To leave my professional career for a low paid job?

[raininginbaltimore]

I'm a teacher. Been teaching for 8 years, I'm a Headnof department for a small dept in secondary school.

I have bipolar disorder, diagnosed two years ago an have just had my second dc. As a family we have had a rough few months, I've been in a mother and baby unit and dd has been ill. I cannot face going back to work. Teaching just doesn't seem doable anymore. I can go back 4 days, but nothing less. I can't move schools as I am too expensive, and not many local jobs.

I am so exhausted with the job. I have been made aware of a job in a local charity. Two days a week, much lower salary etc. however after childcare costs etc we wouldn't be much worse off.

Has anyone done this?

Raininginbaltimore maybe the job isn't the problem but the school.

Do it. I left teaching as I couldn't stand it any longer (worked in FE and could no longer take administrating students through the "equivalent" of three A Levels when most of them were lazy and gumption-free). Yes, I don't have the regular pay, but I also don't spend every moment at work furious and every non-working moment thinking about work.

Unfortunately I can't really move schools. I am on UPS 2 and don't want the responsibility anymore. No school I know is going to employ an ordinary teacher on that. There are so many teachers looking for jobs round here they could easily get cheaper.

I hate all the data, fft grades, value added, sub levels, constantly assessing and reporting. I no longer have time to so some of the experiential leaning that I used to do. I am constantly asked for levels an data etc and plans as to how I am going to improve them.

We have standard teachers on UPS2 and if you were good enough we would certainly pay for you . Management in another school may be different.

I went into teaching slightly later, age 25, having tried my hand at accountancy and a marketing role, so not without experience of other workplaces.

Very few people could have been more enthusiastic than me on entering the profession. But enthusiasm, commitment and training did not prepare me in the least for the needy children I encountered, the hostile parents, ineffectual school management and relentless workload. Behviour was terrible and soul-destroying to cope with. By the end of my NQT year I was almost at breakdown point - fantasies of crashing my car on the motorway en-route to work, even though I was getting married that summer.

Time passed and things became a bit easier, although I had to handle a major bereavement in my second year of teaching - back in my classroom two days after the funeral. There was some talk around reducing teachers' workloads and PPA time came in, which helped, although workloads were still massive at least some unnecessary stuff had been removed.

I moved schools and began to look towards promotion - this was probably the best point in my teaching career. I was still working 60 hours a week, but felt well supported and valued by colleagues and parents.

I moved house and was rapidly promoted in my new school, but then hit my seventh year of teaching and burnout hit. Change after change happened to the curriculum and there were higher and higher expectations of what pupils should achieve. I was enjoying my management role, but finding the core role of coming up with interesting and enjoyable lessons for my pupils was becoming harder and harder. The intrusion into my personal life was huge - I never had a weekend to recuperate, it always involved hours and hours at the computer on a Sunday. This lack of time had an impact on my marriage. But it was as if my imagination was exhausted, I just couldn't come up with it anymore. I would often get stress-related stomach pains throughout the school day. But throughout all this I was always putting on a positive face - pupils and parents would not have known.

To cut a long story short I left teaching after ten years when I was refused pt after maternity leave. I love my new working life and never want to go back.

I am glad I did teach, but wish that i had left years before!

Have you considered a move to the independent sector? If you aren't ideologically against it then it might be worth a thought. There are still stresses, but they are different. I have friends who I never would have expected to move to the independent sector, but love it. Many independent schools value a strong classroom background and are willing to pay for it rather than trying to get cheaper staff.

There will be a percentage of people in all kinds of jobs who will be deeply, deeply unhappy. Some of them in highly responsible, important jobs.

Have I missed a memo somewhere that teachers are some kind of special case and can't be depressed but still functioning in their role?

I stuck a job for 20 years I didn't like. Friends said leave but there was always a reason I couldn't. But if I could have afforded to leave I would have I hated it so much at times. But I don't think we could have afforded the mortgage and other bills on one wage at the time. I did used to make a very half hearted attempt to look for other jobs. So in a nutshell you either take the step and move jobs or leave or stay where you are and be miserable. I know what I would do.

Poor pupils, whose progress is ignored by the government/ofsted because they haven't reached national average. Poor pupils, having to cram for national tests aged 10. never mind poor teachers who bust a gut to get them there and still feel that what they do isn't good enough

Nobody has implied that teachers work harder than anyone else, or that they are a special case. I stand by my assertion that there would be so many more teachers completely satisfied with their jobs if they didn't have so many pressures/targets/boxes to tick etc etc.

I do feel that I love my job but am being worn down by it. If we didn't have these holidays we would burn out far sooner.

Another miserable lawyer here, trapped in my job by the need to pay the mortgage and lack of funds to retrain. No advice, OP, but lots of sympathy.

Emsyj, are you the lady who left law for HMRC? If so, I would love to hear how you are finding it, as this is an escape route I am looking into.

I'm sorry I said that teachers were saying they had the hardest job in the world - I was exaggerating and that was unnecessary.

I guess the point I was trying to make was that teaching is certainly not unique as a profession in people finding it demanding, having to work long hours, not being appreciated enough etc. etc.

It's always tempting to imagine that another career is better to ones own and I just thought it was important for people to know that the grass is not always greener on the other side.

'It's always tempting to imagine that another career is better to ones own and I just thought it was important for people to know that the grass is not always greener on the other side'

Ditto to all the lawyers and people thinking 'Hmmm, I fancy a doss of a job with long holidays and 'making a difference'
Ohh Teaching'

Well exactly thenebulous ....

Maybe I'm just jealous, nobody has any sympathy for bankers, ever, even those of us who are very far from minting it in on the public coffers

op, do it, you sound like you'll manage money wise

you'll wonder what took you so long in 2 months time when you're enjoying your life and your kids again!

'nobody has any sympathy for bankers'
No, not much.

I wasn't a lawyer but I was someone well paid and working hard in the private sector who wanted a job with long holidays that would enable me to make a difference. By and large that is what I got when I made the move into teaching. It is hard work but most professional jobs are.

Aris, just out of curiosity, are you in the State sector?

No one is saying that all teachers should be happy all of the time. The OP asked if it was reasonable for her to think of leaving, so a few ex-teachers said that they had done similar things and the reasons why.

If something isn't fitting you anymore, then shouldn't you change? That is why we, er, choose what we do for a job rather than being randomly allocated a role by the government

"Emsyj, are you the lady who left law for HMRC?"

Yes, that's me! It's great, feel free to PM me if you want details/questions. I am on the graduate scheme.

Yes I am in the state sector.

thanks Aris. Nice to know you are content and motivated after all these years.

I am not saying that she shouldn't leave but that perhaps it is unrealistic to expect to skipping into work every morning feeling full of joy . I suspect it is more serious than that for the OP and that considering her mental health issues she perhaps should consider a career change. however if possible it may be good to try a different type of school or even change sectors.

OP, it sounds as if teaching isn't for you. But do try to plan your exit. And remember that two day a week charity job will be hotly fought for. It's ideal mums work. And plenty of people will have charity experience. Just plan to get out. I agree with the posters who say this level of unhappiness is not necessary.

I have my down moments, I posted a thread on here before Christmas I think. During term time my day starts at 5am and ends at 10pm at the earliest. It is quite common for me to be utterly exhausted by the end of a term and to wondering if I did the right thing. That long day is not just given over to teaching though, I have a large family and lots of commitments. I think I thrive from being on the go , although my weekends and holidays are much quieter.

Most if the time I utterly adore me job though .