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Original poster

wwyd.... getting into teaching Vs getting pregnant

113 replies

Needadoughnut · 14/12/2018 17:01

DP and I really want a baby we're not getting any younger so the sooner the better... We leave in a fairly rural area and I come from a corporate background so finding jobs hasn't been the easiest. It looks like I could do a PGCE with a bursary... But what would happen if I'm pregnant in the middle of the course? Or even before I start? Of course I could do it once baby is born (what I think I would do) but I don't know the bursaries will be available by then. Any experiences with this type of programme would be very helpful.

OP posts:
Original poster
Needadoughnut · 14/12/2018 17:59

Interesting... I know it's not the same but I come from a high stress job... I was on call 18hrs of the day and any decision my team made could mean a multimillion law suit. I rarely had any time off and at times I would have to be away on site for weeks. I had this job from my daughter being 1 til she was 8 . All while my exH like to play absent parent (but I digress). The bottom line is that I've had an extremely stressful job while raising a small child on my own before.

OP posts:
4point2fleet · 14/12/2018 18:05

OP you obviously want us to say it will be fine.

Nobody has said that, but it's not what you want to hear so you don't really believe us.

Maybe it would be best to just go ahead. If it does turn out to be too much combining teacher training with a new baby, the jobs in the supermarkets will still be there.

At my school we have a collective dream about nice quiet jobs in M&S.

SexNotJenga · 14/12/2018 18:10

I've done a PGCE and an MSc and believe me, relatively speaking, the MSc was a piece of cake.

I guess courses may vary, but there was very little flexibility on the PGCE I did. If you missed too much of a placement you had to wait until the following year to re-do it. There wasn't a part time option either. You wouldn't see much of your own kids that year.

Are there definitely mfl teaching jobs available where you're planning to move to? Yes, there is a massive recruitment and retention crisis in teaching atm (think about that) but it does vary greatly depending on region and subject. If you're in a rural area you could be looking at long commutes and very little choice of where you work.

Do you actually want to teach? Any reason apart from the money?

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Families
Original poster
Needadoughnut · 14/12/2018 18:12

@4point2fleet ultimately what you say is what I think... I've worked as a KP and although I enjoyed it in its own way it was the least family friendly job I've ever had, I doubt anything could be worse than that tbh. It actually meant I didn't get to have my daughter overnight for close to a month. My other main concern is the bursary availability. When my daughter was on her way I also thought of getting a PGCE my exMIL told me they were rubbish so I believed her, back then bursaries for modern languages were non existent. I'm just trying to find something where I feel my brain and knowledge will be used. My mum was a history and English teacher and she's the one who keeps telling me I should probably go for it.

OP posts:
snowmens · 14/12/2018 18:12

I got pregnant at the end of my NQT year when I had secured myself a permanent job. Most NQTs are12 month contracts and you also don't get enhanced maternity pay until after you have been there a certain length of time. These are all worth considering. I also wouldn't train to be a teacher because you don't know what else to do, too many do that because of the big bursaries and don't last long at all. (I've done a PhD and my PGCE year was still the hardest thing I've ever done.)

snowmens · 14/12/2018 18:15

I had a friend who got pregnancy whilst doing her PGCE. She had to stop half way and then go back the next year. She didn't get any bursary payments whilst she was off.

snowmens · 14/12/2018 18:16

Got pregnancy 🤦‍♀️

Got pregnant

HopeClearwater · 14/12/2018 18:16

Primary school teacher here, PGCE-trained. This is my second career. I am also no slouch academically.
My advice is to get pregnant and forget teaching.

Original poster
Needadoughnut · 14/12/2018 18:17

@sexnotjenga three reasons for teaching: job security, money and being able to pass on my aggregated years of study / knowledge. With other local jobs I don't get to see much of my daughter either (see reply above). Shift work is what's available and there's nothing family friendly about it

OP posts:
RaymondHolt · 14/12/2018 18:21

Your reasons are all about you but what about the students you'll be teaching. They don't particularly care what you've done before. They want someone that cares about them and is passionate about their subject.

It's a different type of hard work making sure all your classes make progress and a job you can never really switch off from.

