What was you biggest culture shock of you moved into teaching from another career?

[Tiredforfive45]

I’m a teaching ‘lifer’ (apart from
a part time job in retail while I was at uni) so not much in education surprises me.

I saw a post recently somewhere where a teacher who had moved from a corporate job was aghast about having to share a room with a colleague on a residential trip and I realised I had never given that a second thought.

What other things that I take for given are actually surprising to people that have worked in other professions?

Yep. Lots of jobs are stressful. We know. Not one person has suggested teaching is the only stressful job nor the only job with downsides. I think you have to be careful not to infer that is what posters are implying as it's not what I've taken from the thread at all.

Yes! I went to a member of SLT and said I was struggling with my workload and burnout and she suggested using my break and lunch to catch up which I was already doing.

I told my current manager I was struggling (mainly due to personal circumstances) and she instantly redistributed some work or extended deadlines to relieve the pressure on me. I love my non-teaching job and new manager!

No WiFi in the school where I work. Well, unless you're using a school iPad or laptop.
I have to use my own data on my phone.

Of course that's just one small thing!

I only taught for a short time (20+ years ago) because I hated it so much. So many differences in how teachers work to everywhere else. The interview process was bonkers, arriving at the same time as the otter candidates, being interviewed one by one and having to make smalltalk with them until the head came in and offered the job to one person. Having perks like a paid for Christmas meal or team social was 🤯 too.
Oh and being encouraged to expense costs, that you didn't have to spend your own money.
I don't think anyone can know how intense teaching is until you do it, being responsible for 30 children at once, having to have a hyper - awareness of what everyone's doing. I love a desk job where I can just sit and get on with things without someone lightly tapping my shoulder until I reply to them! 😂

I started teaching 2 years ago following a role in marketing. I have been shocked at how much control the parents seem to wield, and how little support there is from parents in terms of homework, reading with their children, support for behaviour sanctions etc. However, I love having pretty much guaranteed pay rises each year, and a set pay scale. I had to fight very hard for a single pay rise in my marketing role, despite taking on extra responsibility. One negative is the amount of weekend and evening events planned without any discussion, and being told it's optional but that it "wont reflect well" if i don't attend. in general though, as an organised person, I have a lot less stress now than I did in previous job.

Oh, and of course I love the 13 weeks per year off with my son!

So so true- every holiday since 2022 ive been ill ( including now). Its relentless ! Went into teaching 5 years ago from sales / marketing.
Never had a lunch break
Seeing horrible assaults and neglected children everyday
I'm done
There's literally nothing good about the job anymore....

I’m doing my pgce next year after working as a TA for four years. Compared to my old corporate job:

not having to record my time in units of 6 minutes. Not being accountable to my department head for literally every minute of my working day. Not being greeted every time I log onto my computer with a screen that tells me, to within 6 minutes, exactly how far behind / in front of my monthly target I am. Not having to go to a monthly meeting where my hours worked / clients billed are compared to everyone else in the department, in front of them. Not having every single letter I wrote scrutinised by my head of department before it could be sent to the client. Not working 8.30am to 6.30 pm em every day, plus time at weekends, and still getting sacked because my billing wasn’t high enough. Not doing the work of two other people because they are off with stress, then getting yelled at by clients because things are taking too long, then getting yelled at by bosses because clients are complaining. Marketing.

yes teaching has its stresses. Yes you can be micromanaged by some heads. But from what I have seen so far (two different schools with three different head teachers) it is a vast vast improvement on my previous career and I can’t wait to start.

Sorry that you worked in shit schools. My actual bottom of the league table for results secondary in Scotland is a great place to work. I make a point of telling my colleagues how I appreciate them. I give them as much autonomy as I can. I let them manage and create and teach with as much freedom as I possibly can.
I read these threads and every single time my takeaway is "you've had a shit boss mate"
My biggest thing is how small the budgets actually are. Outside of staffing there is no money. Nothing. Pennies. Working in industry if you needed something it got bought. Watching colleagues have the fear standing next to the photocopier, trying to justify to me why they needed single sided colour. I don't care. Just print it. Stop getting upset by fractions of a penny.

Again, bad manager. These people are promoted because they are good at teaching and take on the extra responsibilities. Not because they are good at managing and leading. You've had a shit boss. In my school we have support services offered and available on site.

