Should I or shouldn't I?

dawyldthing

i think i'd stick with part time too. I trained for the 4 years to be a teacher, passing everything then failed at final placement. Now do a job on a 30 hour contract (and sleep ins, which makes it upto the 37 hours) but i work 2 days on then 2 days off, and wouldn't change my time off for the world.

At the end of the day its nice having money, but you can't buy time with people, with friends and getting the jobs done in the house ect and money isn't the be all and end all in the world

tori.k

All I can say is what a fantastic predicament to be in, I will admit I envy you and to be honest if it was me I wouldn't opt for full time hours maybe id try and opt a few hours as a home tutor for a bit of extra spends so I wouldn't be tied to formal hours...something to consider maybe?
Best of luck whichever road you take

mintymoneysaver

KiKi wrote: »

I'm on the other side! I wouldn't give up PT working which pays enough to live - for full time, stressful work for more money. Never.


I find the commuting very stressful and tiring (3.5 hours a day), and I panic about the time I don't have during the week. I hate going to bed knowing I have to do it all over again for another 4 days before a weekend. I'm up at 0600, out the house at 0630 and I don't get home until 1900 at the very earliest, often closer to 2000. By the time I've eaten, showered, and sat down, it's virtually time for bed, and I have no energy anyway. And then I might have work to do in the evening.

And that weekend, once I've done housework, shopping, seen family or a friend - there's just no time left. The weekends are NO time at all for me. Desperate to go to the gym, desperate to get out, walk to the park - and not enough time at the weekend.

Only you can judge how much extra work and stress it would be. (My mum was a teacher, and often working at home at night, and at the weekend, so I know it doesn't stop at 1700!) But having gone back FT from being freelance - it was very, very hard indeed. Fun at first, but the novelty wore off.

The money doesn't compensate for time, as far as I'm concerned. I crave time, and I can find a million things to fill it. But that's me, and may not work for you.

Just a heads up: whilst you can apply and might not get it, as your company know you well, and as you know it will help someone who wants to go PT, I imagine there would be some expectation that in applying you WILL accept it if offered, so think about what expectations you'd be setting if you did that.

Best of luck whatever you decide!
KiKi

These are things I worry about. But having said that, my commute is 5 minutes! I can leave for work as late as 8.30am at an absolute push, and if I ever left work at our official 'you are allowed to leave now' time, I could be home for 3.50pm.

Such valid points from everyone. I'd almost convinced myself to go for it, and now I'm just as confused as ever! I am trying to see it as a 12 year plan ( I'm 43) Work full time till 55, pay off my mortgage, and then I could go part time again.... ( It'll be bound to come up again by then, there's at least two people due to retire before then)

mintymoneysaver

mandragora wrote: »

I would stick with the p/t. If you move up to f/t, and then find in a year or two you really miss the work/life balance you have now, there's a real risk you'll be told you can't step down, as that p/t job is not now your job, and you're in effect asking school to create a job for you, which may not be in the best interests of the organisation. I've seen that happen to two colleagues in recent years. My advice would be to know when you're well off, and hold onto it tight!

If it helps them, you MAY wish to offer either to take on 0.2 more and push yourself up to 4 days a week if you really fancy it, as long as they give you that as one clear day off a week, or, perhaps, in the short term, help them out by doing f/t till Christmas, and let them recruit someone over the next term, if they have a gap - you're giving them some breathing space and room to manoeuvre, while not tying yourself into anything permanent. Make it clear that this is something which is strictly time limited, and you won't be able to carry on with it after Jan, as you have made plans from the new year. If you ever do need a bit of extra cash, you could do exam marking, private tutoring or any number of other things. Believe me, teaching doesn't get any easier as you get older, and the time is coming when you'll long for time and peace more than you will extra cash.


From the heart, from one who is locked into an average 50-60 hour week, and who has learned the hard way!!

Thankyou. I had already mentioned to the Head, that I would quite like to move to 4 days a week, but obviously they can't just magic an extra day's teaching out of thin air. I do do cover when it's available, but it's not very regular. And I don't know why, but I really don't fancy tutoring. I think it's because I definitely like having my evenings to myself!

benny123

i did the opposite to you , reducing to three days from full time, yes i have had to make cutbacks financially but the difference to lifestyle, relaxation, quality of life etc is priceless !
personally i would rather budget on less money and have more leisure time
good luck whatever you decide

martinthebandit

It all depends on if you want to live to work or work to live.

Me, I work to live so time off is more important to me.

mintymoneysaver

I definitely am a work to live person, but the fact that I have such an easy commute, long holidays etc mean that even full time I would never be a work slave to the extent that some people have to be. I don't see the return to full time as forever, I think I am starting to see it as right for this stage of my life. If I had something else, such as a hobby, volunteering etc to fill my time, I think it would be a harder decision and I would definitely be veering more towards sticking with three days.
Maybe I'm just having a bit of a life rethink with my recent separation. The money does me, but I'm never going to be able to do the things I want to my house on the money I'm on, and if I don't take this chance will I regret it? It doesn't have to be forever. I won't be able to change back straightaway, definitely, but I should imagine there will be opportunities for it again in the years ahead.
The other option ( possibly) is to not go for the promotion ( which would involve a lot of extra work) but just to swop class teacher roles with the girl who wants part time. Still a nice extra amount of money, but just doing my job for 5 days instead of 3. 5 more days to think about it!

mintymoneysaver

marybelle01 wrote: »

You may end up with less "me time" during the week, but just think about how that extra money could improve your "me time" the rest of the year. You are single again, footloose and fancy free, and still young enough to enjoy it ... I'd be packing for the Taj Mahal, Macchu Pichu, or the Great Wall by now!

This is what's so tempting!

ska_lover

Very envious of your prediciment OP. If it were me, I would stick with the balance you have now, working part time.

You seem to manage fine on the money, and already own your own house by the sounds of it, so no real reason to work your butt off

good luck

elisebutt65

I had this same dilemma last year Stay part time on 3.5 days a week on a do-able salary or apply for another non-teaching role in addition to my teaching, which would bring me up to 42 hours a week in total.

I decided as eldest is now in college and probably going to quit(sigh) that as I'd lose my WTC and DT discount for him then I'd rather trouser the extra £800 a month. Plus I now have 5 years of part time TPS + this new job is on LGS so I've transferred in my previous LGS pension of 6 years into it (I'm teaching and non-teaching IYSWIM?) and then I intend to work as long as they let me (68 currently)

Littlie is only 12 now so I still get to enjoy the holidays with him and I'm on a term time only contract so I don't need to worry about pay in the long break(about 9 weeks at college:D). My work is only 15 minutes walk away and I finish work at 4.30 so I still have time to walk down to the post office or go shopping if I need to in the week. It's a win win for me:p

The best bit is that my non- teaching role is increasing to 26 hours per week so they now have to reduce my teaching hours so I only have to plan for 5 lessons a week (huge sigh) I'll lose money as my teaching is £28/hour but my other role goes up a bit - not as much to cover but it means that I don't have to stress over my planning at the weekends and late at night.

Even better is that fact that as it's 2 roles, I can always decide to drop one or the other if I can afford it later on.