Estate agent, Pilates teacher or primary school teacher?

[Ellsiedodah]

Hi all, joining the masses in wondering what on earth to do now I have a child (17 mo). Also, I want another baby asap and we're facing fertility treatment.

I was an account director in advertising until a year before my baby arrived. Struggled on many levels with the job and felt it was incompatible with family life so attempted a career change into the charity sector. Sadly the culture frustrated me and I was felt to be frustrating to it so we parted ways during fertility treatment.

Becoming a mum has been a different experience than what I expected: I've become mildly obsessed (excited about I should really say) with child development, gave up ambitions to do any kind of work for the moment when my baby displayed signs of serious trauma during a 4 week settle into nursery at 1 year old... And now 6 months later I'm wondering again what's next for my part in income generation.

Fyi we need the money (joint income has dipped from 100kpa to 35kpa this year and really we can't cope with living in London anymore; I actively want to bring in income to help our circumstances and personally I believe that ultimately it's healthy for kids to see both parents engaged in activity that's not just parenting (fyi no judgement towards anyone who is now a perm SAHM).

I've put the title of this post as a question, really in the hope that people doing any one of those things might shed a bit of light on these careers in the context of being a mum. I want to model contentedness, passion, dedication to my child/children but I am also so conscious of the high cost of living - so am in such a quandary about whether to push on and try to build some kind of recruitment/estate agent career for the money or whether to go for something that will be as much of a slog, with a ceiling on earning potential. Also... Taking into account childcare costs and the benefits of avoiding childcare if I was a teacher.

Any advice based on experience would be v gratefully received.

[Footballmumto3]

Are you London based ?

[Ellsiedodah]

Yes London based but leaving for a more affordable home and healthier air

[indyandlara]

You won’t avoid childcare costs being a teacher unless you have family support nearby. Yes you will not need holiday childcare but you will need term time childcare. There are meetings, planning sessions, training sessions etc all timetabled before the school day starts and also once the children go home. This is outside of the usually marking and planning. Also, if you work full time, you will only be able to attend your own child’s school events if you have a very supportive head and it fits with the needs of your own school. For example I have never been to a sports’ day but did get out to see my own daughter in her nativity show.

[TwigTheWonderKid]

I wouldn't go into teaching unless you feel it's a real passion and vocation. It's much harder work than you imagine (and there will be childcare costs unless you end up with a job at your children's school).

[icantbecani]

Depends on your personality op. If you are tenacious outgoing and sales (money) driven then you could make a lot of money in recruitment. It's a pretty unpleasant environment if you are not though. And cut throat - very high turnover.

I'm not sure the money is there in estate agency any more - unless it's your business. Have you thought of retraining into something you would actually enjoy?

[user1483387154]

teaching is hell with young children

[SquashedFlyBiscuit]

Teaching isnt at all family friendly, v long hours in term time so it feela a bit of a whirlwind when you dont see your child, but you do get the holidays. School invite us in about 5 x a term a reckon, between 2 kids, for award assemblies, nativity/school play, exhibitions etc. All of which you miss if youre a teacher.

Pilates teacher sounds great but surely cant earn much??

Why estate agent? Presumably could be lucrative if any good.

Seems a very random 3 jobs.

[LisaSimpsonsbff]

Why those three? Are you a qualified Pilates teacher?

If your child was seriously traumatised by childcare at 1 (highly unusual, suggests there may be underlying issues) why do you think it'll be ok at 18 months? In the circumstance that I really felt my child couldn't cope with nursery then I'd be looking for evening or weekend work (assuming your partner works standard hours and that you're not willing to contemplate them rather than you being the primary carer), and only the Pilates has any potential for that.

[Pinkflipflop85]

Teaching really isn't something to consider lightly or on a whim! It is incredibly demanding and if you aren't passionate about teaching then it can be soul destroying! In many schools it can be relentless and certainly isn't family friendly.

[icantbecani]

I think you could make a lot as a home Pilates teacher if you have room for a studio and you live in the right area. My teacher charges £15 a lesson, has a wait list and can fit 6 in her front room (it's done out nicely as a studio though as she has a separate lounge and her social media is a1 and she's a pretty good teacher - no amazing credentials though).

[Rainbowshine]

Have you factored in how long any training will take, costs for the training and likely levels of employability afterwards?

Out of all of those Estate Agent would probably be easiest to get into by starting out as a part time viewing agent (would also potentially fit around school hours).

Teaching is not an easy way of covering school holidays. Others have covered this point already.

Pilates teacher would strike me as something that would take up evenings - is that what you want?

[HeddaGarbled]

That’s an interesting variety of jobs.

Estate Agent: you’d probably do well at this if you were successful in advertising; traditional Estate Agents are struggling because of the competition from online agencies so may not be secure long-term.

Pilates Teacher: I know people who do this - they find it very rewarding but don’t make much money.

