While the two jobs might seem poles apart, Yung says he couldn't be happier. Even when he was working in the software industry, Yung had been seriously contemplating getting into teaching. So two years ago, when Yung was laid off from his job at Fujitsu, he knew it was time to give up his well-paying tech career and become a teacher—a profession that pays substantially less.

Yung's story might sound unique. But it turns out he is not alone in this transition. People who once lived the dot-com dream are now trying to reinvent themselves. Many are moving out of the high-tech industry into professions that reflect their personal passions, and for a good number of them, that passion is teaching.

As it turns out, this is a good thing for California, because the state is in need of teachers and has been reaching out to these former techies, offering them a boost toward their new career.

Close to 300 former high-tech employees across California are currently working as teachers or are training to be one soon. They are part of an innovative state-sponsored pilot program called "technology-to-teaching" that is specifically aimed at laid-off high-tech workers who are looking to change careers and who are interested in teaching.

In this part of Silicon Valley, the program is run by two state and federally funded agencies—NOVA in Sunnyvale and SVWIN in San Jose.

Technology-to-teaching is an initiative that was proposed by former Gov. Gray Davis in November 2001. The purpose of the project was to provide jobs for laid-off high-tech workers and at the same time bring much needed teachers into the California school system.

California currently has a huge demand for well-qualified teachers, especially in math, science and special education. Since the mid-1990s, though the number of people earning teaching credentials has increased, the gap between supply and demand for teachers has also grown. In Silicon Valley the demand is especially acute, because the high cost of living is not easy on a teacher's salary.

Moreover, with the region's exponential population growth, the number of students enrolling in public schools has also gone up dramatically. And then there is the state mandate on class-size reduction. In 1996, California dictated that there would not be more than 20 students in K­3 classes, which translated to the need for more teachers to fit the required ratio of teachers to students.

But attrition from a retiring teaching population could be one of the biggest challenges the state faces. In Santa Clara County alone, it is projected that for the next three years, more than 2000 new teachers will be required every year to fill in for those retiring.

So the "tech-to-teaching" program was the government's way of attracting new blood into the educational system. It has set aside $1.6 million dollars to provide partial financial assistance to selected candidates—money to pay part of their college tuition while they earned their teaching credentials, a requirement for K­12 teachers in California. So when the program began two years ago, hundreds of people turned up at NOVA's Sunnyvale office to explore their options.

But it was not a free-for-all opportunity. "We wanted to make sure the people we selected were interested in teaching. We had months of screening, and we made sure people knew exactly what they were getting into," says Vonna Gissler, program manager at NOVA.

The agency selected 100 candidates for the program and continues to monitor their progress. "We are not accepting any more applications for this project. But given the positive response we've had so far, we might consider doing this on a regular basis, provided we have the funding for it," says Gissler.

"I was really surprised at how rigorous the selection process was," says Yung. "I had a series of interviews, and I had to convince them that I was really keen on this career change."

Before any sign of economic downturn, Yung had started working toward his teaching goal. "I have been teaching Sunday school at my church for several years. I personally love math and physics, and it has always been my passion to teach kids and pass on my love for these subjects," he says. So even as he was working in the high-tech industry, Yung completed his master's in physics from San José State University and also cleared the math-competency exam that is required for math teachers. Currently he is working toward his teaching credential and is doing his internship at San Lorenzo Valley High School in Felton, where he teaches interactive math.

Meredy Halen, 55, was at a crossroads in her life when she decided to turn toward teaching. She was working as a project manager at a high-tech firm when she lost her job. It was around that time that Halen heard about NOVA's technology-to-teaching program and decided to apply for it. "I enjoyed working with adults and getting releases out of the door. But I was losing my passion for the job. It was not like I was making a huge contribution in anybody's life. But with teaching I knew it'd be different," she says.

Coming from a family of educators, Halen, a Saratoga resident, knew exactly what she was getting into. Today, she has completed her teaching credential and works as a fourth-grade teacher at Blackford Elementary in the Campbell Union School District. Blackford Elementary has a substantially diverse student population. "For most of these kids, English is the second language. And getting into this profession, I had made a conscious decision that I wanted to teach an ethnic mix of students, because I felt I could make bigger difference in these kids' lives," says Halen.

For Melinda Larson, teaching was one job that would provide more balance in her life. "With two young boys and two high-tech careers, my husband and I found life was too hectic. So around the time I lost my job, I heard about this tech-to-teaching program and knew that it would work for me," she says. In January, Larson began her teaching-credential coursework. She also volunteers at her children's classes at Eisenhower Elementary School in the Cupertino Union School District. "This way I also get to spend much more time with my children and know what's happening in their lives," she says.

But the road to the transition into teaching for these technology workers has not been without potholes. For one thing, the pay is much too low, compared to high-tech salaries. "As a teacher, I'll be getting paid only 50 percent of what I earned before. My previous experience will not count. It's like starting all over again," says Larson.

Yung says, "People have to do financial planning before they decide to make the switch. Right now I go to college to get my credential and I'm also doing my internship. But during this period I don't get paid anything. Monetarily, people have to be really prepared to make this change. They have to love kids and teaching. This is not a survival job," says Yung. It can take anywhere between one and three years to get the state-mandated teaching credentials. Yung adds that his savings and income from his rental properties help tide him over this financially dry period.

Halen says, "My children are grown and I'm fairly settled in life, and I can afford to take this cut. I went into teaching with my eyes wide open. But with starting salaries at $40,000 and sometimes lower, young people will have to worry about the financial aspect."

"The toughest thing for me during this career transition has been going back to college. The last time I went to college was in the '70s,"says Halen. The coursework and simultaneous classroom internships, she points out, can also be overwhelming at times. "And you have to learn to eat really fast. There are no leisurely lunches for teachers," she says.

Despite its downside, all three technology converts agree that a career in teaching has been the right choice for them. "I now have time to do things with my son, which I couldn't do before," says Yung. "But more than anything else, I'm happy that I'll be impacting the lives of students and a future generation rather than just the balance sheet and profit-and-loss columns of a company."