Let's say you're making $80,000 a year with health insurance and stock options, own a comfortable home and two cars and can have dinner out whenever you feel like it.
Would you be willing to give it all up to make less than $10 an hour as a substitute schoolteacher?
Some of Paul Maloy's former coworkers in the Web marketing industry probably think that he needs a sanity check. Even Paul's five children are wondering what's going on inside their dad's head.
"Gee, Dad," one of his sons recently told him. "When you have a mid-life crisis, aren't you supposed to go out and buy a Corvette?"
Paul winces as he recalls the story. "Do I miss the paycheck? You bet I do," he says. "But this is coming from my heart. When people ask me if I'm nuts, I tell them, 'Look, I have to do this. I'm following my heart now, not my head.' "
After 18 years working his way from one stressful, high-tech job to the next, Paul Maloy is following a dream: He wants to become a high school history teacher, even though his starting salary will be about $28,000 a year.
Believe it or not, Paul's wife, Ann, is actually supportive of this quest; in fact, she plans to go back to work to help her husband succeed.
"I'm married to a terrific woman — she knows how important this is to me," says Paul. "But neither of us expected it would be so tough to find a job." He pauses and sighs. "To tell you the truth, it's been gut-wrenching."
Eager to share the ups and downs of following his heart, Paul, 46, asked that I meet him for a Free Lunch of chimichangas at Salt Lake City's Tres Hombres.
After he left Web marketing to pursue a teaching career, Paul, who has a degree in history, was quickly licensed and authorized to teach. Finding full-time work, though, has been another matter.
Although several principals have told him, "You're exactly what we're looking for," Paul can't compete with No Child Left Behind mandates. "If it's between me and another teacher who is certified, they're going to hire that teacher," he says.
So Paul has spent the past 2 1/2 months as a substitute teacher, bringing his unique charisma to history, social studies, music and marketing.
"I love being around kids — all my life I've just wanted to make a difference," he says. "There's nothing like showing a young person how what's happened in the past has a thread to each of us today."
More than once, teens have told Paul they appreciate his teaching style. "A few weeks ago," he says, "I taught junior high chorus. The instructions were to have them watch 'The Music Man.' Now, I've actually been in 'The Music Man' before, so I gave the kids the history of the musical. Afterward, one of the kids told me, 'Our regular teacher doesn't ever watch a movie with us. He sits at his desk and plays computer games.' "
After a month of subbing, Paul's first paycheck was a measly $550. When Microsoft called to offer him a job paying close to six figures, he admits he was tempted to return to his old life. Who could blame him?
But Paul's heart won again. Now he's planning to return to college to get a teaching certificate. He and Ann have cut costs at every corner: Cable television is gone and one of their cars is for sale. The Maloys are also thinking of trading their Sugar House home for a cheaper place in the suburbs.
With such persistence, any school would be lucky to have Paul Maloy. Sometimes, he says, you have to look beyond that shiny Corvette.
Have a story? Let's hear it over lunch. E-mail your name, phone number and what you'd like to talk about to freelunch@desnews.com. You can also write me at the Deseret Morning News, P.O. Box 1257, Salt Lake City, UT 84110.