Help me decide!

[Briset]

I have resigned from my long term job (19 years) because I was exhausted. I wanted to teach a lot less and finish off my phD without burning out.

I have applied for hourly paid work. The problem is that I have ended up with far more work than I wanted for next year and it is stressing me out just thinking about it. I can't decide whether to just suck it up and get on with it, or to drop some of the work and disappoint and perhaps annoy the places which have offered it to me and maybe burn my bridges for future work. Please help me decide what I should do!

What I have been offered:

1. Some quite well paid hours at my previous uni. Upside: near home, I know the ropes, I can complete some of my research project with students there, I can probably carry on doing it indefinitely. Downside: Absurd admin workload, feeling I should move on (none of my old colleagues are there anymore) depressing atmosphere, does not add any new experience to my CV

1. Some slightly less well paid hours at the uni where I do my PhD. Upside: It's a prestigious uni, I have taught the course before so I have materials planned, I like the colleagues. Downside: it's not long term work. It's quite likely to be the last year the course runs
2. Some online private teaching. Upside: very easy and relaxed, no admin, I can do it from home. Downside: Very poorly paid indeed

I already agreed to job 1 before being offered job 2. I have to tell job 2 ASAP if I am going to take it. I could do all of them but I just know I would end up tired and stressed again and not have enough time to work on PhD. I could do job 3 alongside either job 1 or 2 .

I'd do 2 and 3. Change is good. You'll learn the ropes and your last uni burnt you out. Go somewhere new. You'll make new contacts and it'll be more interesting. Yes it's a risk but if uni 1 need pthp now they prob will in the future too.

Ia 1 still well paid per hour once you add in the admin work as well? Do any come with pensions?

Unless you want to do three long term I wouldn't say yes to a very poorly paid piece of work unless it would substantially improve my career prospects.

I would go for 2, plus 1 if it would be lots of money, but not otherwise

i'd to 2 and 3. private tutoring online can be pretty well paid when you have experience (£50 per hour or so) and flexible so you can add or drop as you need.

Also, if you strengthen your connections with Uni 2 it is more likely to lead to interesting post-phd opportunities. can you do things like supervise MSc students there?

Thanks for your replies.

The online tutoring is not at all well paid. In my field pay, is very low indeed (less than cleaning) unless you work in HE. It's just that it's very easy and can be done from home.

I would really prefer to do job 2 and top up with job 3. My main reservation was that I had already agreed to job 1 before job 2 came up.

So today I have got in touch with uni 1 to ask if I can teach on a specific day only. It's a bit demanding of me but will makes things easier and if they say no then I know for sure I should go with job 2.

I was thinking of online tutoring for 11+ / GCSE / A level students. is that what you mean?

that should be well paid whatever domain you are in. I know several PhD students who use that role to supplement their income.

I have been doing online tutoring for a year and before i started I researched it really carefully and had a lot of interviews. Trust me, in my field it pays less than cleaning. In fact my PhD is specifically about this area of education, and the issue that it has a very low status. When I teach this subject online I get minimum wage. When I lecture about it at uni I get paid 10 times more!

I won't go into more details but I been teaching this subject at an FE college for nearly 20 years and for the past 5 years also at uni. There is a shocking difference in terms of pay, status and work conditions. Teachers in FE work incredibly hard and are paid so little. In comparison HE is really cushy and well paid. That might offend HE lecturers who feel over worked. But, take it from me. It is the topic of my thesis so I know what I am talking about.

Anyway, the online tutoring is very poorly paid but still worth doing because there is more or less no prep or admin and no assessments and I can do it from home.

Teachers in FE work incredibly hard and are paid so little. In comparison HE is really cushy and well paid.

But in many disciplines they are not at all comparable, given the expectations for research for lecturers in HE. Status in HE is strongly correlated with research achievements.