CocoLoco87 · 14/12/2018 18:23

I did teacher training before DC. Worked a few years and after DC2 I haven't gone back. I found all my evenings and weekends focused on marking and planning instead of my kids. Dropping my kids at nursery before getting to school in the morning was really stressful and pushed for time too. If it's because you need the money etc and want hours the same as your kids then go for it. But there are easier options to take!

sallysummer · 14/12/2018 18:25

In my previous career (pre children) i worked 80 hours weeks in a high pressure industry keeping multi-million pound customers happy, the buck stopped with me. Piece of cake compared to the PGCE year - which I did pre-children.

SexNotJenga · 14/12/2018 18:26

Firstly you need to make sure that jobs will be available in your subject and area. Then bear in mind that almost all jobs now are 1 year contracts so they can get rid of you easily if they need/want.

The bursary for mfl is significantly higher than the nqt starting salary. Will you have to pay tuition fees out if it as well?

What classroom experience do you have? I know you said you'd done some lecturing but what about teenagers?

SexNotJenga · 14/12/2018 18:27

And your next cheap holiday will be in retirement.

winewolfhowls · 14/12/2018 18:31

Sadly these days there is no job security once you get past a few years and become more expensive, you get managed out in a lot of places. Money is shit if you include the hours you actually work,and most people with kids I know are part time because of the workload.

Pick a different career. Have you considered online tutoring? A growth area in my opinion.

Original poster
Needadoughnut · 14/12/2018 18:33

I definitely have passion about my subject that is not without question (particularly the cultural side of learning a language) and linguistics. I do have a caring nature (even if it doesn't show here) and I'm down with the kids :)

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winewolfhowls · 14/12/2018 18:37

And controversial sorry but kids can be more difficult in mfl. Struggles with literacy or comprehension are magnified, they don't see the point (their opinion not mine I think mfl is vital) you get less parental support compared to core subjects. Less curriculum time but same pressure for results as other subjects. Disclaimer, this is my decade worth of experience talking, other areas and schools may not be like this. Do English instead!

Original poster
Needadoughnut · 14/12/2018 18:38

@coco what other options are out there? I'm genuinely interested. I used to teach first years which were pretty much teenagers! I've done a bit of online tutoring (adult learning) but pay is very so, so IME

OP posts:
Thetruthfairy · 14/12/2018 18:38

Op, could you volunteer at your local Secondary school? just to chat to a few teachers there...It is really difficult to convey how difficult it is to have a good work life balance as a teacher now.
As a few posters have said; you have to want it more then anything. I would definitely confirm that for yourself before you apply.

SilverApples · 14/12/2018 18:39

Unless your mum is still teaching in a mainstream state school ft, her advice is not very relevant. I’ve been doing it for decades, and the pressures and expectations now are nothing like they were 20 years ago, or 15.
Whatever you decide, it’s going to be very tough going.

CottonSock · 14/12/2018 18:41

Part time teaching posts can be difficult to find.

SilverApples · 14/12/2018 18:44

You will be teaching a number of teenagers who really don’t want to be there and don’t see the point of an MFL, and some who have learning difficulties in English, let alone foreign. Not really like first years.

IntentsAndPorpoises · 14/12/2018 18:45

Go and observe in a secondary school and see what it is like. There is a reason that teachers are leaving in droves. I left after 15 years and now see more of my children than I ever did in teaching (and I was part time for the last few years).

Having done teaching and had children, I'd say neither! But having a baby is much preferable.

Teaching uni students (who presumably have chosen to be there) is nothing like teaching yr 9 period 5 on a Friday.

SexNotJenga · 14/12/2018 18:47

Uni students are the most able, most motivated students you will ever meet. They have chosen that subject and paid a lot of money to be there.

A very small proportion of your school students will behave as well and work as hard as your uni students.

I say that with an appreciation of how obnoxious and lazy uni students can be.

sallysummer · 14/12/2018 18:48

do have a caring nature (even if it doesn't show here) and I'm down with the kids smile

I hope that's a joke - the last thing you need is to be 'down with the kids'if you want to maintain any classroom discipline at all.