For this school year, I was offered a paternity-leave contract until the month of November. I took it because a job is a job, but now I’m sort of stuck.

You see, I was offered a position for the whole year about a week ago, but it would be rude of me to leave this post and start a new one when the teacher I’m replacing is still on leave. It’s also possible that HR would’ve refused my transfer anyway, so really I had no choice but to stay. Now, I have this constant stress of what will happen when my contract is over. Will I be offered another position elsewhere? Will I be stuck subbing for the rest of the school year…?

For those of you who experience job insecurity, I understand and I feel for you, because this is what I’ve been experiencing on a daily basis for the last 6 years. As you know, I started teaching last year, but before that, I worked in restaurants. Restaurants aren’t exactly the most stable places of employment because most of your income relies on tips. This means that some weeks, you make enough to cover bills and a little savings, other weeks, you’re stuck dipping into those savings that grew because of those better weeks. Of course, I chose to stay in the industry for so long, but that’s what happens when you love what you do. Although the type of instability is different, one is unstable pay, the other unstable hours, the outcome remains the same: stress, stress and even more stress.

Now, I have 5 weeks left to my contract and I am wondering where I will be going next. At the school I currently work for, they have a position in a lower grade that is “taken” on paper, but in reality, they are waiting for the teacher’s visa to be approved. Yes, she isn’t even in the country yet. She applied to work at this school and was hired and given a placement, but while the school board waits for the government to approve the work visa, the school has a revolving door of substitutes coming in to teach/care for the students. This is definitely not the ideal scenario, for the students, the parents, the substitutes and the administration, yet this is the route that was taken.

You see, I would love to finish this contract and start a new one taking over that lower-grade classroom. The only issue is that one of the following needs to happen in order to even begin the process :

1. The new teacher removes her visa application.
2. The government rejects her visa application.
3. The school board decides to no longer wait for her visa approval and “fire” her.

If any of the above scenarios happen, then I have an opportunity to get this classroom. Opportunity doesn’t exactly mean I will get it. You see, I still have to be offered the position by my current principal. This means that I actually have to be good at my job for her to want to keep me for the rest of the year.

So what do I do now? Well, I’m not too sure. I already mentioned to my principal that I want the position if it becomes available so at least she’s aware I’m gunning for it. Other than that, I have to continue to work really hard on this paternity leave contract so that she and other teachers recognize that I am good and capable. The only sad part in all this is that I really can’t do anything until November. I am basically stuck waiting for the decision to be made for me; there is truly nothing I can do.

In any event, I will let you know what happens! Hopefully things work out for me, but if not, at least I know I will be able to sub until I find another contract later in the school year. And if you are also experiencing some sort of job instability/insecurity, feel free to reach out for a chat!