In fact, changing career to work as a teaching assistant....

[HonoriaGlossop]

Would love your views/experiences.

I have been desperate to get out of my career for YEARS (social work related) and have found a job as a TA in a lovely village school, sounds idyllic and they're paying pretty good as far as the job goes which is highly poorly paid.

However I know I would love being an early years TA and in a couple of years I may well want to top up to a degree...so in the further future there's got to be an opportunity there to train as a teacher I would think.

Job is a bit of a drive away so I would be out of the house from 8am to about 4.30pm.
DS would have to have an hour of breakfast club each day which he has so far never had to do. I would have help from my mum/MIL/DH to pick him up each day though.

And of course I'd get holidays off with him.

However we'd have to budget HARD to manage.

Also however, if I stay in social work related jobs I may well go mad, plus am 40 so don't feel I have forever to change career.

On balance do you think this is a good move to make?

I'd love to know from those who have done or are doing the job whether you think this would be worth it.

[HonoriaGlossop]

just bumping this for the afternoon/evening crowd!

[MissisBoot]

Go for it - well paid TA jobs are hard to find and if you are interested in retraining as a teacher you could possibly do this 'on the job' after a few years with your TA experience.

[HonoriaGlossop]

thanks! Have you been a TA? You don't think I am a dreadful selfish woman for wanting to change career when it means my ds will have breakfast club each morning?

[lemonlady]

You will be off every school holiday, just think of the benefit for your ds.
im traininf as TA and not lucky enough to get job yet. (loads out there but only want 2/3 days due to ds being 3 and having 2 more years for school).

oh and the kids are fab, especially the little ones hugs and cuddles all the time.

[ellingwoman]

As a ex highly paid IT contractor, being a TA is the best job in the world. The money is, of course, peanuts. I earn in a week what used to earn in a few hours. But it is rewarding and each day is different and you feel you are doing something worthwhile. I have done lots of training since I started in the job 5 years ago and am now starting a job-related degree. There are lots of opportunities if you want to take advantage of them and you have a supportive head.

Be prepared to do more than your basic hours though! There is never enough time to do it all in a day.

Good luck!

[Slouchy]

If it is decent pay, I'll be very jealous! I'm a TA at the mo (teacher by profession, filler job while dd2 is still small) and my take-home pay is under £600 p/m for 22 hours p/w. Hardly a living wage. And it is a great job, but damned hard work and lots of responsibility for such poor wage. But holidays are worth a lot, and you finish early /no prep etc in the evnings.

Do you have a degree? Is proper teaching a possibility?

[HonoriaGlossop]

Thanks lemon

That is a big attraction, being able to be with DS every holiday. Also I just love the atmosphere of primary schools - it's just something that I've thought about for years but you get trapped into needing a certain income; we're not able to downsize, we've done that already and only have a 2 bed terrace, so it will be hard to manage. But you only live once, after all.

[HonoriaGlossop]

thanks Slouchy and elling. It's so good to hear the reality of it.

I don't have a degree, but have a DipSW/DipHE so could top up to a degree part time in a year or two.

Slouchy I think it will probably be about the same as you're on....most TA posts advertised locally pay at scale 1 or 2, this one is paying at scale 3; but they're not asking for experience of being a TA. I'm hoping my social work and children jobs will stand me in good stead?