u/scaredtomakeart

Location: SE Michigan, United States

This is for anyone in the SE Michigan area. Is the big name of U of M worth the money? Like, would merely graduating with an m.Arch from U of M give me an upper hand? My parents live 15 minutes outside downtown Ann Arbor, and we used to live in Ann Arbor so I'm familiar with the campus and city.

Also, does Detroit Mercy, being a Catholic school, mean some employers could reject my application for merely graduating there? I am not religious but my fiancé and I live maybe 10-15 minutes away.

If an employer had to choose between two candidates, one from U of M and one from DM, would they be more likely to pick one over the other?

Are there significant positives and negatives between the two universities?

It's currently 77 degrees Fahrenheit with 81% humidity in the Midwest. It's 10am and I'm walking my dog on his first walk.

I cannot handle temperature nearing 80, and after about 72 I start sweating. I'm currently kind of nauseous, sweating, and generally just don't feel well.

I've been on Levothyroxine for 2 years now and hormones have been balanced this whole time.

Yet in the winter, I'm the only one that can handle the cold. I feel fine in 30 degree weather and I only start to get bothered by the cold if it's like, 20 degrees with high winds.

My favorite temperature is 50-55 and cloudy because I can walk around outside and not sweat with a hoodie on.

I'm 2 semesters away from getting my Bachelor's in Fine Art with a concentration in drawing, and my associate's degree is actually General Math and Science (with a lot of philosophy electives). I plan to get my Master's in Education (also called a Teaching Certification) in which I'll be applying for that at the end of this year. I could teach art k-12 and science k-5 (or k-7 I can't remember).

I work part time at a very nice church in the childcare wing, they have infants to preschool. This church is across the street from a very wealthy and well-known private school that is K-12. The church and school are not technically affiliated with each other, but the church has the name of the school in it; most parents that have one child in daycare/preschool and one in the k-12, and some employees at the church graduated from the k-12. It is a very close-knit circle I managed to wiggle myself in.

I currently only make $16, but I am just an assistant teacher. I believe lead teachers at the church make closer to $25, which would require a bachelor's in early childhood education, or my master's I mentioned previously (quickest route for me), or just a few more years of experience. Beside the pension, there are other positives like basically unlimited sick days, PTO, I get holiday pay without working holidays, good work environment, the wealthy parents buy us gifts all the time, and give money during Christmas.

Should I try to advance to a lead teacher at the church while I wait for a position to open at the school across the street? I did see a job position there a couple months ago but I don't have my master's so I couldn't apply.

I would like to avoid more student loan debt, so maybe I could just stay here? There are a handful of people at my job that have expressed this is the place they're staying at. Like they don't want to advance further (really the only option is to teach k-12 or college tbh).

I would also like to be a professor but that would take more time as to teach fine arts I need to be a working artist and probably have a MFA.

Idk. I'm tired of not having money (fiancé and I are struggling) and I want to enter the workforce as soon as possible (also so my fiancé can go back to school).

I almost cried. Mom picked them out and it was her idea. Step daughter gave me the flowers and told me I'm the best step mom ever.