Rethinking His Personal Lesson Plan

To teach or not to teach. That’s the question troubling educator Mark Storhaug. The Bellagio Road Newcomer School instructor adores his fourth-grade students, but recent developments in his life--a pending marriage and dreams of starting a family--have prompted him to reassess his career goals.

“I have this idea that this is my last chance to do a major change,” said the 34-year-old Santa Monica resident.

Storhaug has been thinking long and hard about his next step. Employed eight years in the Los Angeles Unified School District, he’d be walking away from a potentially hefty retirement package if he quit his $43,000-a-year position. He’d also be leaving an industry that offers comparatively short work hours, in-the-class autonomy and a long summer vacation.

But Storhaug is forced to consider his growing financial needs. He and his fiancee, Erin O’Neill, a freelance photographer, hope to have children within the next few years. Storhaug would like to be able to afford a home and earn a salary that would allow his family-to-be to live comfortably. Though he realizes that he eventually could earn about $63,000 a year if he remains a teacher, he’s growing antsy about his future.

“To be truthful, I feel that I have fulfilled my interests in the field of teaching and am ready for a total shift,” he said.

Last year, anticipating a possible vocation switch, Storhaug completed a personal financial planning certificate program at UCLA. However, he found the career’s heavy self-marketing demands unappealing. He then considered going to law school to become an estate planner, “but this just doesn’t jump out at me, either,” he said. Law’s long hours trouble him, as does its three-year educational commitment and steep tuition.

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To help find direction, Storhaug consulted Jo-Ann Ruffolo, a career counselor who had served as a Los Angeles Unified teacher and administrator for 20 years.

Storhaug expressed his frustration to her. “Each time I research things, I talk my way out of them,” he said. “And though it’s not like I don’t like coming to work, I think I’m ready for out.”

After listening to Storhaug’s career history, Ruffolo told him that she believed he was emerging from what experts call a “pre-dispositional phase” of career pursuit.

“That’s where a majority of people in the world are,” she told him. “They’ve entered a career for not-so-compelling reasons, and now they’re beginning to have misgivings. That’s normal--not pleasant, but normal.”

Ruffolo cautioned Storhaug that a second difficult stage--the “transitional phase”--usually follows. “It’s what I call the ‘nowhere zone,’ when you feel like a rowboat bobbing around on a lake, unable to codify what has meaning for you,” she said. “You’re saying, ‘I don’t know which way to go.’ So just like with an artichoke, we have to peel away the leaves to get to who you are.”

Ruffolo asked Storhaug if he had recently incorporated any new values into his life--values that may have prompted his career uncertainty. Yes, Storhaug said, with his engagement came a strong desire to plan financially for his family-to-be. That’s why he’d put off joining O’Neill in freelance photography. Two freelance incomes might prove a hardship, particularly after the couple had kids. Ruffolo agreed.

Were there any former aspirations that Storhaug had abandoned or not even dared to attempt? Storhaug admitted he would still like to educate others about money, and perhaps even work outdoors. Throughout his life, Storhaug said, he’d loved the out-of-doors, but hadn’t seriously considered incorporating it into a career. And, if possible, he’d like to keep working with children.

Ruffolo suggested Storhaug consider a second “marriage”--the wedding of several interests into a compelling line of work. “For example, you could teach children about financial planning, or instruct them in an outdoor setting,” she proposed. Storhaug liked both ideas, and added that he’d like to explore Web site design too. He was considering enrolling in Santa Monica College’s two-year Interactive Media program to gain skills. But he wondered if, as a Web site designer, he would be able to stomach spending long days holed up in an office.

Don’t leap to any decisions, Ruffolo said; take six to nine months to explore each option. Go on information interviews with people in the targeted fields. Spend a day at their workplaces, if possible. “Ask yourself, does the reality meet the fantasy of the job?” she said.

If nine months passed and Storhaug still needed guidance, he should consult a career counselor for further help, Ruffolo added.

Would Storhaug find happiness in a field whose top performers joke about the greenish skin cast that comes from spending 60 hours or more each week indoors in the glow of a computer monitor?

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True, Web site development is a hot field. But it’s not for everyone. Only go-getters willing to put in long hours at the keyboard need apply, said Andrew Kraft, executive director of the Assn. of Internet Professionals.

