Crossroads in career...help

FBaby

How are you going to deal with the childcare if you do the teaching training in addition to your NHS work? Personally, I think you should go for it, but you need to take into consideration whether your family life can support it.

flutterbyuk25

em_9187 wrote: »

I'm with gynwlin or whatever - you can't working during pgce year, it is too tough.

The OP has stated they can do the course part time over 2 years if she takes the FE option, which is very compatible with working.

I worked full time whilst doing my PGCE on a p/t basis over 2 years and it was fine, although I didn't have children like the OP but many of my fellow students did.

I loved the PGCE and it has opened doors for me.

Miss_Moneysaver

Hi,

The course is part time over 2 years. I checked with the college and I only need to be there Wednesday afternoon's 1-5pm. Also, 40 hours teaching practice the first year, 60 the second. The college can arrange teaching for the Wednesday mornings. It isn't as full on as the primary/secondary PGCE and most people carry on working.

Miss_Moneysaver

Hi,

The course is part time over 2 years. I checked with the college and I only need to be there Wednesday afternoon's 1-5pm. Also, 40 hours teaching the first year, 60 the second. The college can arrange teaching for the Wednesday mornings. It isn't as full on as the primary/secondary PGCE and most people carry on working.

speakingofart

As someone who moved out of teaching because I was sick of the paperwork, long hours (I've always been a worker, but things like 6:30am-10pm on a regular basis and being given "holiday task" so the school holidays were more like working from home) and bullying that goes on, I would honestly think very, very carefully before I left a secure professional position for teaching. The FE sector is cutting posts like crazy and many contracts are either temporary or zero hours - perhaps the college would be able to tell you how many of the people who finished went into perm, full time jobs?

Either way, teaching is also very inflexible, which doesn't sound great for your situation. E.g, you will never see another of your children's nativity plays/ sports days/ award assembles, unless you get a job in their school. How would you feel about that? How would you get childcare when you're at parents evening till 9pm, or out on a trip till 8pm, or have GCSE coursework to turn round in a week?

Please don't misunderstand me; teaching, when it's good, is the best job in the world. But the good bits are a very, very small minority unfortunately and the so called perks of teaching are being eroded all the time. Good luck whatever you decide.

woolly_wombat

Miss_Moneysaver wrote: »

I do have the chance to increase my hours. I do 24 at the moment over 3 days. I did wonder about doing 3x12 hr shifts over 3 days so that I don't actually increase my travel/childcare costs. I am worried that 12 hours may be too much (it will actually be 13hrs as we don't get a paid lunch break). Also, travel on top although with 12 hr shifts I would avoid the traffic and get there in half an hour.

Ah yes, those killer shifts, plus additional travelling on top. I worked as an allied health professional in the NHS back in the days when nurses worked 3 x 8 hour shifts. I have never ever understood how peak performance can be expected from people who work flat out for so long; it's just not humanly possible. I can understand why you are looking at all your options.

I am concerned that I have worked part time for 10 years and my pension has suffered.

The NHS superannuation scheme is excellent and you will still have been building entitlement, albeit at a reduced rate.

So, you all think I should throw the teaching in the bin? Even if I did it part time (FE)?

Not necessarily but you do need to weigh up all the pros and cons. I think I'm right in saying that you wouldn't need to do a PGCE to work in FE, but from what I've seen you wouldn't get much security of employment either. What's the pension like?

I work as a science technician in a school (very badly paid but it fitted with a husband working away from home and being there for my kids - and believe me they do still need you to 'be there' for them at secondary school, even if it is more in a 'listening to their concerns and setting boundaries that are gradually relaxed' capacity). My job is to support the science teachers, and from what I've seen it's not a profession I could recommend to anyone. The bureaucracy is horrendous and there's so little autonomy now, with all lessons structured and delivered the 'ofsted' way. Teachers in the maintained (state) sector are also expected to teach all 3 science subjects, at least to GCSE level. Also, schools are being rebuilt with fewer labs (halved in our case) so teachers have to move around all the time and don't have their own base lab any more. I have even heard of a local school that was rebuilt with no staff room; needless to say they have an extremely high attrition rate. Bullying is also rife and the rate of suicide is higher in the teaching profession than in the general population. Sadly, I can attest that this leaves deep and lasting scars in a school community.

Have I put you off yet? If not then you must really really want to teach!

Good luck.

