[japhyr]

I am a high school math and science teacher, and in the last year I have started to teach an Intro to Programming class, based on Python. It has been really satisfying, and students are loving it. Students are just now starting to understand enough to see where they might go with this.

I quickly run into an interesting problem, though. To teach this well, I am starting to learn the skills needed to work at a startup. That makes me look a little more closely every month at the "who is hiring" post, and wonder if I could leave teaching and double my salary.

This is part of the reason many people who are teaching programming in schools aren't good developers; if they are, it's too tempting to leave and make good money.

[startupfounder]

Thanks for sharing this.

I am wondering if startups would sponsor some of their developers to go into schools (20% of their time), give back to the community they live in and teach young people how to hack.

Also, what about starting your own startup on the side, testing ideas and making some small apps that generate revenue for you to provide the doubling of your income?

Interesting problem nonetheless...

[japhyr]

I have started work on my own projects, which gives some satisfaction. But I am really tempted to do it full-time. I am a pretty good teacher, because I work hard all day long and think critically about my practice, and I work with a really strong staff. I can't help but think that if I put that much energy and focus into working in the startup world, that I'd do really well and enjoy it. I am really satisfied every day, though, that everything I do all day long is really meaningful. So I will be pretty picky about finding a startup with a mission that is meaningful, rather than just providing a service or product that people will pay for.

I am really curious to see where I end up in the next three years.

[Kevinjmireles]

If you're interested in changing the world, I've got a public service project MyRepresentatives.com in need of a developer(s) to help me take it to the next level. It's your one stop shop for engaging with your political representatives online. Find your political representatives, subscribe to their updates and give them feedback. Currently, version 1.0 is live today for the Memphis, TN area, but I'm working on expanding both the functionality and geographic reach.

[Kevinjmireles]

Organizations are designed to do what they did yesterday. In order for schools to attract and retain highly-skilled professionals they need to begin to offering more flexible work schedules/careers for people like you.

And while startups can offer great financial rewards, just think of yourself as an angel investor mentoring hundreds of startups each year! Even ycombinator can't match that output!

[japhyr]

"Organizations are designed to do what they did yesterday. In order for schools to attract and retain highly-skilled professionals they need to begin to offering more flexible work schedules/careers for people like you."

Yes. If I am actually skilled enough to make a successful startup, I might look at trying to make a half-time teaching position work. That would be just to stay in teaching, not for any salary needs.

"And while startups can offer great financial rewards, just think of yourself as an angel investor mentoring hundreds of startups each year! Even ycombinator can't match that output!"

An angel investor who will never see any financial return on my investment.

[Kevinjmireles]

Having done the startup thing and lost my shirt in the process - you can read my Lessons from the Land of Hard Knocks - http://wp.me/1pqm - realize there are no guarantees of an ROI in monetary terms. However, as a teacher you have a much higher probability of actually making a difference and touching peoples lives than getting excellent an excellent Karmic ROI.

That said, I'm still working toward my entrepreneurial goals, just a little wiser and in a little more measured fashion - and this time I'm focused on working on something that I really care about whether I make a dollar on it or not.

[pflats]

It's a hard call; I'm doing the same thing, especially after my Intro Programming class was cancelled. I had students develop some serious programs, and at the same time, had a student go from, "What do you mean by a computer program" to, "Couldn't you do that recursively?" in 4 months. It's a great course to teach.

That said, teaching is a calling, just like startup culture is. No matter how frustrated, sick, or tired I am, no matter how much I actively dislike the subject I'm teaching (conic sections!) when you throw me in front of a classroom, something takes over, and I'm amazed at what comes out.

[pflats]

Also, you don't have contact info in your profile, but check out CS4HS if you haven't already (http://www.cs4hs.com/). It's a great resource with great networking.