Teacher training?

[YogiBear13]

I'm in my late twenties and would like to retrain as a teacher. I've done my research, and filled out the UCAS application but I guess I'm starting to doubt myself.
I've wanted to be a teacher for a long time, but what if I'm no good at it? I'll have quit my job (admittedly a job I loathe), and could end up being dreadful, and unemployed. Teaching is something that has been suggested to me as a career several times by various people (including my mum, who is a teacher), I'm just starting to wobble slightly on having the self-confidence to actually make the step. Obviously I may not get into the course so this may all be moot, but if you're a teacher, particularly if you didn't do your PGCE right after uni, were you sure you could do it?

I would say anyone can do anything if they are prepared to put in the effort. If you are no good at it you can get better!
Everyone can improve. There is no such thing as being born a teacher. It's like everything- you learn how to do it, you put in the practice and you get better.

I disagree. If you are not a natural you can try really hard, put in lots and lots of effort and be good, but it will always be hard, you will never be excellent. In some areas and jobs being good is fine. If you are a maths or science teacher you just have to be passable. But some subjects and age groups still are really competitive and you do need to be excellent just to get in the door, let alone to have any sort of work-life balance. Its doesn't suit everyone however much effort they put in.

Can you get some work experience first? I do believe that people are naturally inclined or not to teaching - some experience would be helpful

I'm with OwlWearingGlasses. You learn, practice, improve.

Teaching is a huge sector - I think it employs some ridiculously high percentage of graduates each year. A sector that recruits that many people, regularly, isn't driven on magic and fairy-dust: you're trained, then you work & improve.

As for your other worries: there are lots of transferable skills you gain & it's a sector far larger than just U.K. schools.

So ... try it. It will almost certainly be fine. And if it isn't, you can take the skills you gain & put them to use elsewhere.

I’d highly recommend exploring every other avenue before deciding on teaching.

I’m desperate for a way out. But don’t know where to look.

@thecatfromjapan yes it does. And then within 5 years a massive proportion of them have dropped out.

It has to be right for you.

What recent classroom experience have you had? We have had PGCE students placed in our school with very little (I’m amazed some of them were accepted in the course) who had dropped out by October half term as they didn’t realise the job would be like that.

A few weeks of proper experience in a school talking to teachers would really have saved them a lot of disappointment, upset and expense!

What sort of teaching are you thinking about? Primary or secondary?

I started my PGCE aged 29, with 2 DCs.

I did not enjoy my first job, so it was an ideal opportunity to have a 3rd DC, and put childcare costs out of reach .

8 years and two further children as a SAHM, I had to go back into the workforce.

With a Science PGCE, this was very easy. I could pick my jobs, and if I were unhappy, I knew another job was just around the corner.

A PGCE is extremely lucrative.

Op - I felt apprehensive like yourself at the time & didn’t do my pgce straight after uni - I went back into work after uni for a few years & then completed it. The pgce was a heavy workload, but it got me used to the level of the workload within teaching. I’ve been teaching now over 16 years & don’t regret going into teaching (although I now only teach part time as I found the workload too much with children too) my advice is to apply & see how you get on. If you don’t like it you don’t have to stick with it. Good luck.