I quit a well-paying job that was driving me nuts about five years ago. At age 43 I returned to college and then to university for a total of three years to get my science and education degrees. When I was kicked out of college at age 21 my average was something like 53%. Twenty-some years later I was on the Dean's List at a good university for having an A average. My experience is not unusual - mature learners tend to be motivated learners.

I work in a private high school teaching senior levels of math and physics. It is hard. The kids are just as dumb as I was when I was their age. When I am doing my job right I am working twelve or thirteen hours a day on top of the three hours I spend commuting. Like any workplace, mine has its share of politics, which I sometimes find disturbing. Some of my coworkers - in particular the younger ones - are not as idealistic as I am. My boss is great, but I would not say the same about his boss. It has been hard on the home life, since when I am at home I am either sleeping or marking. Curiously, and contrary to what I had been told, this second year of teaching has been bit harder than the first - probably because I have raised my own standards.

I do enjoy the teaching. I enjoy the kids. I hope that my school weathers the economic downturn. But if I lost my job, I would not restrict my job hunt solely to teaching jobs. It is one of the best jobs I have had, but it is very demanding and very tiring.