Making career decisions

Teacher2

I taught for 34 years and am now retired.

Firstly, teaching is the best job in the world as the kids and the subjects taught are great. However, it is very, very stressful these days and sometimes a teacher can feel hampered by the system from teaching rather than being enabled to do their best. The stats are now that new teachers last five years rather than it being the lifetime career it was in the past. Here, briefly are some of the drawbacks:-

-top down management and micro-interference from above (this involves those who know nothing about your subject -or, increasingly, nothing at all ) telling you what to do
-constant rolling and contradictory initiatives
-capriciously changing criteria by which you will be judged
-non-stop data inputting and analysis
-constant and sometimes hostile classroom observations
-OFSTED. Both the inspection and the planning for it are a form of mental torture for the sensitive, intelligent, conscientious person
-increasing hours and duties
-having to take part in dubious practices or practices which harm the pupils to massage exam results upwards
-lack of autonomy (autonomy used to be the best thing about the job)
-health and safety mania
-pupil indiscipline
-management supporting children against teachers
-lack of union support
-unsupportive parents
-inappropriate training programmes


That said, teaching is still great where you are allowed to get on with it. The holidays are longish (though you'll need them) and the pay isn't bad for this economic climate. The new pension scheme is still better than most private schemes if you can make decades of contributions and can envisage yourself teaching teenagers when you are 65.

You might well be able to accommodate yourself to the disadvantages named above as you will be coming to teaching afresh and will not be able to compare the new regime to what it was like in the past. I suspect your enthusiasm would see you through a few good years but that exhaustion and burnout would get to you after five years or so and you would begin to look back more positively at the high salary you can presently command.

A final word. It used to be the case that teachers' children would follow them into the profession. NONE of my colleague's children would dip a toe in the water of teaching. My own two would have been naturals but they ran a mile after seeing what the stress did to me.

Good luck whatever you decide.

ska_lover

I haven't read the entire thread, but I would say go for it

You need to live your life for yourself, not for your parents - you are WAYYYYYYYYYY past the age of needing their approval.

The older you get, the more responsibilities you will have (mortgage, kids, blah blah) thus reason to NOT do it

Make the change, the sooner the better

You do not want to get to 40 - and hate your job, and the reasons you didn't change

Edited to add:- I read the post above just now, and it isn't the first time I have heard that teaching is HUGELY stressful. However a lot of the listed drawbacks (other than the role specific ones) could apply to any job. It seems that many jobs have gotton much harder over the years. The role I do, completely unrelated to teaching - has completely changed, and is not really related to what I first did when I joined this profession, even though the job title is the same - and is a million times more stressful. Everyone deals with stress in a very different way, but if teaching is a massive stressor, It wouldn't be for me as I would be in the toilets crying

mvk0016

Just to put things in a different perspective, there are SO MANY teachers out there that don't like what they do, and they were forced into that job by not finding something else to do (I've done that part-time as well, and I hated it, and the impact of that could be seen on my students).

I think from all my school memories the best teachers were those who loved what they were doing, the rest were just horrible at what they did as they tried to also "coast along".

Be one of the few, the ones that are great at what they do and your students will remember you all their lives. Be a mediocre Computer guy, and not even your boss will remember you when you leave.

chris3cm

If your heart is to be a teacher then you've already passed the first hurdle.
I did a PGCE as a mature student, then taught for 15 years. Yes its frustrating, demanding, draining but its also fulfilling, creative and satisfying. So go for it. You can always change your mind after a few years but make sure you complete your PGCE and your NQT year so that you gain GTS - Qualified Teacher Status - once you have that you have it for life and its very useful.
I thought about quitting teaching a couple of times during my 15 years but knew I'd miss the classroom, until family circumstances changed and I knew it was time to leave last December.
However my new employers needed a teacher for my current post working with home educated children. I love it, less stress and I get to work with students on a one to one basis and use my teaching skills and curriculum knowledge. I may go back into the classroom sometime; at least I have the option.
So, go for it - you wont regret it and even if you leave the classroom you never know where it may lead. It certainly won't be boring!

MuckandBrass

I would say follow your heart, you'll be a long time working and it's better you enjoy it.
I chose my career in my mid 20's and loved it but sadly got made redundant in my late 30's and now get by on jobs I hate and am wondering about re-training again for something else I would like to do.
You do spend so much time at work I think it's worth doing what you would like to do.

potato_pizza

I did a languages degree because my school was very academic and it felt like that was what I 'should' do next. Part-way through the course I started looking at jobs for after graduation and realised that all the jobs I wanted to apply for required a social work qualification. So after much soul-searching I dropped out of my languages degree and did social work instead. It was amazing how many people (including almost strangers) felt it their duty to tell me I was crazy to be throwing the work I had done so far away, but I knew it was right for me and thankfully there were a few key people who were willing to encourage me to follow my heart.

I wish I hadn't wasted the time (and student loan) getting it wrong in the first place but it brought me to the right place in the end. Now I manage a charity project, I'm never going to be rich but I am really happy. Good luck.

verynicelily

. . . if you become a teacher, you will not just be judged on your own results, but on those of your pupils. Many teachers are being faced with the decision to either be honest, or to be dishonest and "help" the achieve the children achieve unrealistic targets. Those teachers who refuse to compromise are increasingly vulnerable to the point of losing their jobs. Remember, this is not a case of teachers wanting to avoid accountability; rather it is being held accountable to achieve something which involves another human being who may not want to/be able to achieve "your" target. The temptation to meet targets by any means is a hard one to resist. Sadly, false weights and measures are prevalent in education.

verynicelily

Sorry about the unnecessary insertion of 'the achieve' in line 3.

woolly_wombat

Teacher2 wrote: »

Here, briefly are some of the drawbacks:-

-top down management and micro-interference from above (this involves those who know nothing about your subject -or, increasingly, nothing at all ) telling you what to do

Oh dear. That one rings a very load bell, and I'm not in the front line.

-having to take part in dubious practices or practices which harm the pupils to massage exam results upwards

Tick

-health and safety mania

Ha ha! Not at my place of work! The requirement for a chemical store during a school rebuild was highlighted and ignored. An H&S inspector was contacted, who pointed out that demolition of the old school would be illegal unless a chemical store was provided. Sometimes these people can be very useful!

radio_hack

While I think everyone should have the opportunity to follow their dream, it can be a lot easier to move into teaching than out of it. A couple of years in industry could help you develop skills and contacts that will be invaluable if you decide later that teaching is really what you want to do. It will also mean you have solid experience in a non teaching career that will stand you in good stead if you want to leave teaching in future. I work in FE and it can be soul destroying; 60 hour weeks are the norm and I've worked through every 'holiday' we've had this academic year. We've said goodbye to many of my colleagues today and most are moving to non teaching jobs based in the careers they had before. If they didn't have that, many would be stuck in a job they don't like teaching youngsters who are bound to be affected by their lack of enthusiasm.
I came to teaching in my mid 30s and I've never felt that was too late.