Primary School Teacher: I have direct experience - most secure of the three but least compatible with a young family.

[OstrichRunning]

have you considered freelancing? E.g. copy- editing can take a while to get into and would involve some initial training commitments but people do make a living on it. I've done it myself in the past. It always helps to have past expertise in a particular area; that gives you an advantage in trying to get work. For example, I had worked in a particular academic field and it was in that area I got copy-editing and proofreading work.

Copy writing is another potential field. Mind you, both of these would require some affinity with words and writing.

If you do decide to do any online training, there is a body that acknowledges those courses that meet minimum standards - always a good idea to check they're listed with them. I'll try to find name- can't remember it now...

[OstrichRunning]

this is it -

www.odlqc.org.uk/

[FVFrog]

I’m a Pilates teacher, I co-run a matwork studio with another teacher and teach private 1/1 sessions on equipment at my home studio. I previously taught classes from home, but you need a fair amount of space and it does become quite intrusive having people traipsing in and out of your house which is why I took the plunge with renting a studio space (my colleague was previously using village hall type spaces) We are both highly qualified in both Matwork and equipment with an internationally recognised school and I have been teaching it since 2007. The training (if you’re going to be a decent teacher) takes time, study and is quite expensive. Most Pilates teachers work on a self employed basis, if you work for a studio you can earn up to £30 per hour. I charge £10 for a mat class (up to 8 in a class) and £35 for a 1/1 so the hourly rate seems very good but I have non contact work hours and overheads (equipment, training, insurance, rent, pension etc) and remember if I don’t work if I am sick or take holiday I don’t get paid. The maximum sustainable teaching hours is @20 per week, as with most jobs there is a lot more to teaching Pilates (if you do it well...) than just rocking up and getting on your own mat and teaching a class off the top of your head! I run a successful Pilates business and love what a I do but struggle to gross more than 25k. I am a former primary school teacher and would not go back to that!

[SmellMySmellbow]

Why Pilates? What's your background in this area? Avoid teaching unless it's a vocation - if child development is your area of passion there are many other roles that will be more suitable and conducive to life as a working mum. Developmental psychology, Child behaviouralist, Counselling, Childminder/nanny? Or another role in the education sector?

[SuckingDieselFella]

You won't be "modelling contentedness" if you become a primary school teacher, that's for sure! Volunteer at a primary school and find out what the job is about.

[Ellsiedodah]

Hi all, many apologies for delay in responding .. my entire family has been ill. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. On reflection I can see my question was confusing because it didn't tell the whole picture. Pilates was because I love practicing it and my mum is a highly respected teacher who could teach me and potentially we could do business together. PT because I love kids, am creative and work hard - I know it's a v hard job but I admit I didn't appreciate its not family friendly - thanks for sharing this aspect for further investigation. Estate agent because I've done a smidge of recruitment so understand sales and am a genuine and articulate person which I'd imagine would help me stand out... And the sky's the limit for earnings if you are good. And I'm obsessed with property stuff! That said I'm not a tough, competitive person so I know I might not be well suited. I should have said that these aren't the only things I'm considering (obvs!) But also I think I've missed a major point in that I want to be present for my kids as they grow up so maybe I can't hope to do more than part-time work that probably means administration in the main? Has anyone else managed to find part time employment that has 'legs' for future development that enables them to be child focused? Thank you again

[Rainbowshine]

Ellsiedodah you also need to think about how realistic your chances are of getting the job. Part time admin roles are extremely popular so you would have a lot of competition from other applicants. Your cv and experience would have to be better than the others.

Given that you have recruitment experience you would probably have better chances doing admin in an agency or the estate agency idea if you can show the parallels with your experience to their business.

With the Pilates, you need to think about working with your mum. I couldn’t work with family, it’s not for me but others love it and do really well.

I don’t have a magic answer for you, I hope I have prompted you to be able to think about it and weigh up what would be interesting for you and fit around your life.

[Ellsiedodah]

Thank you Rainbowshine. I also have good admin experience so I'm not worried about getting this kind of work any more than I'm worried about getting any other kind of work - and I am, because it's a bloody tough market for everything and with a kid, you're presumably a LOT less attractive. But I am reaching the conclusion that I'll take what I can get that suits my son's needs then hope to move up. Probably not making any money Vs childcare in the early days... Sigh

[Rainbowshine]

Yes, I went back part time and for the first couple of years basically “broke even” between my salary and nursery fees. After that we got the 15 hours funded and I earned a bit. It’s only since DS went to school and after school club that I’ve been able to do full time and not spend the majority of pay in fees. I took the long term view of it for my career and was in a position where DH was earning enough to support our other outgoings. It was tight and there were times I questioned if we had made the right decision. I had a promotion this year so I think we did. That’s the thing though, I think you have to review the choices you have made and adapt if you need to. We have had some childcare issues and had to change working patterns along the way which our employers were ok about. If not we would have been stuffed!