Handing in my notice need Advice.

Buffythedebtslayer

I am a teacher, I have taught for eight years. In the last couple of years I have been getting increasingly miserable to the point where I have a headache most day, frequent migraines and have been put on anti depressants by the doctor.

I deliberately did no school work over the holidays - a decision which I am regretting now(!) but did have a good holiday on the whole.

The end of last term was dreadful, I had a headache for ten days straight and went home in tears most days throughout the year.

I have been back a week - every day last week I had a headache and was sick. The only time it went was Friday after work when I knew there was no one to have a go the next day.

Today was ok teaching wise,however I simply do not feel I fit in to the school anymore and that it is time to move on. I have no interest in the school aims and ideas and constant jargon. I do not care about being outstanding. I wish I could explain more clearly but everyone is watching you and noting what you do and I am too tired. its very competitive and in your face and you must justify everything you do.

My head says stay and be debt free - 18 months.

My heart says leave and start living your life. (working in temp jobs would mean more opportunity to travel to see my sister, to do normal stuff like read books and watch tv without a pile of books on my lap)

At the moment I get up miserable and go to sleep exhausted sleep fitfully waking up unrested and miserable.

If I left I would do temp work - either teaching or office, I would do anything - bar work cleaning, dog walking, to make ends meet,

my outgoings are 448 on the loan, 450 on the credit card, and 500 rent.

plus spending money. ha ha. (currently 300)

supply teachers earn maybe 100 pound after tax perday. so so long as worked as often as I could I would be ok. it just depends on whether or not I could get the work.

Its a big risk what with the credit crunch and what have you.

I have two main questions

should I follow my heart or my head

and what else can I do to earn extra money?


thanks for any help and suggestions.

Buffy

tealady

Hi If you think you can do it without sliding further into debt then follow your heart. You will know when you hand in your notice whether you have made the right decision.
If you do supply work then the pay is better but you have no guarantees there will be work, but if you are prepared to temp at anything then I would say try it for a year.
Whatever you decide good luck.

ltm07

Only you can decide but as they say the grass isn't always greener on the other side. I go through phases in my job where I think "there's got to be more to life than this place" & I guess most others do. I try to look at the positives like good holiday & sick pay, relative security in my job & a half decent pension. I think that being weighed down by debts doesn't help when you feel down either. From your sig I take it you owe over £20k & to pay that off in just over a year is going to be some feat. OH & I have put our DFD back 5 years so we can live our lives the way we want to, rather than put our lives on hold due to our debts. Yes it niggles us a little when we look at how much debt we are in, but we'd rather that than try to clear debts ASAP & be fed up & miserable the whole time. Good luck whatever you decide!

daisychain80

Well my personal opinion would be to start looking for temp/office work now then hand your notice in when you have found one!!! your health comes first no matter what -you work for the council so you should get 6mnth full pay so if your that down and your health is suffering why not get signed off sick til you gather your thoughts and think about what you want to do? xx

urg123

Hi Buffy,

I understand the dilemma you are in. I am having a really tough time at work at the moment. I enjoy the job but hate the management and can see no way upwards. I would love to just hand in my notice and go. Unfortunatley I have to listen to my head as I really need to deal with the debt but it doesn't stop me looking to move on. I have actively applied for a few jobs that I want to do - sometime a change of scene is as good as a rest.

It seems that you may have more flexibility to follow your heart. Why don't you contact a few of the agencies that employ teachers in your area - find out what the going rate is and whether they see you being employed for decent periods of time to cover your expenses. You could also look for short-term contracts in other Schools (i.e. to cover Maternity Cover). What about targeted work with your local education authority?

Just some ideas.

Good luck

URG x x x

CLAPTON

you need to consider why you are on anti depressants and have constant headaches...
if it teaching then will supply teaching be any better

we are just entering a recession... temp jobs of all sorts will become harder to get and will pay less

being skint all the time and being phoned constantly by creditors threatening court action is no fun either

have you looked at the going rate for temp work in your area

you say you need at least 1800 per month ... but supply only pays 100 per day... ok for term time if work most days but what about holidays

basically are you sure teaching is the issue and there are not other factors causing your problems?

WelshSaver

Hi Buffy

I have been on lurking on this site for a long time now. Your post inspired me to join up and let you know how I feel.

I would follow my heart and start living my life. It is not worth making yourself ill every day, you are miserable and do not sleep well. Your health may then suffer further and you may not be fit to work.

I know it is not any easy decision when you have debt. Debt makes it harder to decide. If you didn't have debt and only had to cover your basic cost of living, your decision would be a lot easier. Do you have a partner to help financially?

Whatever you decide I hope you will be happy.

wheretheresawill

you sound stressed. Take it from me no job is worth the loss of your health

Sarahsaver

I am an ex teacher.
I did nearly 8 years but had to leave as I had a stroke in 2001. I am now 37.
There are strict guidelines on the dates when you can hand your notice in. From the sound of it get out of the job NOW teaching does not suit you. The reason why so many people are depressed in teaching is that they cant handle it then feel guilty and the guilt makes them stay.
I told a friend this a few years back but it was a case of 'oh my god leave TEACHING how CAn I'
You need to see beyond the 'profession (you clearly do) there IS a life outside teaching, but few jobs with 13 weeks holiday;)
Have you TRIED counselling to see if you can get over the feelings you have?
My friend is retiring on ill health grounds with a whole mixed bag of mental health problems.

If it is making you miserable it is not worth it. I disagree theat all jobs are like that eventually. My last job was merchandising in Tescos and I really enjoyed that.

You need to clear the debt yes, but what will be the point if you end up debt free but deeply depressed because you stayed where you are unhappy. Wherever you go you will be under constant scrutiny these days, that is what teaching has become now.

savingholmes

Buffy - I think either go off sick for a while as you do sound depressed and it is not normal to be having the kind of headaches you do - or resign or both as I assume you have to work until at least half term. Be aware tho any sickness would count against you in your next job.

I took redundancy a few years ago as a combination of personal problems and bullying was making me ill... I had a good payout so that helped but even so it was the right decision at the time. Do I sometimes regret it and wish I could go back - yes I do. I'm in a temp job now a few years on. Do I enjoy my job now despite all challenges thrown my away - absolutely. I feel a completely different person. In the right job you flourish.

There is a book called "The Money or your life" I think it might be by someone called John Clark but not sure as it is at work - it has a picture on the front of someone climbing a mountain to speak to a guru who turns out to be himself. I'm sure you already know what you want to do, you are just trying to get someone else to say it for you and give you permission. You are an adult, you don't need permission - altho you may need to pay off debts slower for a while if that's poss. You mentioned seeing your sister - perhaps you could get signed off for a couple of weeks, see her and then make a decision?

Hope that helps

Lula-Hula

Hi Buffy,

No job in the world & no amount of debt either is worth being constantly miserable & increasingly stressed & depressed for.

Life is too damn short; you never know how long you have left.

You have no dependents so you should do what is right for you & only you, it's your life, go & enjoy it

lula x