Science Teacher: David Peterson

David Peterson

How did you choose your career? Was this an easy or hard process for you? If you struggled, how did you overcome these struggles?

I chose my career when in Grad School; I found I enjoyed teaching undergraduate labs immensely. I had given a little thought to teaching before this, but the actual "hands on" teaching of students was exhilarating. The process was not too difficult; after a stint as a Park Ranger I went back to school and obtained my teaching certificate. Probably the biggest hurdle I had to overcome was developing good people management skills to control a diverse classroom of students. I found that talking to other teachers and trial and error developed a discipline plan that I was comfortable with and appears successful.

What kind of training, both formal and informal, did you receive to prepare you for your career? If applicable, how did you select where to attend graduate school? How about any additional training? How did you choose what additonal training to pursue and how did you choose where to do it?

Formal training consisted of obtaining an undergraduate degree as well as a teaching credential. In addition there was on-the-job training and many other colleagues to bounce ideas off of. I obtained my master's degree from New Mexico State University. I selected this because deserts fascinated me and I wanted to do desert research. While I do not use my master's degree directly in the high school, it does give me better insight to the process and nature of science.

How competitive and/or rigorous was the training for your career?

The training to be a teacher is not too rigorous when compared to the training to pursue a doctorate in a science discipline. Essentially, it requires a four-year degree from an accredited university and then admission to usually a one-year teacher education program which culminates in a valid teaching credential for the state in which it was earned.

In general, how much did the training cost? Was the investment worth it?

The cost of education has risen since I obtained my degrees over twenty years ago. In today's market I would think a B.S. degree in sciences would cost from $30K to over $100K. The Master's program usually is cheaper as it does not take so much coursework and there are often teaching or research assistant positions to help defray the cost. The Teacher Credential Program was actually more of a financial problem as it required my full-time dedication and there was no money available to help defray the cost. The Teacher Credential probably cost about $10K in today's market.

How long did it take you to train? Was it shorter or longer than anticipated? If you had any setbacks, how did you deal with them?

It took me four years to obtain my bachelor's degree, three years to obtain my master's degree and one year to obtain my Teaching Credential. I really didn't run into any great road blocks. My master's thesis project took longer than anticipated to interpret the data, but since I was both a teaching and research associate at the time I did not encounter any financial difficulties.

What was the process like to apply for your first job after your training was over? Was it easy or difficult? How did you cope with any difficulties? Did that differ from subsequent jobs you've had?

The first job I applied for was a teaching position in Las Vegas, NV. I did not get this job, but the application was fairly straightforward. I have had three different middle and high school positions as a teacher. I applied for five other jobs during this time. For four of these, I was either not hired, or the position changed and I was no longer qualified. One position I was offered, but declined. In addition I have been called four times by schools inquiring as to whether I would be interested in working for them. I accepted one of these as an evening biology instructor at the local community college. The others I declined. It pays to keep your interview skills current as changing administrations can make a currently attractive position less so.

What advice would you give to someone interested in following a similar career path?

If you are seeking to enter education, my best advice is to be diverse. It will make you stand out against other equally qualified candidates. I was hired at my first teaching position not because I knew science, but because I had driven a classic car I had restored to the interview and one of the Interviewers saw the car and felt that I could be handy to help build physical science apparatuses. I obtained my current position as a Biology Instructor for Granada High School in Livermore, CA because the interview committee realized I could teach Earth Sciences as well as Biological Science and this allowed the school more flexibility in scheduling classes. I once knew a case of a US Forest Service computer programmer who obtained his job because he mentioned during the interview that he was a rock climber, and the committee thought that might be a useful skill at some time. You often do not know what special skill you have that will interest a prospective employer so it is wise to have a wide retinue of talents.

What would you have done differently in preparing for your career?

I can't think of anything I would have done significantly differently in preparing for my career.

How much do you like what you do? Why? Is it what you imagined it would be? If not, how have you adapted?

I enjoy much of the time I spend with students. Watching "light bulbs go on" when student's grasp a concept is very rewarding. Probably the most disliked parts of my job are discipline (which young people need tons of) and having administrators with far less experience and education making major changes in educational practices without any input from the educators that are affected most. The best way I cope with these issues is to focus on the reason I got into education in the first place — helping young people.

How do you achieve career-life balance? Is this easy or hard to do? How many hours do you typically work per week?

Career-life balance is always difficult. I work 7AM–3PM daily as a high school biology instructor and occasionally take work home from this job. I also teach community college biology two nights per week (10 hrs/week) and spend several hours each week at home on community college material. I probably enjoy 3 nights per week without any work and I make it a policy to leave weekends for myself. I occupy my spare time with a myriad of activities — hiking, reading, movies, day trips, restoring classic cars, building model trains, and flying my own airplane (it helps that I have no kids). At times work can get stressful, but I usually find time to do something enjoyable to help decompress.

What strategies have you figured out over time to help you succeed?

I have found that I am more successful when I am organized and I maximize my time; for example, if I give a quiz in class I'll take a minute here or there to grade a few at a time while students are working on another assignment. This reduces the amount of work I need to take home. Being organized allows me to efficiently find any information I need and again maximizes my time. Some of the other educators I work with will not grade anything until the end of the day and subsequently they often stay late (past 5PM) or take large volumes of work home.

How do you see your field changing in the next 5–10 years?

The big change in education will be an increasing reliance on technology. Within five years I expect school textbooks to go the way of the dinosaur as all of that information is accessible on the internet. Students will be able to submit most assignments digitally. It may even be possible for a student to connect to the classroom while at another location (home, vacation, etc.). Schools will need to invest in the hardware and software to achieve this. There is the possibility that schools twenty years from now will be in a barely recognizable form compared to what is offered today. Those in education will need to keep abreast of technological advances so that they maintain relevance in a digital world.

Anything else you would like to share?

Education is a very rewarding career. Most of us were inspired by an educator somewhere in our past and started down our career path because of that inspiration. The possibility that someone you teach could be the next Einstein, or Mozart, or Darwin is very powerful.