Fed up of people saying this about me being a teacher

[tryingsomethingnew]

Sorry long title but didn't want it to be too vague.

Help me out here. This is somewhat lighthearted and I'd like a sassy answer to my issue.

I'm a teacher. My daughter (thinks) she wants to be a teacher. I live my job. I'm good at it. I work in a lovely school with lovely people. The children are great.

The issue I have, is that when we talk about jobs with family and friends, all of them say "Why do you want to do that job!" "Why not be a lawyer".

My answer to her is that she can do anything she wants, teaching is hard, but it allows me a wonderful job, and time with my family as I have the holidays. The money (for me) is decent. Yes it could be more, but we live well.

I'm so annoyed. This is also coming from kids too! Who I would understand might not like their own teachers, but I find it really rude and disrespectful.

So....what would you say to answer them?

Yesterday she answered with "well my mummy is here looking after all of us (playdate with friends) and some parents are at work today. I want to have a good job but still have time with my family". She obviously hears my answers and repeated that.

Come on! We need Laywers, teachers, city workers, but teachers are the least favourable.

Help me answer those critics!

I think it’s like any other job- it has its pros and cons. We are always going to need teachers so I would never outright discourage people from going into it the profession.

With regard to the money- I went on strike for more pay as I do think we deserve the increase given the cost of living and inflation. However, I’ve been teaching 5 years and compared to my previous salary (which was also a graduate profession) I am earning more than I ever have. I work 4 days a week, am able to be home for my kids during school holidays and still take home
more than £30k. I live in a small town, round here that is a pretty decent salary. It is also a pretty secure job once you have a permanent contract, and the pension is great.

Yes there are issues with the profession and yes I’m still not sure if I’m in it for the long haul (though as someone said to me recently I’ve beaten the statistics at least as I’ve managed 5 years!) But we will always need teachers so I’m not sure if just discouraging people to do it is the way to go. We need to fight for change from within.

Well, 'these people' are incredibly rude, aren't they @tryingsomethingnew ? I'm so pleased that you're happy in your job, and I'm sure your daughter will be too. We hear nothing but nasty stuff about being a teacher on here. But surely how bad or good it is to be a teacher depends on the school - and the children obviously!

I live in a small village in a rural area. And the primary school in my village has just 37 pupils. Also a head teacher, and four other teachers. There's just two classes. Two teachers do two days a week, the other two teachers do three days a week, so then there's cover - if one or two are off sick/on hols. There is a couple of dinner ladies, and a cleaner, and a kind of odd job man/caretaker.

All four of the teachers have been here for the whole 10 years I've lived here and they absolutely love their job. The children in this village are mostly really lovely children, really nice to teach, aged between 4 and 11. And the teachers (who I know,) said they wouldn't want to do anything else. They LOVE their job!

Same as the Vicar at the Church. She had been to 2 Churches before (in the 15 years she has been doing the job,) before she was appointed at our Church 5 years ago, and said she LOVES it here. The congregation are nice, the area is lovely, and the house she and her family live in is beautiful. She never wants to leave!!! She said the other places she was appointed (big sink estate and inner city flat roof 1990s Churches that looked like Community Centres,) were - in her words... 'a challenge.......'

So yeah, how good or bad certain jobs are clearly depends on many different things...

And as a few posters have said, people generally don't post to say how deliriously happy or content they are. Some teachers obviously ARE happy in their job!!! Maybe they DO want more pay, but then doesn't everyone want paying more?!!!!!

I think teaching, dentistry, medicine etc were careers people used to encourage as they were decent jobs with good money and options to progress.

And when talking about careers children often say they want to be one of these because it’s all they know and they used to be so highly encouraged.

But now these jobs are getting much more difficult and the pay isn’t reflecting this and they’re not as good of a job as they once were.

I think it’s good that people are being open about this.
There are way easier jobs that are much higher paid and these should be options too.

How are taking home more than £30k five years in on 0.8?

This is the truth!!!

I think of teaching, law and medicine as status jobs that “clever” children are told they can do. They are often the only careers that people know.

Sometimes on mumsnet you find people who never went to university for various reasons but want to go back - they ALWAYS want to go back to be a lawyer or a doctor or whatever career they thought they could do when they were 7. Never want to do the millions of actual professional jobs most people do.

It's obvious that people don't come on MN generally to say how much they love their job as a teacher (or any other), how wonderful their DH or DP is, how their children have no problems, how happy they are that they are in good health, how well they get on with their family etc etc. Why would they?

We can't decide that all teachers hate their job or that that was the reason they took strike action etc. Because the ones who complain are likely a minority. Apart from the many colleagues I have known (who are mostly at least 5 to 7 years in and many 20 or 30+ years in) I also met very committed and passionate teachers attending parents evenings for my children. Everyone moans to an extent, mostly about workload, but that doesn't translate into all teachers hating their jobs or it being a bad choice of career.

Its ridiculous to assume that what people post on MN represents a group as a whole. (Not to mention that there's a kind of ethos that no one can be happy with their life unless everything and everyone in it is 100% perfect.)

@noblegiraffe I am in my sixth year of teaching and progressed every year, so I’m on M6.

