If you consider yourself to be a bit of a techie and if you enjoy helping others learn, you might be considering combining these two interests and becoming a computer teacher. While working as a computer teacher certainly as its benefits, there are some potential downsides to working in this profession as well. Therefore, it is a good idea for you to explore the pros and cons of becoming a computer teacher before you decide to make this your career path.

Pro: Job Availability

One of the pros to becoming a computer teacher is the fact that you can be relatively certain there will be plenty of employment opportunities available to you over the next several years. As our world becomes more and more dependent upon computers and other technology, so will there continue to be a need for people who can teach this technology to the next generation. As such, you can be pretty certain that there will be plenty of employment opportunities available to you once you graduate from college. In addition, you can be relatively certain your job won’t be cut. And, once you reach tenure, you will enjoy a great deal of job security as a computer teacher.

Con: Continual Changes in Technology

Of course, as someone who is supposed to be an expert in the field, you will be responsible for staying up-to-date with the latest technological advances. Since technology evolves so rapidly, you may find yourself needing to attend more workshops or taking more college classes than other teachers in your building. As a result, you may have to put in more of your personal time in order to stay current in your field.

Pro: Stay on the Cutting Edge

Although it might be a bit of a hassle to have to put your own time into staying current in the technology field, a true techie will likely appreciate these ongoing training opportunities. As a computer teacher, you will be on the mailing list for all of the latest technological software, gadgets and gizmos. In addition, you will have plenty of opportunities to attend workshops about new technology. If you have the time available to attend these workshops, this may actually be more of a pro for you than it is a con.

Con: Technology Doesn’t Always Work How You Want It

While technology has certainly made our lives easier in a lot of ways, the reality is that it does not always work in the way that we want it to. This can be quite frustrating in the classroom, particularly when all of your computers are acting up or when the network is on the blitz. After all, what is a computer teacher supposed to do when there are no computers available to use for the day? Or, how do you handle it when your students are unexplainably unable to log-in to their computers? Similarly, working with 20 or more kids who don’t know what they are doing on the computer can be quite frustrating as you try to troubleshoot how they managed to get logged into the wrong program or make changes to your templates.

Simply put, working as a computer teacher can be stressful at times. Not only are you highly dependent upon the technology working correctly, you are also dealing with a group of students who may range from novice to those who know more than you. At the same time, if you enjoy technology, working as a computer teacher can be a great way for you to share your knowledge while also staying on the cutting edge of the latest and greatest technology.