Should I be a respiratory therapist or a high school science teacher?
Asked by Constantly Curious
PLEASE-NO INFORMATION OR COMMENTS ABOUT THE SALARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well, i want to make a difference in someones lifes. i also want to incorporate science into my work. i like teaching people and tutoring, but i also like helping people to get better. i want a job people (and myself) will appreciate, and that i wont get burned out on it. if any of u r an RT or a teacher, please, tell me if u do or dont like ur job, and why. THANKS!!!!!!!

Best Answer:
By all means become a respiratory tech.

Be an RT.
Answered by smwiseman0

I have been a science/math teacher for 32 years now. I love the kids and I love teaching. Every day spent with the kids is a rewarding experience. After 32 years and a Masters degree +32 hours, the salary isn't bad. Here's the kicker - if I had it to do all over again knowing what I do now about the state of education - I would NOT become a teacher. Under the new laws like No Child Left Behind it is no longer about teaching kids in a way that is fun and enriching. It is now all about test scores and preparing kids for standardized tests. I work on the average of 50-55 hours per week at school plus work taken home to do at night and in weekends. This is required now if you want to get all of the paperwork completed without sacrificing time with your students. Teachers I know talk increasingly about the stress caused by never getting ahead and by constantly taking work home to finish. Many I know are starting to doubt if the rewards of working with the kids balances the stress caused by government intervention and teaching to tests. If you are up to the job - go for it. We need good teachers. Just don't go into teaching unaware of what you are getting into.
Answered by arkiemom

I have my physical therapy degree and teaching certificate. I have 10 years experience as a PT and 6 years as a teacher (4 of them teaching middle school science). Here is why I teach. Guiding students is an awesome thing to experience when you do it well. The long term scheduling, salary, pension, advancement in teaching is better in the education field. After four or five years, when your units are set and you are comfortable, teaching becomes a labor of interest and love, and you expand your curriculum based on your interests. Working with young people keeps you young. In the allied health professions, all the hopsitals, nursing homes and other health care institutions are working towards cutting costs. You will be helping people, yes, but you will have productivity goals, insurance fights, and sickness and death in your life daily. You will be stressed and be faced with making lifestyle decisions for people who don't want others to make their decisions for them (nursing home placement, Oxygen tank use, etc.) It can be depressing. Try telling a life long smoker to stop. I know that I am biased towards teaching. I am not trying to tell you what to do, I am just giving you my reasons for being a teacher. Teachers face budgets, deadlines and stress, too. The salaries start lower (but even out with experience and summer work) but you never work holidays. It is a GREAT job to raise a family. RT's and other Allied Health get jobs easier, have a higher starting salary, and don't have to take their work home with them. But they work Saturdays and Holidays in many cases. Good Luck. Either profession is worthy and worthwhile and will satisfy you! You will win either way!
Answered by Vincent A

*you like both teaching and helping people who are ill ,so go for being a respiratory therapist/teacher.good luck.
Answered by fushia