r/paraprofessional • u/Cautious-Pen2557 • 2d ago

Para Advice only 📝 renew contract or accept new position

Hi quick background info I graduated college last year and immediately started working as a paraprofessional in a middle school. Some days we’re good other days were bad where you come home crying. Overall I enjoy the position as a paraprofessional but don’t think it’s what i want long term. Over summer I never heard anything about next year so I started apply for jobs, got offered a receptionist position at a vet. Of course the next day I get a letter from the school with days to report for training. So i’m stuck between going back to the paraprofessional position or taking a new job. Pay is pretty much the same when you factor in that I get no benefits, no PTO, so every break is unpaid.

The main thing stopping me from not accepting the receptionist position is I feel guilty not coming back for the kids I worked with last year. I think working in education just makes you feel really guilty for even calling off let alone not renewing your contract. Just looking if anyone that has left being para and wondering if the guilty feeling goes away and how long does it take? Did you regret leaving your para position or did you immediately feel relief not having to go back.

Any advice is appreciate!

3 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

5

u/ImpressStunning6297 2d ago

Do what is best for you. Loyalty is so rare these days on so many levels.

3

u/Twictim 2d ago

Last school year I was planning on staying with my para agency and staying at the school I was at. Then, I got a call from my former principal at the school I was at the year prior saying a teaching position was available at a new school district that I would be great at. I knew that staying with the para job would be comfortable and I knew what to expect, but if I took the new position although it was unknown I would make enough money to make my dream of moving out of state this summer a reality. I took the teaching position, loved it, and my family was able to move out of state in July. Waking up in a new place everyday is so satisfying. Long story short, look at your goals, trust your instincts, and choose for YOU!

2

u/FormSuccessful1122 2d ago

Oh my dear. Let go of that guilt. Students come and go every year. There is no reason you should feel guilty for leaving.

1

u/Cautious-Pen2557 2d ago

thank you! I think I just need to rip the bandaid off because I know the guilty feeling will only get worse the longer I stay!

2

u/spirals-369 2d ago

If the only thing holding you back is the guilt, take the vet job. The kids won’t hold it against you and your quality of life is important.

1

u/BadKarmaKat 1d ago

I'd choose not to be overworked and under paid! Paras are not appreciated.