“You know you’re not going to get a job, right?”

“So, what other job are you going to do so you make decent money?”

“No one is hiring. You might as well just change your major to something more reasonable.”

I’m not kidding, the list literally goes on and on. I have a limited perspective, but I feel like education majors are close to the top of the list of those who have been told they’ll amount to nothing. All I ever hear is that schools aren’t hiring, that I’m going to have no choice but to travel to get a job, that I would be better off as a barista (okay, I haven’t heard that one yet). News flash, that’s really not true and it’d be best to not crush the dreams of prospective, new, and current education majors.

All of the numbers point towards a major boom of positioning opening up in the ‘20s as many older teachers will be retiring. Considering I’m on schedule to graduate in 2019, this actually makes me beyond excited and even more hopeful for my eventual job hunting. Are the numbers always right? Not always, but let’s face facts, teachers will be retiring or leaving for some reason or another all the time, making spots open to fresh faces.

Despite the numbers pointing to a mass retirement in the ‘20s and a teacher shortage everywhere, opening up jobs all over, education majors still constantly get jobs. I know several recent graduates who got job offers in the few short months between graduation in May and now, in August. Education is a field that is always hiring, somewhere out there. Will you be able to find a job in your hometown school district right out of college? Possibly, but chances are maybe not. Surrounding school districts though? I can almost guarantee you there will be job postings. And if you’re looking for a change of scenery even, Hawaii has been having a teacher shortage as of late and is hiring in the masses from mainland US. Doing something you love in a beautiful locale? Sign me up!

Some school districts are actually more willing to even hire recent graduates since they can start them lower on the pay scale than, say, a veteran teacher with thirty years of experience and a doctorate in education. Don’t worry, I’m already expecting your money question. I can guarantee that at least 90% of teachers aren’t in it for the money. They do their job because that’s what they love to do. To me, that is the best way to look at things. First look for what you love, and then look at the money. Money cannot make you as happy as being truly happy going to work every day.

So, yes, I will get a job in my major. So will my roommate, my friends, my coworkers, my mentees, all of the education majors I know. They will be successful and find a job they truly love when they graduate. And that hate that you throw at us to try and get us to change? Well, that encourages me even more to succeed and prove you wrong. Education is a major that never dies out, but only grows.