Yeah, I know that but there seem to be more bad managers than good ones in teaching. Trying to find a school with levelheaded management is really hard and I wasn’t risking it. Leaving teaching was the best decision I have made for me and my family.

You're not actually in the job though. I did 2 terms as a TA before training and loved it. It was very different to teaching.

Jeeeesus…!!! You ended up tidying it up?! I’d love to think I’d have left it as it was but oh my, I’ve been thinking about going into teaching but if this is what happens then I’m afraid I’d end up punching someone, so perhaps I’ll pass 😬

Love the idealistic views some ex teachers on here seem to have of the private sector!

My friend switched to corporate 3 years ago, she's thinking of switching back! She works just as hard but less holidays, more stress on deadlines and the travel that was attractive is now just a bind. Corporate isn't flexible either, you can't just stop marking at 5.30pm because you have something on, you have to work until it's done. Pays more but not that much more considering 7 weeks a year less holidays, plus there's still a bun fight to get the week you want

I don't miss the way I constantly felt like I was failing. The terminology used by heads, ofsted, governors etc is horrible (eg failing...) and yet I would have been rightly reprimanded if I'd spoken to a child in that way.

I’ve also only ever taught, and I can’t wait to see what else is out there (I have left teaching now). It might be shit but I’ll never know if I don’t try. I can’t imagine ever wanting to go back to teaching, though.

I was moaning to my husband about parents' evenings when we first started dating (we had them two days in a row, finishing at 8:30 each evening). He tried to cheer me up by saying "at least you get that overtime pay". He was astounded that wasn't the case 😂

I’m sharing my actual experiences of my new non-teaching job. Not saying that’s the same for all non-teaching jobs.

Some of this is still in teaching though.
Letters scrutinised before being sent- often by people with a poorer grasp of grammar.
Performance scrutinised - erm, yes! Colour coded and everything to compare why jonny cba didn't get the grade he was predicted at 11.
Not doing the work of 2 other people cos they're off with stress- yes. Planning their lessons for cover, stepping in when you can, doing extra sessions for their kids, doing the extra marking for their kids.
I would quite like to work 830 to 630 though. My hours tend to be 730 until about 8ish. Used to be later years ago, but we've cut down on marking.

And the school is still much more humane than my last one.

Yes the ultimate power of the head and bizarre structure is crackers. Powers to manage out people by constantly telling them they are crap at their job. Doing an observation and making up what ever you want and I one can challenge it.

This odd but I've worked in 4 secondary schools and in each department there was no proper lunch room, just a repurposed office. So a small fridge but never a sink.

We have to fill up the kettle using the tap from the boys toilet. And go and wash out cups in the disabled in toilet sink.

We never get free tea and coffee/ milk either which seems like common perk I think in most workplaces.

We are not allowed toasters or microwaves because they set of the fire alarms.

Getting in at 7.40 and not stop on until 4.30 and working 1000mph.

Not a teacher but was shocked how little support DD got when physically assaulted by a Year 8 student. That incident has ensured the teaching profession has lost one member before they're fully qualified! (DD was studying education at uni and works as cover teacher to support herself financially)

I made a move in the other direction. I was a very good teacher (I know this sounds cocky but I was!) but I really don't miss the constant sense of judgement. Usually it was positive for me but there was still such a sense of being continually judged, marked, graded etc and a lack of autonomy compared to my current job.

Yes, I've spent 20 years waiting to be fired because the tide has suddenly turned and I'm suddenly doing it wrong. . Which is odd, because there are plenty of teachers where I do sometimes wonder how they're still in the job.

Going from a Legal field to teaching...

• not being able to go to the toilet when I needed to
• the micromanagement of everything I did
• the sheer intensity of the job - planning, teaching, marking, dealing with parents, behaviour management, working out how to teach a concept multiple different ways, differentiation...and the list goes on
• parents
• not being able to read the newspaper without thinking how I could use all of the articles as resources
• having to buy pens, pencils etc for students
• taking a packed lunch to school
• stressing if I was running late in the morning and would be late to form class

Going from teaching back into the corporate world:

• being able to go to the toilet, have a cup of tea, take a telephone call, talk to a colleague etc whenever I wanted
• not having someone looking over my shoulder all of the time
• the slower pace
• being able to buy lunch and have something nice to eat
• reading a newspaper without wanting to cut out articles!
• working overtime and taking days off as time in lieu

I'm back in a school now and things are worse than before. It's exhausting.