And, say experts, the industry’s rocketing sophistication is forcing new entrants to learn advanced Web design skills if they hope to land even decent jobs.

In the past, a two-year certificate and knowledge of programming language HTML was enough to snag novice designers positions paying up to $50,000, Kraft said. But because of software advances, this is unlikely in the current Internet marketplace.

“Today, if you’re making $25,000 to $30,000 doing HTML, you’re lucky,” Kraft said.

And Fortune 1000 corporations, many of which previously relied on employees with basic knowledge of “template” programs such as Microsoft FrontPage for Web site presences, now demand far more cutting-edge programming abilities of their new hires so they can stay competitive in e-commerce, said Jay Gitomer, manager of corporate Web development for USinternetworking in Annapolis, MD.

Gitomer suggested that, should Storhaug still wish to pursue a Web career, he consider producing, which is akin to project management. The job, which usually pays between $25,000 and $75,000 a year, requires strong writing and communications skills, coupled with eclectic but not “bleeding-edge” software knowledge.

What about a career as a children’s financial educator? Could Storhaug earn a livable wage at the pursuit? Certainly, there’s a need for the specialty--American children under 12 spend $18 billion a year of their own money, according to a Texas A&M; University study. But despite this hefty outlay, many youngsters are what economists call “financially illiterate.”

“I’d say the field is pretty big,” said Robert Kiyosaki, author of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money--That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!”

“I don’t think there’s any parent who doesn’t want their kid to learn about money,” said Abbejean Kehler, director of the Central Ohio Economics Education program at Ohio State University. Even children need to know how the economy works, because their lives will be affected by the market system.

The most successful people in this growing field are entrepreneurs who have braved the risks of self-employment to introduce unique, creative products, services, and books to the marketplace.

For example, in addition to his best-selling book, Kiyosaki has developed board games, videotapes and other instructional products to help children develop good financial habits. Former banking executive Neale Godfrey, author of “The Ultimate Kids’ Money Book” (Simon & Schuster, 1998), and founder of the Children’s Financial Network in Chester, N.J., designed financial curricula for grades K-8, a series of children’s money books and a CD-ROM game called “Money Town.”

“To me, that’s the most promising opportunity right now, particularly electronic delivery of educational products--games on CD- ROM, or Internet-based games and other learning materials,” said Robert Kleinhenz, director of the Center for Economic Education at Cal State Fullerton.

Kiyosaki suggested that Storhaug consider parlaying his UCLA financial training into a new niche as a “family financial planner” who could advise parents and their children about investments and savings.

But this freelance, entrepreneurial road--which may require months or years of uncompensated labors--may not be right for Storhaug at this stage of his life.

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Many large financial institutions have educational outreach departments whose employees earn $30,000 to $60,000, working with schools and communities to teach young people about finance and improve their literacy skills.

A prospective candidate for such a job “should be someone with a broad liberal arts background, who has an interest in children and an understanding of curriculum development,” said Caroline Boitano, executive director of the Bank of America Foundation in San Francisco.

As for Storhaug’s other career possibility, well-paying outdoor jobs do exist. according to Tom Stienstra, a two-time National Outdoor Writer of the Year, and author of “Sunshine Job: Career Opportunities, Working Outdoors” (Live Oak Publications, 1997).

Although the majority of out-of-doors occupations--such as camp counselor, adventure challenge instructor and mountain climbing guide--are part-time or seasonal gigs, others, such as camp director and environmental education coordinator, are full time and, in some cases, offer good pay.

Storhaug concedes he’s got a lot of homework to do in the next six months, but adds he’s looking forward to the challenge. He said Ruffolo helped encourage him to more sharply focus his search.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Ready for a Change

Name: Mark Storhaug

Occupation: Fourth-grade teacher

Desired occupation: Uncertain

Quote: “I like the kids, the spontaneity and the creativity of teaching. But I think . . . I’m ready for a change.”

Counselor’s recommendation: Take six to nine months to investigate Web design careers, children’s financial instruction and outdoor jobs.

Meet the Coach

Jo-Ann Ruffolo is a career counselor at Caltech. During the last 25 years, she also has provided career guidance services to UCLA’s PhD and postdoctoral students and has served as a public education teacher and administrator.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

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