Quitting career to do PGCE?

[DisneyLady1]

Hi Mumsnetters,

I'm at a crossroads, and unsure what to do. Thought I'd post on here to see if anyone has any nuggets of advice!

I've been lucky to get a place on a PGCE course teaching English at high school level, starting in a few months. It's something I've always dreamed of doing, but was advised by other teachers I know to do something different (at least initially).

After having DC1 I now feel is a good time to take the plunge, as I'm not getting any younger!! There is never a good time to do something like this (I find) and I am lucky to have savings to fall back on for the year of study.

I do have some worries though!

Worry one: Is PGCE compatible with a child in nursery? I would hate to get through the year and feel as if I'd missed out on his development and like an absent mother. I know some people unfortunately don't have any options when it comes to this, but my current job have kindly agreed to let me work part time. I've heard horror stories about the PGCE but understand that people maybe only share them on here if they've gone through a bad experience. I do work in a high pressure business and have done for 15 years, so I am excellent at prioritising and doing just enough to get by.

Worry two: Is teaching as hard as people say it is? I read horrendous accounts on here, but my friends and family who are high school teachers all say it's not actually that bad, and they don't seem to be working all evenings/weekends/holidays like I hear some people do. What's the truth? I loved my experiences teaching, but work experience can only show you so much as you don't have the accountability/targets etc that real full time teachers would.

Worry three: I'll be quitting a solid and stable career with a decent salary for the unknown. I like my current job, it is satisfying... but I just don't feel as if it has much meaning to me. I think that's why it is low stress, because it doesn't actually matter in the grand scheme of things! I'd like to do something that matters to me, but I know this will bring other stresses too, and my salary will be cut by more than 60% to do this.

So it's a question of following my passion and the unknown vs. sticking with a stable, yet perhaps less exciting career.

Thanks for reading my rant and any advice you might offer!

@PurplePear7 it's not the workload in teaching that is the hardest aspect though. The job is physical, mentally and emotionally exhausting. You are always 'on' in school you have to make hundreds of decisions an hour, you spend your whole day communicating and guarding what and how you say things, being mindful of your body language, you don't get a moment to yourself, you are almost always run down, you'll have children in your class experiencing the most horrendous home life and all you can do to help is report it and provide a listening ear.

Out of school if you live in the community you have to be aware of your behaviour (and your family's if with you). You have to think before going out for a drink, before someone takes a photo of you. With social media it's not unlikely a parent or student will see that photo etc. Even if these things don't officially impact your career it makes teaching a class of teenagers more difficult if some oik snapped a picture of you at the local beach with your family and shared it, or starts talking about you getting drunk - even if you hadn't been. Or parents with PFB at primary sending it to the head and complaining.

I think it's a crazy idea, to be honest. Not a single teacher I know is happy.

As a PP said, they are taking anyone onto PGCEs at the moment and still no where to meeting their targets. Schools need warm bodies in the classrooms.

Yep, OP says she's lucky to have been accepted, but I would be more surprised to hear of someone being refused a place.

@Singleandproud that is a very depressing yet important point! I imagine it is so hard to regulate everything and remain calm when you're really tired.

@Singleandproud yes I’m aware thanks. I can’t express enough how much I despise working from home so I have no choice but to consider other career options and teaching is one of them.

I’d wait until your child(ren) are at least out of primary school.

I’d also funnel all cash possible I to savings/paving off mortgage in the intervening 6-10 years.

Only when I was essentially secure financially for the long term would I become a teacher.

and I speak as someone who would actually like to do it and would be in demand (maths/physics), but I’ve do e the maths and it’s not viable and won’t be for a while. Even longer if I can’t get a decent state school for my children at secondary and have to go to private.

@Whatelsecouldibecalled so helpful for the realistic timetable! Really puts it into perspective. It's the needing a wee that I would find hard! What do mums do about morning sickness too? Mine was awful with DC1. Literally couldn't get out of bed or id be vomiting. Not sure how that would work in a classroom.

@PurplePear7 this is also why I'm looking to change. Really hate WFH.

So negative! As a teacher of nearly 15 years just choose your schools carefully. Teenagers are lovely, hilarious. Yes moody but always remember you are the adult in power over them, show them positivity and they give it back. I'm in a nice not too selective grammar now and it's very different but I have loved teaching a level or excluded 14 year olds what a triangle is. Pshe is very important and really does need specific training as the rules are different. But I don't recognise working all hours and remember many many moaning have not done a professional other job which has real consequences unlike if teaching maybe teach it wrong you can correct the next day or worse case they get a question wrong in an exam. I'm pretty sure you'll cope fine judging by your current job tbh.

This is the part of the job I don't think anyone could understand until they have experienced it. Being 100% in acting mode all day long is exhausting. And with the added behaviour issues, it's like doing one normal/full on job where your colleagues are constantly throwing metaphorical tomatoes at you and trying to thwart you doing your actual job all day long. I can't think of anything comparable.

