Is it better to quit a casual job if it's causing anxiety?

[45987]

Such as lack of sleep (i.e. as low as ~2hrs a night), general stressing/constant worry/extra pressure (which roll into other unrelated tasks). I'm a first year uni student and pushed myself to take on a tutoring job, but I feel like no approach I try gets through (this is confirmed by students test results), despite the fact I put in heaps of extra effort to make notes, practice how to explain, ect. Then I just feel super bad for how much parents are being charged (I'm more than happy with $24/hr, but this turns into an actual rate of much lower when driving and extra time factored in, also I feel super bad parents get charged $60-65/hr, when I'm just a recent high school graduate, and not actual professional tutor). Am I a bad person for quitting?

[ac1991]

Hey 45987

A casual job can feel like the most stressful thing in the world. I know many would agree with that! I remember when I started my current job, it was a scary, anxiety filled experience. If I'm being honest, it did take me months to get over the fears of going to work because I was afraid of making mistakes and felt I was annoying my managers and co-workers by always having to ask for help. I contemplated quitting many times, but here I am a year on - and finally feel more at ease. If you feel this job is having a profound affect on your mental health, I can see why quitting would be a reasonable thing to do. You wouldn't want to jeopardise your wellbeing, always remember to put that first! However, as hard as it may be to picture right now, this job could end up being a very positive thing - to have the experience of being a tutor, the rewarding feeling of your students achieving their academic goals, most importantly, gaining new strategies to push through the hard anxious times and grow more comfortable doing things outside your comfort zone. Jobs are a great way to push yourself. Of course, I recommend putting your mental health first and if you feel that this job is really taking it's toll on you and your uni work maybe it just isn't the right time for this job. Alternatively, you could search the web for different learning approaches and try to figure out which one would work best for each of your students? (e.g. some are visual learners, some are more auditory and so on). Don't be afraid to ask the students what works best for them! I believe that whatever you choose is the right thing to do, follow your heart and put yourself first. Don't feel guilty for looking after yourself. Good luck

[Croix]

Dear 45987~

I'm not going to express a view about staying with the job except to say you have to keep well, that's the most important thing of all. You get to judge as it's a balance.

Instead I'll talk about students and tutoring. There are (yes here we go with broad generalizations) only a few main types of students.

Ones that are dead keen, do their homework, are obviously trying. You can tell these.

If they have ability you just point them in the right direction and you will realize they know the work. If they don't pass exams etc it is an external factor - maybe nerves, maybe something else, not your teaching.

If they don't have ability you will know that too, maybe alternative approaches to the subject matter might help - possibly.

OK, now for the most common type, made to go to tutoring by parents, uninterested and with no commitment. This will soon become clear to you too. Your job may be to cover the material they missed in class, which they should have done by rolling up. If they are lucky they will pass on raw ability, as it's unlikely they will make a lot of effort.

Yes of course there are exceptions to all this but you can see a pattern emerging, trying to judge your efforts by test results is highly misleading when a private tutor. Teaching is always a collaborative effort, no amount of extra work by the instructor is going to do any good unless the student actually tries (not just says they do).

You are a conscientious person and for certain types of students you would be a very great asset. Unfortunately I get the feeling you are blaming yourself for others' shortcomings, something in all probability neither the organization you work for nor most of the parents will tell you. You are already worth more than just 35% of the fee charged.

After first year try to get a job with the uni conducting the tutorials of the first year units you took . A whole different ball game - plus decent hourly rates. Doesn't help with right now, but a hope for the future.

Croix

[BballJ]

Hi 45987,

This is a very interesting question you have raised and I also want to echo Croix's great comments above as well as I think the point that was made was very good. You as a tutor can only do so much, you cannot force the student to study extra with what you have taught them, you can only give them the tools and they need to keep practising to learn how to use them. I don't think gauging your tutoring abilities on their test results is fair to you at all. I cannot say you should quit or stay, that isn't my position unfortunately but I think if you keep working hard at it and other than this anxiety you are feeling, do you find yourself enjoying it as well?

I can say personally if I was in high school and was getting tutored by someone who recently graduated high school, I'd be more comfortable with that as I would think they would understand firstly what I am going through having just graduated year 12 a little more clearly and also a good understanding of what the current curriculum looks like as well.

The fact you care enough says a lot about you as well. Most people would just get paid and not care about how their students actually went... that's a great trait to have.

Please, feel free to write back as much as you wish.

My best for you,

Jay