Has anyone retrained as a teacher in their 30s (and older)

Suffolk_lass · 10 March 2017 at 2:20PM

spendaholiceejit wrote: »

Yes April, I actually applied for a PGCE after my degree ten years ago, I didn't go through with it. I've always loved working with children. If only someone would come on here with a happy story! To be honest, I don't think the bad stories have put me off just yet.

Here you go then...

My husband worked for 25 years as an engineer. He speaks German as a second language and was normally offered contracts in German-speaking locations. We wanted him home while our Son was approaching the teenage testing years so he took a dwindling succession of British jobs. He was finally made redundant from a US based Company where he was their sole European employee about 14 years ago. I asked him then what he really wanted to do and it was teaching. So he did. He did an in-service PGCE and he remains a teacher.

Yes it is long hours and commitment
Yes it is knackering
Yes the children can be a problem
Yes the inspection routine measures the wrong things and makes the staff miserable
Yes the bureaucracy is a pain

But...

He loves it
It is the most rewarding job he has ever had
The children can be fantastic
Most of all, he is happy
I say again, the most rewarding job he has ever had.

We are happy because it makes him happy.

If you enjoy it, it may well outweigh the hard things and the pain in the rear things. I think a happy and fulfilling career is so important.

dawyldthing · 10 March 2017 at 5:47PM

I trained to be a teacher at 18. Had to defer a year so graduated 5 years later but sadly didn't get qts due to final placement.

Once you've done a few years you have the resources so it gets easier. Jobs depend where you live, but we're going through a baby boom in a lot of areas. I don't miss it as I like coming home and doing my own thing. But my best advice is to either try volunteering in a school for a term, even if it's an afternoon a week. See what you think to it. Or see about ta/ hlta posts as it will give you an insight into teaching

pinkshoes · 10 March 2017 at 9:49PM

I spent 10 years in engineering before doing a PGCE.

I am now in my fourth year of teaching, and really enjoy it.

Ok, so I don't work a 60 hour week... baby #2 turned out to be twins, so I can only afford to work 2 days a week due to childcare costs. But I really enjoy my job, there is never a dull day, every day is different etc...

You do need thick skin to teach though, which I have. Don't get upset about silly things, don't take things personally, and stand up for yourself.

Best of all I spend a lot more time with my kids!

Doshwaster · 10 March 2017 at 10:04PM

Sometimes I think it would be good idea for teachers to have a minimum age of 30-35 so that they have some life experience outside of the classroom rather than go directly from school to college and then straight back to school. School kids, especially teenagers, must surely respond better to older teachers rather than the ones who are only few years older than they are.

Several of my University friends went straight into teaching but I only know one who is still in the profession - and she's headteacher now. It's a job with a high drop out rate of people in their mid to late 20s when they start to become disillusioned. Maybe teachers who are older when they start out are able to cope with the pressures better.

spendaholiceejit · 10 March 2017 at 10:25PM

Thanks so much for the positive replies. Like some of you, I also think there are benefits to going into this slightly later in life. A few of my own friends who went to teaching straight from A-Levels into college are jaded whereas I think I'd be enthusiastic. Paperwork doesn't phase me either.

tom9980 · 11 March 2017 at 10:31AM

Doshwaster wrote: »

Sometimes I think it would be good idea for teachers to have a minimum age of 30-35 so that they have some life experience outside of the classroom rather than go directly from school to college and then straight back to school. School kids, especially teenagers, must surely respond better to older teachers rather than the ones who are only few years older than they are.

Several of my University friends went straight into teaching but I only know one who is still in the profession - and she's headteacher now. It's a job with a high drop out rate of people in their mid to late 20s when they start to become disillusioned. Maybe teachers who are older when they start out are able to cope with the pressures better.

I would suggest younger teachers realise they can't keep putting their long term health at risk carrying on the near impossible so jump ship when they burn out.

Older teachers have already retrained and come from another career and so more likely to have families and mortgages to support and so end up trapped fearing retraining and finding another job more daunting.

Has anyone retrained as a teacher in their 30s (and older)

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