Teaching - is it a good job?

Chakani

I am not a teacher, but I am the daughter of two (now retired) teachers, and my brother is also a teacher, so I can give a bit of perspective from the other side of the equation.

My father was an excellent teacher, and cared passionately about the kids he taught. I still meet people 30 years later who recognise my surname -it is an uncommon one in the area- and stop me to tell me how he changed their lives. I don't know of any other profession where you can leave such an inspiring legacy. However it eventually cost him his mental health and there is no doubt in my mind that in a less pressured job, he would not have suffered in this way. This had a huge effect on our childhoods, so the pressure of the job, and the resulting effect on your family should not be underestimated.

My mum was a supply teacher after stopping work to have children. She only ever taught me once, although she worked many times in the school I was at - unfortunately it was the term that we studied human reproduction in Biology. At 13, I could not have imagined anything more embarrassing. It was of course only one term out of my school life, and it didn't kill me, but it does illustrate a potential problem - there will be a small number of schools close to where you live, and you may not want to teach in the school your children go to, which could reduce your employment options further.

Another consideration - I worked with teenagers in Local Authority residential care before stopping to have my children. I do not want to go back to working with children, even though I loved my job, because I feel I wouldn't be able to give enough at work, and then come home with enough to give to my own children. I only have so much emotional energy, and I have to prioritise my own family.

Teaching is a vocation, not just a job, and it can be all-consuming. It is certainly not the easy option.

However the opportunity to change peoples' lives and futures for the better is an incredible one, so if you feel genuinely that it is a career you want, you should go for it.

sueeve

While part time and job share certainly happen I think it might be difficult for your first year, when you are NQT and should be under fairly intense supervision. I don't know but i would guess that you would stay NQT for a longer period, if you could find a school willing to support this.
I am a school governor and have 4 A4 pages of acronyms so that I can work out paperwork. Some new ones seem to be added every meeting!

mintymoneysaver

It's hard work, demanding, time consuming and many other down sides. It's good fun, different every day and you get to tell people off! I have only worked part time since having children and would NEVER choose to take on any extra responsibilities, as I often end up using one of my days off to do extra work. You can't just take a day off to go to school plays etc, it has to be carefully negotiated, and you can't drop your own children off, pick them up unless you can find a suitable part time job ( I was very lucky)
My theory is that you should only go into teaching if it's something you desperately want to do, you're not doing yourself or your pupils any favours, otherwise.

twinklie

Agreed. I'm a teacher - but have no children. I do however have a puppy - totally different I know. It's been very hard juggling both. I think you just have to adapt and manage though...you do in life as a rule. I defo think it's easier the older your own kids are - according to my work mates anyway.

I'm a secondary teacher and I love it. I could well imagine struggling to go back after kids though...something to think about in the future I guess.

dizziblonde

Employment situation's desperately grim in some parts of the country (especially it seems primary). If you think "Oh there's always supply" - then you've got the induction rules to get around and the work in that field is drying up/being cut to half wages because of cover supervisors.

Go onto the TES and take a look at the unemployed teachers forum to get an idea of how it CAN be rather than committing yourself to the knackerizing year a PGCE can be wtihout having your eyes fully open is what I'd say.

gratefulforhelp_2

If considering teaching in secondary, have a watch of a french film called "The Class". Its written and directed by professionals, but the actors are all real state school teachers and students, and its very true to life of the bottom behavioural end of your average state comprehensive.
You see the main protagonist teach really well, and also lose the plot in class completely.

mikey72

My wife is a teacher. It's not bad, hours are comparable to any other job, and good holidays. Pay is quite good as well.
The hours are variable, in that's it's more like a seasonal job at times, with long hours followed by long breaks.
She leaves early and gets home late, so I look after the kids, but during school holidays she's at home all day, so I can do longer hours then (self employed, so I book jobs to suit), or we can go on longer holidays.
Don't know how easy it is to get a job, but like everything else it appears to be getting harder. There is a guaranteed pay scale, with annual rises, so older teachers on £30K+ find it harder than new starters at 21K when it comes to job hunting.

MichelleM

English is a shortage subject in the north west meaning there are more job opportunities. Its worth checking what shortage subjects there are in your area. If you want to teach Art you have got NO CHANCE!

Newly_retired

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

Possibly teaching in the independent sector is different? Or would the buildings be older and the parents even more pushy?

Yes it is different, in some ways much much better, but not without its own problems and stresses.
Buildings vary - you cannot generalise. Some parents are extremely pushy ; "We pay your wages" kind of thing. They expect their money to buy top grades even if their son/daughter is not up to it.
Other parents are fantastic, sooooo supportive.
There is somewhat less bureaucracy in the independent sector, depending on the school but we still had loads of initiatives to follow, new IT systems, and latterly an increasing emphasis on statistics which seemed to me to kill the freedom of the independent sector.
In other ways the school was great, real pleasure in sharing your subject with motivated pupils.
You would need to check if you could do your NQT year in that school before applying. Some are geared up to it, others not. But personally I would not do an NQT year in an independent school as I think it does not prepare you properly for the state sector.

Clive_Woody

Good pay, long holidays, what's not to like.

Aim to become a headmaster ASAP to avoid the children.