Teachers and TAs

[Pinkfrogs45]

I keep dreaming of being a teacher or a TA. All my teacher friends say to be a TA. Just wondering for any teachers or TAs what would you choose if you were to go into the profession again. There’s the balance work load vs low pay.

Ideally I would like the holidays to fit better around school age children. Which makes me think TA might be better suited.

And before I get the comments I know teachers do planning in the holidays I’m not naive. Although I do have a few teacher friends who don’t as they work late all term time. Guess it depends on person / experience / school / leadership etc.

Has anyone done any TA qualifications without being in a school setting? Wondering if someone could point me in the right direction?

Or is it worth doing a year PGCE and then being a TA? Guess it will give me both options?

Any advice welcome!

Someone has beaten me to it, but lab tech might suit you well. Do you have any independent schools near you? They tend to be better provisioned in science, which makes the life of a lab tech easier.

You can then be in a school, see if it is the right environment for you. Catch your breath and then decide if you want to door PGCE. There are good bursaries for sciences at the moment, which does help.