Teachers... Do you like your job?

Primary teacher. I actually have really good hours now and I do think it depends on the borough you work in in London.
Monday 7:45 to 4:30
Tuesday 7:45 to 4:30
Wednesdays 8am to 4:45
Thursday 7:45 to 3:40
Friday 7:45 to 3:40

I roughly do this give or take. Do not take work home - never work weekends and maybe do a couple of days work in holiday to have an advance start on the next half term not because I have to catch up with past work. I am considered to be a very good teacher by the school I’m currently in.

I have worked in London, abroad three times and done state and private and supply. I have worked in other boroughs in London and can definitely say the borough I’m in by far is the best in terms of workload.

Therefore I actually really like my job and really like my current class.
My advice would be to pick your school carefully.

A slightly different perspective, OP. Until last year I was a Higher Level TA, essentially an unqualified teacher. I have a degree but wanted to test the waters before gaining my QTS. Had always had an eye on teaching but something always held me back.
I’m glad I did it, after all covering teachers arguably affords you the best part of the job - teaching, without the bullshit and only a little less £ than an NQT. But I left because of bullying SLT, parents complaints, behaviour etc. Plus, I saw my teacher colleagues on their knees and knew I could never commit fully. I returned to my previous profession with a healthy dose of gratitude that my current complaining colleagues haven’t a clue what a hard day at work is like!

Secondary, HoD of a small essay subject, 30 years in.

As per PP; love the teaching, especially at A-level.

Even in independent sector, I don't like the shift from "collegial" to "corporate" under new SLT. Or the loutish behaviour from the younger kids. Or the endless paperwork.

If I could just turn up, teach, and go home, it would be fantastic! But, as it is, I'm counting the years until retirement.

I’ve been teaching a secondary core subject for over 15 years. It’s exhausting for all the reasons people have mentioned but I love it and couldn’t imagine doing anything else. I love the challenge of trying to engage students and having an impact on the lives of young people.

Teaching is an amazing ticket to see the world! Once you are qualified, you can put a pin in a map and find international schools in that country. I'm primary, and left the UK a decade ago as teaching was dreadfully high pressure.

I've lived in various countries teaching in international schools. The pressure is lower and you get to travel and have fun. We have colleagues who work in a school on the carribean now!

I would never teach in England ever again though.

Secondary, Art teacher, 12 ish years in

Previous job in state school - horrendous, regularly cried in the cupboard/all the way home in the car. Made me ill. Almost quit teaching altogether - mainly because of student behaviour, unsupportive SLT, blame culture, foster pressure and bullying by HoD

Current job in independent school - love it. It's not perfect, and still can be stressful but none of the above applies. I am actually trusted as a professional again and have a support network.

As per every one of these regular threads.

Loved the teaching, the children, seeing the progress, building the relationships, problem solving, but hated pretty much everything else in the end. Micromanagement, behaviour, rudeness, SLT, bullying from SLT, excessive marking, book looks and observations framed as learning walks. Paperwork. Pointless meetings. Crap training. Classes of 35. Lack of support. Removal of staff rooms ....Above all the lack of inclusion for SEMH/SEND - they are being lost in the system as teachers don't have the time for individual care with everything else they have to do
..........and I'll add OFSTED and how they come in with their own moving goalposts rather than ever being willing to look at a school with an open mind ....... the absolute tragedy of the politics of stuffing all the children with the most significant and complex needs into mainstream schools and just expecting teachers to somehow 'get on with it' ........ the 'entitlement' of a minority of parents who take up the majority of time ...... the loss of trust in the teacher's skills and knowledge of learning ......... the curriculum now being all about teaching dc to pass the next exam / assessment' rather than learning to learn / follow interests / investigate / be creative / problem solve / etc.

Fair to say some schools are less bad than others.

@thatsn0tmyname photocopier all need to be sent into space as a warning to all uncooperative tech. Teaching 20+ years. Love the classroom. Love the kids (I don't know if anyone who isn't teacher understands the degree to which you feel a particular kind of in loco parents love). Love my subject (maths). Hate stupid pointless meetings and irrelevant expectations from Dept of Ed (Ireland), management and some parents. The kids are worth it though.

Secondary science, 23 years in. Love being in the classroom but it gets harder each year fulfilling expectations with limited time and resources and photocopiers that constantly bloody jam.

Secondary,middle leader in a school with high levels of disadvantage, 11 years in. Currently on mat leave with first kid. Enjoyed probably the first 8 years, since Covid it's been awful. Dreading going back and trying to balance the job with a baby. Looking out for opportunities but feeling stuck cos can't match the salary outside teaching. Tips welcome😂

Loved being a classroom teacher both in secondary and primary.

Really loved being an assistant head for teaching and learning.

Being a head is the most boring job ever! It’s endless cleaning up mess and doing stuff that nobody else wants to do.

monthly legionella test anyone???!! I can hardly hide my excitement.

Not me, but one of my daughters is in her first year as a teacher. She teaches 6th formers only: psychology and sociology A levels and she has a year 12 tutor group.

Obviously it's early days but she absolutely loves it.

I love being a teacher (20 years and still going strong) but I am not sure that I’d recommend starting now. A number of the ECTs that I work with are having to take on second jobs to help pay their (extortionate) rents.
Maths teaching is a tough gig - I teach humanities / social sciences - as there’s less to hang the material from. I am aware that could be my bias rather than the reality - but I suspect there’s a reason that so many maths teachers are leaving teaching.

It’s an incredibly rewarding job. It has its ups and downs. I have periods when I think I should quit, but I love it way too much.

I loved the actual teaching and working on my classroom practice.

I loathed the increasing demands and pressure.