And how will you feel if you are still on that salary 25 years on? (assuming you stay that long).
Starting salaries for teachers have improved in recent years - but the progression has not. Once you reach the top, there is nowhere else to go for most. So you stagnate and watch your salary drop like a stone in real terms.

Do you mean "taking home," as in, after tax?

Am in 6th year in an indie school earning 49 k so .8 would be 39k - longer school day than state 8.30-4 but longer holidays by about 3weeks

No professional person ever talks about 'take home'

I'm a teacher. Too old to do anything else now and couldn't give up the pension. But I really regret it. I have 3As and a B at A level from the late 1980s when achieving an A at A level was more rare. I was awarded an academic scholarship to an independent school. I do really feel as if I have underachieved. There were no student loans for Masters in my day so I felt my options were much more limited.

@CallmeAngelina I mean that’s my salary. I was trying to make the distinction that even though I’m part time I still earn over £30k.

Didn't think the thread would get so many replies. But all very interesting points.

Can't remember who said it but the pony about 40 years ago, my classmates and I were expected to be a teacher, a dentist, a lawyer, etc and it was about taking up a secure career, a vocation, but now kids are thinking about what job will make me the most money.

Is that because we (adults) talk about how hard life is now? I don't remember my parents ever saying Get a job that you'll earn lots.

There is no job security so a secure profession means nothing.

Junior lawyers will be wiped out by AI (I promise you. This is my profession.) and healthcare will be private within the next 20 years.

University is £40k if you are lucky right now and will probably reach US styles prices soon. There will be no pensions for their generation.

I don’t agree with the focus on money but I think it’s better than career planning for a cozy middle class lifestyle that may not exist.

“don't remember my parents ever saying Get a job that you'll earn lots.”

My parents said nothing but that - 70s - growing up poor.

Mine too Testina. My mother had grown up pretty poor, and she was anxious for me to be comfortable financially. Following passions was something you could do with your free time, financed by a well paid job.

Dd1 and her husband are both doctors and when they have children I'm pretty sure they won't be encouraging them to become doctors. I suppose people question it as teaching seems a bit boring next to being a fireman, astronaut etc. One of my friend's is a teacher (in her 40s) as is her mother and that was what she always wanted to be.

I love teaching for the following reasons

• every day is different, you are never bored or clock watching
• teenagers are fun
• holidays are great
• easy to get part time work
• I love my subject
• the pay is ok

I’m a teacher. I wouldn’t recommend it. I only survive as I work part time. I love the kids I work with (send school and can be very challenging) I just despise the unrealistic expectations from government, ofsted etc. I also enjoyed working full time mainstream primary before I had my own children. But the job now is not what it was 23 years ago. And certainly not the job my own mother did!! People wonder why I haven’t applied to be a deputy or head or middle manager!! I am just not motivated to take on all the sh*t they do!! I briefly did work as a deputy and soon left.

I certainly won’t be encouraging my own children to teach!!

I get what others have said about comments from friends and family. My daughter wants to work with horses. I suggested equine physio. Family said - she could be a vet!! She doesn’t want to be a vet. She doesn’t want to work with all animals. It might just be a whim at the moment. She can be whatever she wants. We do have family who always criticise their suggestions of wanting to work in a shop - they should aim higher!! Why should they?? If they want to work in a shop then let them. They’re still young. They’ll go through many ideas of careers and I’m not prepared to suggest any are beneath them. They do need to do some more research though.

Very confused with some people’s perception on teacher pay. 50k as an average classroom teacher?! As if!
BTW you can literally Google teachers pay scales! My husband is on the second level of upper pay scale, took on extra responsibilities (head of A-level maths, numeracy co-ordinator, pretty much joint 2nd in department) been teaching for 9 years and still isn’t on 50k!
Ive been teaching for the same length of time, on UPS (which you have to apply for and complete extra work for the department) I’m on 24k on 0.6.
Obviously this isn’t take home either as some have said, this is before tax, student loans, pensions etc.

I love my job and although I am well paid compared to family members (I come from a working class background), I don't think it pays that well thanks to the amount of deductions. My son looks up to me and at this moment, would like to teach which is lovely but he's young and hopefully clever enough to eventually find a far better paid job in the private sector. Teaching has the holidays but finding childcare for inservice days and parents nights can be a nightmare so in that regard it's not flexible or family friendly. I'm just lucky I have a great boss who is very supportive in a emergency.

I am a teacher too. I like my job but appreciate teaching can be tough. I have a good degree and postgraduate I did before teaching. I actually don't feel the pay is that bad. I have money for everything I need - foreign holidays, eat out, leisure activities, decent clothes, eat well, DC attend clubs and provided for well, decent car. That said, I don't want DC to teach.

@Smoothlines if you are earning less that a teacher in London, you are not middleclass!

I am always kind of affronted when the kids I teach find out I went to Oxford and their response is always a rather shocked “why did you become a teacher then?”, as though a) I should have a “better” job and b) it’s implausible that a mere teacher could be bright enough to go to Oxford. Is it really so surprising that a reasonably capable person might want to do something altruistic, or that teaching does actually require some brainpower? Teaching has so many problems as a profession now, but I can’t help feeling it would be in a healthier state if it were better respected.