I'm trying to weigh up pros and cons of various possibilities and would welcome any input.... I am currently in a dual TA/HLTA role, with an emphasis on language and communication interventions. My background is in language teaching, and I have also worked in a parent support role. I am 41, have 3 DC.
I like the job I currently do, but the pay is rubbish and I don't want to be doing the same role for the rest of my working life. I feel that if I'm going to make a move I need to do it soon before I'm too old....
Advantage of teacher training would be that it would be over in a year and I should be able to get a job locally. I like working school and seeing the children progress. Childcare would be workable. Main disadvantage is the work/life balance. I would want to train for Foundation/KS1 and am not sure whether I would still have the energy for this in 10 or 15 years' time (if I made it that far, am very aware of how many people drop out in the first few years). I know most teachers out there would say don't touch it with a barge pole.
Advantage of SALT would be that I think it would really fit with my past experience and interests, I could see it working as a long-term career, work/life balance I suspect would be better than teaching. Childcare would be straight forward during the degree, and by the time I finished DC would be 8, 14 and 16. I would whack up a huge student loan doing a 3 year degree (post-grad 2 year courses are too far away I think) but I don't think I would ever pay it all back, and even with repayments I would still earn considerably more than I do now. Disadvantage is the risk of not getting a job at the end of it - moving house is not an option so I would be limited geographically in terms of what I could apply for. I quite fancy the idea of 3 years back at university, and do wonder whether this is a big part of the appeal....
I really would appreciate any opinions. Financially we could afford for me to carry on as I am , and it does have a lot of advantages for us as a family, but the though of still being 'just a TA' in 10 years time makes my heart sink.
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Primary PGCE or Speech Therapy degree or stick as TA?
10 replies
Doraemon · 28/07/2017 20:45
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