Add to that the politics, the denigration of teachers who didn't want to climb the greasy pole, the pressure on UPS teachers as well as the decreasing budgets, rhetoric from Whitehall and the media and it just became toxic

i left, after 20 years. I am just discovering now the joy of the so-called "real world" and getting my life and mental health back.

It's the best job in the world and yet one which will drain you unless you are very, very disciplined.

Early Years teacher and SLT
I love it.
Been teaching 10 years.
My family will ALWAYS come first and I think I have a realistic view of how much work I can physically do. Maybe that's what makes it for me, the realistic attitude and acceptance that I can only do my best with the hours in the day.

Teacher for nearly 40 years in Primary. Absolutely loved my job but if was back again l would have liked to teach Maths at Secondary.
Like others here..loved teaching the children, quite happy to prepare what was useful to me but hate the never-ending add ons that keep coming..l am in lreland. They are soul destroying and achieve nothing worthwhile.

I teach secondary science- I think there are really good things about the job. It's certainly never boring! And I get to talk about my passion all day. I think the kids can see through you if you don't care about your subject, so it's worth teaching something you really care about.

Workload is a big issue, some people can set firm boundaries around this. I'm not so good at it, and I'm also very prone to getting sucked in by the very needy kids- the ones who need extra support and help to do well. Which is not a bad thing, obviously, but it can mean you invest a lot of time and energy in one student, who potentially just isn't capable of succeeding at that moment in time. I'm trying to do less of this, but it's very hard!

I'd say in general the kids are "fine"- but maths is often a subject they struggle with, so behaviour can be more challenging. Morseo than behaviour, I'd say the big issue is mental health and social issues- these are a massive problem in teens and there is really limited support out there. You have to learn to protect yourself emotionally a bit. I was really bad at this in my first few years of teaching, I'm still not great at it, but if you get really sucked in, it will honestly damage your mental health too, so try to protect yourself where you can.

In the first few years especially, I'd also add pay isn't great. M1-3 is less than the national average full time salary, and given the hours you are working, it often doesn't feel worth it. But by the time you graduate, pay may have gone up to reasonable levels! And as a maths teacher you can sometimes negotiate going up the pay scale a bit faster. The pension is good, but don't forget it comes with big deductions.

Schools are very different from each other, so I would say if you find you don't like one school, it's fine to move. However, it is a fact that most state school maths departments are currently short staffed, and this creates extra workload, and may be hard to escape.

A maths degree will give you loads of options though, so if you find that teaching isn't what you'd hope it would be, it won't be wasted!

Secondary maths- special education. Absolutely love teaching, interacting with the students, making a difference. Both adult children also teachers, one primary, one secondary. Both also adore working with the kids, very fulfilling and all three of us honestly feel privileged to work with the youth of today.

Hate the additional work which is nothing to do with teaching. Most of it is entirely pointless, and not designed to have a direct and positive impact on students. Have said the classic ‘If only the students weren’t in today, I could get all my work done’ How pathetic is that?

I would still teach if I had my time again.

Secondary MFL. Yes, I still like my subject and I still like teenagers. What I dislike is all the pointless vogues where we are given the three line whip to do things a certain way and be observed doing so, when in three years' time it will fall out of favour and we'll have to do another silly thing. Good teachers need subject knowledge and good relationships. HOW they then impart the knowledge should be down to the individual and what works for them and their classes. Kids don't need every class and every teacher to look, sound and feel the same. How dull and imaginative! They need to know the teacher cares about them and their progress, they need to have faith in the teacher's subject knowledge and they need to know how to behave so that everybody can learn. Good teachers ensure those 3 criteria are met - the rest should be up to the individual.
It's bloody hard work though. Don't let anyone try and tell you different. It's relentless, and you can never do enough - however hard you try, fault will always be found by management or parents. You need rhino hide.
Yes I have cried in a cupboard, but only once in all my years because of the kids' behaviour. More often because of management behaviour or sheer overwork/exhaustion, or because I was at work when I was in no fit state to be there but felt I couldn't be off.

I'm an ect (secondary) and I really like it so far. Training was the hardest year of my life. I think that getting a school with supportive staff and SLT is crucial. I spent some time training in a school that didn't have this, and I barely got through it, mentally.

Secondary school teacher of 13 years. Currently on maternity leave.

Love the teaching, love making a difference to pupils’ lives. Love my subject. I loved having the chance to be really creative and teach in a fun way (when you had the time to do so and were allowed to do so).

Hate the fact that no matter how many hours you work, you are never anywhere near the top of your workload - it’s a very demoralising feeling. Hate the pointless
paperwork that takes time away from the things that matter. Hate the attitude from some parents. Hate the fact that it is simply expected that I will work in my evenings and weekends when I should be spending time with my family. Hate the person it has slowly turned me into over the past 7-8 years.

I have only every cried once in school (not in front of the kids). A pupil threw a pencil case directly at my 8 month pregnant stomach on purpose. I was shocked but managed to keep teaching the lesson. I went in the staff room quickly before my next lesson and a member of staff in there could see I wasn’t myself and asked what was wrong and I just burst into tears.

Husband is secondary maths teacher- he likes it, has a laid back personality which is very suited to teaching as he doesn't get overwhelmed with the workload or react to tricky kids. He will also never be out of a job and we have worked abroad too.
I was primary but quit to have our child and have never gone back..IMO there is a lot more work in primary, the kids are needier and I don't have the same kind of personality where I can just leave work be, so went back to my pre-teaching career.

Worked ten plus years In a mainstream and generally loved it.
Have been In a PRU since Christmas and oh my god.... it's a nightmare. They are on short turn around with us (six week minimum!) but the things that get overlooked would make you weep. Also my boss is a relentless bully. Am looking at other jobs at the moment as are most people I work with.