WW

P.S. Is there an opportunity to teach in your profession? Might that not be better paid and more satisfying for you? Another poster has suggested that your other half could cut back their work commitments and take more responsibility for the childcare. Could that be a realistic solution for you?

Miss_Moneysaver

Hi,


I definitely think school teaching is a no-go area at the moment. I would lose too much anyway, financially, and I don't want to be lumbered with a £9K student loan to cover fees. I have been watching what has been going on for a while and I do feel so sorry for teachers under this Government. But, it is the same in the NHS and other public sector areas. Lets hope that things improve eventually!


I could teach at the college in areas relating to my profession (and continue working for the NHS). The college have already told me that. The post-16 PGCE is around £4K and I know I could get a student loan for that but it would be great if I could get funding from elsewhere though (if anyone knows please let me know). I know I probably would never be able to work FT in FE, due to cutbacks, but it is an option for me to work PT. I know sixth forms take on FE trained teachers on the main pay scale. Also, if the NHS goes haywire then I have something to fall back on.


As for the NHS, I think 12 hour shifts would be a killer esp with travel on top. I could probably do 10 hr shifts. I guess you have seen the news today about the serious financial state of the NHS. It worries me that ALL staff will be downgraded in the future. There is talk of it. For me to go to a band 5 would be awful esp with extra travelling/childcare. I would lose so much it would put me in a position of needing to retrain anyway.


I am in the process of over-hauling our finances at the moment. We have 2.5 years until our 25 year endowment matures. I am hoping to use that and savings to pay off our mortgage in March 2017. That is the plan anyway! It would take a huge pressure away from me.
Hubby won't go part time (as he says his pension pot will suffer). I don't think he would cope with the kids anyway! I think the best option is to work around his shifts as much as possible. I am worried about my eldest starting secondary next year. He will be going to the town's Catholic secondary and it is a bus ride away (we have been told we have to pay £30 a month for the bus). He goes to a childminder at the moment after school (when needed) but she has already said she doesn't usually have them at 11+. Ideally, it would be nice to have one of us here at both ends of the day. We don't have grandparents or anyone around to watch him and we both will be working in other towns. It is a worry! He isn't sensible at all (although I am hoping secondary school will mature him a bit). He is a bright lad, just a bit wild sometimes!
I am thinking of asking to do one week early shift (and finish at 2pm, with no lunch break) and one week late shift (10am-8pm). Hubby can work opposite this in his job (and still get his usual rest days).
It is a nightmare!

gingerdad

I'd avoid fe brother in law has worked in it for a number of years, 3 at his current college all short term contracts, never paid in the summer. This year he may become permanent due to length of service.

Surely at high school age your child should be okay at home for a couple of hours.

iclayt

Now it's very easy for me to say this, not being a parent with the stress of childcare etc, but it sounds very much like this is an itch you need to scratch and I say go for it. Think about it - if you decided not to go for it, would it feel like the right decision? Life is short enough to then spend it thinking about all the things you want to do rather than just doing them.

You can do it part time, around existing part time hours, the college sounds very accommodating, they will give you paid teaching placements and take your circumstances into account - are you likely to have a repeat of this offer if/when you decide to look again in a year or two?

It won't be easy, I have two teachers in the family and at least half a dozen friends are, and I don't know a single one that hasn't contemplated jacking it all in when they've been up at the crack of dawn and then marking until 2am for weeks. The holidays are no better - it just means you do the work during the day instead of all night. But not one of them have jacked it in (yet), because ultimately, they want to teach.

Worst case scenario - you get to the end of the two years training (which will fly by) and decide its not for you, and stay in your job.

Or you could finish your course and the college could say "We want you to stay, here's a contract", and you could spend the rest of your career doing something you love.

Or there are other avenues it could open - private tuition, for example, which you can fit around your normal working hours.

Idealistic, maybe, but it's a gamble that could pay off - at least you'd know.

pmd123

Miss_Moneysaver wrote: »

A big problem with my current job is that we are being moved to another hospital 25 miles away and working hours will be over an extended day 8am-8pm. Now, this causes problems with someone who relies on childcare. Also, the travelling costs!!

Not entirely relevant to your main question, but just to pick up on this point. If your base is changed without you applying for a position elsewhere, then within the NHS you should be entitled to change of base mileage, which should cover your travelling expenses. I believe this applies for 4 years. Obviously this only covers any additional miles you need to travel to your new base, but you shouldn't be disadvantaged because your base has moved.