I'm a recent graduate and after not much luck on the job hunting front, I finally received an offer! It's for a full time 3rd grade position. The problem is, the school is an hour away from where I currently live and would be an hour commute every day. Financially, moving isn't possible right now so I'd have to commute from where I live if I took the job. Is an hour too far to drive for a job for a first year teacher?
Many people do it...load up your car with books on CD, pandora radio, podcasts. Pack a few healthy snacks in a cooler each day...teas, nuts, granola bars. Do a few practice runs before school starts during the hours you'd be commuting...depending on traffic flow your commute could be an hour, or it could sometimes be more...be sure to leave a little extra time for those traffic mornings (I have a short commute and occasionally run into the LOOOOOOOOOOOONG freight train that runs on odd schedules across my route!) Congrats on the job!
I drove an hour my first year. It is not fun, but it is possible. I know you mentioned finances being a factor, but you are going to spend a lot of money on gas. It might be cheaper to just bite the bullet. Something to think about
When I first applied for teaching jobs, I did apply for positions that would be an hour away. If I received an offer, I would have taken it! I luckily, found a position less than 2 miles from my house. It will be a very busy year for you, but if you can handle it, "Go For It!" Maybe next year, you can move or find a position closer to your home, with a year of teaching experience behind you. I was a career-changer, with children, and my husband lived 8 hours away for the first few months, so looking back, it was better for me to be closer. But, if I was fresh out of college, it'd would have been fine for me! Good luck on your decision!
If it is your only option, I'd take it. I drove 45 minutes in the morning and an hour in the afternoons for student teaching and it wasn't as bad as I expected. In the mornings I thought through my day and the afternoons gave me time to reflect and unwind before getting home.
I think I would take it! It may not be a place you stay long term, but it gives you the experience you need to find a job closer to home! You never know, there may be someone in your area that you can carpool with.
You may feel that moving isn't financially possible right now, but calculate the amount you will spend on gas and wear and tear on your car. You might find that moving is financially beneficial.
Only you can answer that, but in this market, you may not receive another offer. You could always move halfway, or plan to switch to another school after you've had some experience. Congrats!
My cooperating teacher from student teaching commutes an hour to her job from her home and at this point, I would do the same thing for a job haha.
I'd take it! You just graduated, and received an offer, where most other new teachers go through years of subbing and job searching. Definitely take it! I drove 35-45 minutes to work (one way) for almost 2 years and I was only subbing / long term subbing. Like others suggested, make the best of it, listen to audio books, music, relax, eat your breakfast on the way etc. This late in the summer you probably won't receive another offer.
I couldn't do it forever, but a year or two is doable, especially if you don't have kids yet. We have a teacher who drives just over an hour to work part-time!
I would absolutely take it! Then again I did an hour drive to and from all through college. The experience you would get is worth it in my opinion.
Unless there is something about the job itself that you think is a horrible fit, or you live in a state where jobs are somewhat easy to get and you feel confident in another offer in the next couple of weeks (not sure what state that would be, but perhaps there still are some), I say take it. An hour is doable. Not ideal, but doable. I know people at my current school who commute over an hour, one is at least an hour and a half, and have been doing it for years.
If it seems like a good fit, I would take it. The start of the school year is getting closer all the time.
If I didn't have kids I would be applying for jobs an hour away. Unfortunately it just wouldn't work for us. It is also unfortunate that most of the jobs in my state ARE an hour or more away! I would definitely take it. At this time of the year, as someone said, it is getting really tough. There might be some last minute openings but do you really want to risk it? So many young teachers are waiting years and years for their own classrooms, and some never get them. . Go for it.
wear and tear on your body too. Sitting in a car 2+ hours everyday isn't doing your back/belly/mind/legs any favors. That said... I'd do it in a heartbeat, if it was a good opportunity.
For the past five years, I have been commuting an hour and twenty-five minutes one way. It is physically, mentally, and financially draining. The job which I am hoping to get an offer on this week is an hour one way. Still long, but an appreciable improvement. I consider an hour or less to be a doable commute, depending on salary and working conditions. I live way out in the sticks and love it, so the compromise is that it is a bit of a drive to get to anywhere.
I have had the hour commute before... I definitely would not want to do it again, BUT it's not so miserable that I wouldn't do it if I had to. Mine had very little traffic both ways, so that was not bad, but I did feel like I "lost" a lot of time, too. If that's your only offer, I'd take it. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
I commuted an hour plus each way for five years. Listen to audiobooks on cd or a MP3 player. I had several on my phone. If you get unlimited data, there are some comedy stations on Pandora. I also came up with some of my best lessons when I commuted.
Take the position if this is your one and only! You can hopefully use it for experience and to help you land a closer-to-home job!
We have several teachers that commute an hour each way. Sometimes they can carpool. Years ago I interviewed at a school that was an hour away. One of the questions I was asked was if the commute was too much. At that time I needed a job, so no, the commute wasn't too much.
I drive 45 minutes and don't mind it at all. My dad has about the same drive at the same time so we chat in the morning. On the way home I can usually get my mom who travels all over the state in sales. I also love the sports talk shows here. I love where I live and I love where I teach. That helps a lot. We have 184 days so I really don't drive that much, especially relative to my parents. I have an '06 civic with 165k miles. It does great.
I wouldn't want to do it, but I would also take what I can get. Jobs aren't easy to come by these days. I think it also depends where you are, because one hour in urban traffic is a lot different than one hour on peaceful, rural roads. If it were me, I'd take it and move ASAP.
I've commuted an hour each way for 4 years and I don't mind it. I've started carpooling part time, but I love my alone time in the car after school.
I would take it. I commuted 150 miles round trip a day for three years as a single parent. It was exhausting but take it one day at a time. After three years of looking I got a job this year 12 miles from home. The training and experience I received in the job I commuted too helped me to get this one.
I would do it, no question. My mom's been commuting an hour each way for years. My husband commutes an hour each way right now. It's not super fun, but it's also not uncommon in California.
I have a 37 mile one-way commute, which is about 40 minutes. I'm starting year 13 of this commute. Some days are worse than others, but it really isn't too bad. A nice way to unwind from either aggravation from my household morning chaos, or to unwind from a classroom's chaos before joining my family. It does make some things more difficult, especially as a parent, trying to juggle appointments and such. For me, changing districts at this point in my career would net me at least a loss of $8K a year. Take it, try it, then consider your options in the future.
My first job was an hour commute. My current job was slightly under an hour when I lived at home and is now 45 minutes. Totally doable and like others said, it's a good time to do some thinking, reflecting, singing, etc. Take the job!!!
