What Job Choice Is Better - the Teacher or Software Engineer - Admission/Application Essay Example

My First Choice Career – High School Teacher of Computer Science My first career choice would be teaching. The reason behind this is that I like this profession and have a desire to become a professional computer science teacher. Teaching has always been my preferred career choice considering the lifestyle teachers usually have. In the United States, the Federal government supports and promotes the teaching profession because it is related directly with the development of the society. “The need to recruit individuals into the teaching profession is recognized by those at all levels of government” (Roth and Swail 6). Career Requirements Becoming a teacher requires candidates to complete bachelor’s degrees in the field they want to serve as a high school teacher. For example, if a person wants to teach computer science at high school or university level, he/she needs to have a bachelor’s degree in computer science or information technology in order to be eligible for teaching. Moreover, some states also require additional certification to allow candidates for teaching, for instance, California and Florida require people to complete teacher-training programs, get certifications, and pass competency tests to become eligible for teaching. In California, a candidate needs to complete his/her bachelor’s degree first, undergo a teacher-training program, and complete English language development courses to get a preliminary credential (Kelly). Working Hours In the United States, the working hours for the high school teachers usually lie between 36 to 40 hours per week on average. However, teachers also have to do some work at home, which may include checking students’ work, preparing assignments for students, grading assignments, and preparing lectures for the next day. Although such an amount of workload seems to be difficult to manage, but it keeps a person enthusiastic and fresh as far as I have observed. Moreover, teachers get more leaves as compared to other professionals because of summer holidays at schools and semester holidays in colleges and universities. Pay Scale for High School Teachers In the United States, the pay scale for high school teachers is very attractive. A high school teacher usually receives around $55000 per year, which is considered a good salary in the United States (“Salary Wizard” n.p.). Considering such salary and the professional duties of high school teachers, I would say that teaching should be the most preferred professional choice not only for me but for many other people too. Job Duties and Responsibilities Some of the main job responsibilities of a high school teacher include preparing lectures and tests, maintaining class discipline, providing best and correct knowledge to students, using visual aid and latest technologies to create interactive learning environment, checking assignments and tests of students, and keeping record of students’ performances. Satisfaction Level As far as I have observed, the satisfaction level of high school teachers is usually high because of their salary and lifestyle. One of my elder cousin and uncle are teachers and I have always seen them satisfied with their profession. A person is happy and satisfied with his/her job only when the job is able to fulfill all of his/her personal and professional needs. A high school teacher also gets many holidays, a high salary for the job, and earns a good amount of social respect, which is a very positive aspect of teaching. Lifestyle The lifestyle of a high school teacher is very pleasant and relaxing considering the nature of the job. A high school teacher gets a good amount of money, as well as respect from the society. Moreover, a teacher also gets holidays along with their children at schools, which makes it possible for him/her to enjoy vacations and spend time with children. Advancement Opportunities “To retain good teachers, school districts provide advancement opportunities” (White n.p.). The profession of teaching is full of advancement opportunities. They can extend their role in schools and colleges to school administrators, such as, directors, teaching counselors, and principles. People with a due amount of management or teaching experience can get promotions and advancements in careers. My Plans Regarding the Career My plans regarding my career as a high school teacher are based on facts. I aim to start my career as a secondary school teacher level in order to gain some practical experience of teaching. Then after doing job as a secondary scale teacher for some 2 to 3 years, I would move forward to the high school level. I think I will be successful at the high school level because of my previously earned job experience. I want to be the teacher of computer science at the high school level. Therefore, my first target would be to complete my bachelor’s degree in order to try to get a job of secondary school teaching level as the initial step in the profession of teaching. Second Choice Job: Software Engineer My second career choice is ‘Software Engineer’. “Software engineers are professionals from the Information Technology (IT) industry who are proficient in making software using a wide range of technical skills” (Rampur). I have selected this profession as my second choice job because I want to do a type of job based on my educational and professional interests. This job would also help me in refining my skills and knowledge of creating new software products and applications. I possess a good knowledge of software engineering and programming that I can use to develop high quality software applications. I have searched for many jobs related to this field and have come to know that software engineers are of high value for all software engineering companies. A few of my friends and cousins are doing jobs in software companies. They are all getting marvelous salary packages. Moreover, in the United States, the post of software engineer is in the top rankings of all hot jobs lists of the recent years. Therefore, I would like to apply for this post as a second career choice only if I do not get my desired job of a high school computer science teacher. Let us discuss some of the factors that normally play an important role in ensuring the success of an individual as a software engineer. Job Hours Software engineers have to work from 40 to 50 hours per week. Although the number of hours is somewhat big as compared to my first career choice, but it does not matter much for me because I aim to excel in the field of software engineering either as a teacher or as a software engineer. Salary Software engineers usually get a good salary package. For fresh employees, the salary ranges from $55,000 to $70,000 per year. For people with the work experience of 1 to 2 years, the salary ranges from $70,000 to $85,000. For people with the work experience of 5 to 10 years, the salary ranges from $90,000 to $120,000 per year. Similarly, for people with huge work experience, the salary even goes close to $125,000 to $135,000 per year (Lopp). Job Satisfaction The level of job satisfaction of software engineers is usually high because they do not have job insecurity. A skilled software engineer has a number of job opportunities all the time. The demand of software engineers is increasing everywhere with every passing day. Therefore, there is hardly any job insecurity issue for a professional and skilled software engineer. Moreover, high salary packages also ensure job satisfaction for software engineers. Life Style The life style of software engineers is of high standard. The reason is that they get good salaries from their employer companies. However, they get less time to spend with their families because they have to work hard to develop high quality software products that can get a good amount of business for their companies. Summing it up, software engineering is a progressive, highly paid, and modern-day profession that brings a number of growth opportunities for software developers and engineers. A lot of people like this profession as they can get well-paying jobs and can also open their own software houses to increase their earnings. Works Cited Kelly, Melissa. “How to Be a Teacher.” About.com, n.d. Web. 08 Jun. 2014. Lopp, Michael. The Software Developer’s Career Handbook: Being Geek. Sebastopol: O’Reilly Media, 2010. Rampur, Stephen. “Software Engineer Salary Range.” Buzzle.com, 12 Jun. 2010. Web. 08 Jun. 2014. Roth, David, and Scott Swail. “Certification and Teacher Preparation in the United States.” Educationalpolicy.org, Nov. 2000. Web. 08 Jun. 2014. Salary Wizard. “Teacher Elementary School Salary.” Salary.com, n.d. Web. 08 Jun. 2014. White, Ron. “Advancement Opportunities in a Teaching Career.” Chron.com, n.d. Web. 08 Jun. 2014. Read More