Rant #2,456: Reach Out of the Darkness

Yesterday ended up quite the busy day, as I applied for jobs, called the New York State Education Department, and went to my town's job center to see what they could do for me.

That visit proved fruitful. They have numerous resources to help one find a job, and I am now enrolled in a few classes to help me to find a job, including one about LinkedIn, a site that confounds me about how to use it and to be honest, what its use actually is,

I also learned about another job fair that I can go to, so next week is going to be quite a busy week for me in my pursuit of a job.

I called the Education Department on a whim, to be honest with you.

Way back in the early 1980s, after I got my Masters Degree, I pursued a job in teaching at the secondary level. I never found a regular teaching gig, was always a substitute teacher--the absolutely worst job in America, bar none--and I left the field after three years of pursuing something that, at the time, simply wasn't there, a job as a middle school or high school English teacher.

So I contacted the Education Department to find out if I could be a sub again, and what my exact status was with the department--basically, how I could become certified again.

To make a long story short, I found out that back then, I was a provisional teacher. That was a designation given to certified teachers who did not hold a regular teaching job. Once somebody that held this designation became a regular teacher, he or she would get full designation, which is something I never received.

Astonished that I was still in the system--I had my teaching credentials from 1983 to 1993 and hadn't subbed since 1985--I asked how I could get my teaching credentials once again, and if I could still substitute teach without them.

First of all, the state BOE doesn't even offer a provisional teaching credential any more, and when I heard that, I knew I was sunk.

So, in order to become a fully licensed teacher, I discovered that I would have to go through a morass of testing, taking classes and filling out forms that would take forever to do, and thus, it would not pay for me to go through this for my goal, which is not to find a regular teaching job today as it was back more than 30 years ago, it is simply to sub and make money. Period.

As far as subbing without the credentials, first of all, Long Island is not New York City. However horrid New York City's educational system is, it is housed under one roof, the New York City Board of Education. On Long Island, each municipality has its own board of education, so you basically have each town or group of towns having their own BOE.

Some allow non-accredited teachers to sub, at a reduced rate, of course. Others do not. I would have to literally call each town's BOE to find out which did, and which didn't, accept non-accredited subs.

I certainly don't want to sub in New York City--why would I travel into the city as a mere sub?--and calling each and every BOE would be a long and drawn out process. And state law only allows a non-accredited teacher to work up to 40 days in one district, so to be honest about it, I would have to find about five districts that would accept me as a sub, and hope that they use me for the maximum 40 days.

Maybe something to ponder about later, but it doesn't pay to even start to get into this now, and to be honest, I don't think this is something that really pays to do. I will keep this in my back pocket, but I probably cannot do this even one day a week while collecting unemployment--whatever I make would push me over the threshold for what I can make on the side and still be unemployed.

So it is time to move on from this, at least for the next six months or so.

And if my figuring is right, if I do not get a full time job after my six months of unemployment--which by the way, is taxable--then my unemployment insurance will end right around my birthday on April 28, 2020.

A nice birthday present indeed.

One great thing that happened yesterday is that I paid off whatever I owed on my car. I had vowed for months and years that if I ever lost my job, I would pay off my car quickly, using money that I had squirreled away in a Roth IRA, and that is exactly what I did yesterday.

One less bill--my biggest bill each month--to worry about.

So that is where I stand now.

After writing this entry, I will be at it again, scouring the want ads and looking for work.

The next few days will be a bit slower--I was also asked by the Navy to do a little job for them, it doesn't pay anything but it will keep me in their sites for maybe when something might open up with them--and when I send out what I have done for them, a resume will go with it too.

Let's see what happens. Right now, I am satisfied that I have done all I could do during the past six days to get myself into the groove again.

And maybe tomorrow, I can write my usual Ranting and Raving column, and not refer to my job woes again ...

That's if I don't find a job in the next 24 hours.

You can bet on that!