Lately, I've been thinking about the idea of changing jobs - changing careers, from what I have now, teaching music, to something in which many of those skills can be transferred over. It didn't have to be music related, but certainly related to education in some form. I generally love teaching so I suppose I'm not in desperate need of such a change, but it's interesting to see how I could potentially shake things up.
This was to be a fairly temporary measure, something to tie me over for the final stretch of my time in China. Becoming an Essay consultant seemed mighty tempting, and I had a friend of a friend who had an offer for me. This job is typically high paying, with very flexible working hours, semi-remote, and can even be continued fully remote once trust and experience had been gained.
So naturally I updated my CV and gave it a shot. Once the CV went through, the first zoom call went well too, and I was invited in-person for and interview with the CEO. This also went well as far as I can tell.
But, as I walked into the office, I felt a certain discomfort. The room was very... well, office-y. Carpet-cleaned halls, glass-walled rooms with that artificial scent of... office freshness? Large tables with 8 chairs around them and each individual's little attempt at creating their own unique space with a different coloured pen or a funny sticker.
I suddenly realised I was in a completely new and unfamiliar universe. As a teenager I vowed never to get an office job. I absolutely abhorred the idea, and up to now I had succeeded in that, I suppose. Being a teacher is refreshingly different every day, and I spend my entire day in a large hall with a grand piano, drums, guitar, choir and so forth. The students change every year as does the content I work with.
My office
An office on the other hand is all about getting into a routine not that different to being a factory worker, just in a more carpeted environment.
I had a subconscious wave of feelings about water cooler talk, gossip, going out to lunch to complain, and exchanging pleasantries every time you enter a room. Though subconscious in nature, it felt very subtly awful.
nevertheless, 2-3 days a week in office for a high salary, located almost walking distance from home was sufficient enough for me to just wash those feeling away. Everything needs a bit of a trade off.
The problem arose at the end of the interview when salary was being discussed. It was my expectation, from both online research and several friend's experiences, as well as somebody currently working in the industry, that the salary was going to be great.
Now, I was more realistic and I understood that my current salary as a very experienced teacher and head of three departments, would be hard to match as a n00b with no experience in a new industry, even if some of those skills carry over.
I was willing to take a pay cut to start new, given all the other benefits.
Unfortunately, their total max offer was a full 13,000RMB ($2,000) below my current salary.
Now, my face has a problem that any slight emotional situation makes me go red like a tomato. My students point this out with glee when, say, I spell something wrong on the board. Not that I'm embarrassed exactly, but my struggle to keep my mind in focus seems to make my blood rush upwards.
I don't know if my face went red when I was told this, but I certainly felt quite face-hot all of a sudden.
The interview ended soon after and I had no questions, nor did I even ask about hearing from them again or whatever else is standard for interviews. I didn't see much point.
For context, one friend, as an Essay Consultant, was raking in 15,000RMB ($2,200) per essay consulted. Doing 20 over 3 months meant $15,000 USD per month. Even if I absolutely loved the job and all it had to offer, hearing $15,000/month 5 years ago, and getting barely 20% of that now... it was untenable.
Is that the market rate these days? Everything was suddenly so uncertain like all my research and evidence and history was a lie.
After deciding there was no more point investigating this career path further, I started to recall back to that office environment, and I honestly find it very difficult to imagine myself in such a workplace. It seems to scream the words 'dead end'. Which is ironic given that teaching has a notoriously low ceiling for professional growth. A teacher being a regular teacher for 55 years is hardly unusual.
I just don't like offices. and a $2,000 pay cut was hardly going to inspire me to try it out.
So I am left with few options. If they'd have me, I could go for that job almost embarrassed every day at voluntarily taking a gigantic pay cut. Or, I could continue in the job I've been in for 5+ years and am semi-unhappy with. Finally, I could stay in my industry but search for other schools in hopes that they are somehow different and superior to my current one.
The problem is, the more you hear about the latter, the more you find they are actually more of the same; bad management, extreme commuting distances, unusually long hours for schools, and generally poor reputations.
This brings me to think whether I am in the situation of the region beta paradox.
Essentially, sometimes things being worse for you can often end up being better for you. The example often given is a man who walks to work if it is a a certain distance, say 1km. Anything above that he rides a bicycle. Even if it is 2km, forcing him to take a bicycle, he actually ends up spending less time commuting.
Similarly, a job which isn't that bad might trap you working there for many years, while a job which is terrible forces you to quit and find new opportunities, inevitably leading you to being better off than you were before.
There is a delicate balancing act to consider here. Is my job bad enough to leave and gamble on getting something better, or is the general day-to-day crappiness just tolerable enough that it makes sense to just continue year after year for that salary and financial safety?
After all, my salary is currently better than anything I would get in my home country of the UK including London - especially given that its economy is crumbling like a particularly vintage cheddar.
My workload is also very light by comparison to other schools. Even in the knowledge that each passing year the quality of my work life and load decreases, it still stands up to a quality test on a personal level, if not a professional one.
But staying in the same job, no matter the benefits, has inherent drawbacks, and I still wonder how relevant and true those drawbacks are for myself.
One thing is for sure though. The office environment is not for me. I might find one that I'll take in the coming weeks, but it would only be - could only be - temporary.
Changes are coming, and changes are difficult. But these changes are inevitable and it's time I embraced that reality... but strategically speaking, I'm still not that sure how!
Obvious AI art made with AI