You can wee between classes. If you teach yr12 or above you can leave them to wee or be sick.
If you need to be sick the teacher next door can stand close to the door or you send me lud to the office to get a warm body.

The marking and prep involved in DT and Eng are really not comparable at all.

A kid not me lud!

I have vern teaching nearly 30 in secondary education. I like my job but always say I wish I didn't have to work so hard. It took over my life for many years. It is rewarding when you see small victories but it is draining/ debilitating. You are trying to wade through porridge. Parents do not always support u,in fact sometimes the senior management are even worse. Governments come up.with gimmicks we have to implement,there is not enough staff,since Covid the behaviour has deteriorated considerably. I had to go part-time last year just to cope. Due to staffing I have to reluctantly go back to full time next year. In short I would say when you can teach it's great but the indiscipline, the excessive work load,which will affect your family life,the increasing mental health issues along with the declining provision would make me advise you not to do it😥

And yes there is prep but English has many resources available and many good teachers to learn from.

It's absolutely not just you. When I'm shoving my children out of the door at 7.15 I often feel like it is though.

Also these attitudes are not going to help us get a better workload if we shout the negatives. Teaching is easier than nursing and better paid objectively I'd say. Better than most office jobs. Gives you control over your time. You can pick the kids up quite early and mark in the evening. A lot of schools are quite good at allowing sports day transition etc as they know how important parental engagement is. Your colleagues are all different subject specialists and experts, which is fun and useful. Eg once my trousers split under the fly, great to have a room full of sewing machines and people that can work them. You can have fun in lessons. English teachers run fun competitions for poetry and reading etc and most kids behave in core subjects better than others. Parents value English.

I was once sick in a bucket in my stock cupboard! That was from to be fair.
Luckily ny time for being physically sick, rather than just nauseous, was in a morning and there was a staff toilet very close to my classroom base. My colleague who taught in next classroom gave me a card to wave to her through the window if I had to run and she'd then straddle both rooms until I could return. Wasn't ideal but luckily I wasn't vomiting all day just felt rubbish after the physical sickness but manageable.

@Boomboom22 my English teacher at school was amazing. Partly why I want to give this a go.

Give it a go.
You can always return to your old career if it doesn't work.
Just be aware of the potential issues, especially with a young family.

I have gone 0.8 but before that my school finished at 2.55. If I left quick enough I could get to school pick up in time, most days they did a 1hr club. The job before was also ft I left at 3pm and saw my v young babies at the time, I negotiated that as I started when my 2nd was 6months and oldest 2.
Don't ask don't get. Even in strict schools I found it was more people's fear of asking the head than any actual likelihood of being told no you can't have that time. I've left to sort out a mortgage in a free. Just be genuine and do your work and get ok results and I don't recognise some of these comments.

Also value your time but try not to say I don't have time. You seem like you can prioritise and tbh a lot of teachers struggle and do spend time on the wrong things. Don't reinvent the wheel. Relationships and actual lesson time are more important than planning. Learning is key, not micro planning.

Also these attitudes are not going to help us get a better workload if we shout the negatives.

They're not negatives. They're the reality for many many teachers. OP has a well paid, flexible and secure job. If she's considering giving that up to jump into a PGCE and become a teacher then she should know what it's actually like. Sure there may be a poetry competition once in a while and well behaved students, but there's also serious behaviour problems, disengaged students, ranty parents, endless marking, learning walks, unsupportive SLT, and very often no chance to go for a wee until the end of the day. We need more teachers, but minimising how stressful and challenging it can be isn't the way to get them. It's already hard enough to retain teachers, many don't last more than 5 years and that's when they go into it with their eyes open and expecting the worst.

I would say go for it, if you can afford to teach part time once qualified after PGCE & ECT years.

I’m a teacher, but part time, with children I’ve found it’s completely draining balancing family life and teaching full time, I taught full time before having children, but then reduced my days since having them.

If it’s something you’ve wanted to do for so long then you’ve got to give it a try. You can always go back to your current career if it’s not for you. Good luck.

I think some of this depends a bit on what your current job is Op ( which presumably you could always go back to?).

I work in the public sector and have had two colleagues I know leave to retrain ( although at least 1 was 8 years ago now). Both still teaching and - due to the demands of their previous job - although demanding found it manageable ( different stress but not more stress overall if that makes sense). They are both happier as they are doing a job that they always wanted to do ( both secondary English teachers).

I suspect the main difficulty is having a young child ( which also applies to moving jobs generally). I totally get what you mean about not enjoying wfh btw - I think there are a significant minority of us for whom it isn’t as greta as everyone thinks!

we only have one life though - so if it’s something you e always dreamed of doing I’d say give it a go ( but have an exit plan in place incase it is too much!)