To be mildly irritated by most tiring job ever?

[brasty]

A friend who is a teacher has been saying how exhausted she is, and that only other teachers would understand. She is not joking. AIBU to be mildly irritated by this? Yes teachers do a hard job, but there are other jobs that are also exhausting.

Slow hand clap for all the teacher bashing
I don't feel the need to criticise other professions. I'm entitled to say I'm exhausted, as you would expect from any busy person.
I work in a school where I feel supported, the kids are generally good, that takes a significant amount of stress away. It doesn't stop the amount of other things you have to do- sorry, if you haven't worked in a school it's difficult to appreciate this. Similarly, I wouldn't speculate on the huge amount of extra work given to people in medical professions etc.
I have no idea how some people work in schools where they don't get that support and there are significant issues. I am a bit in awe of those people who do that and give young people in difficult situations a better start.
Which would probably be helped by other people not making ignorant and malicious comments about "real world" jobs.

I'm an ex primary school teacher now working in a preschool.

Teaching is exhausting, squeezing a years worth of work into 40 weeks. Late nights, early starts, working weekends, particularly worse around this time of year with all the extras for Christmas. Mentally and physically tiring. High rate of mental breakdowns among teachers proves that.

Obviously teaching isn't the only tiring job, my husband works long hours and does physical work, he's pretty exhausted all year round and doesn't get the holidays I did to recover. People who think they have it worse than everyone else irritate me too.

YANBU. Maybe avoid her until the holidays?

I'm friends with a few teachers and the only ones who don't moan about the workload are those who went into teaching as a second career I.e. Have worked in other sectors.

I work shifts, which are becoming harder and harder to manage as I get older. If I make a mistake, a life could very easily be lost. I get paid an awful lot less than teachers.

Excuse my tetchiness on this, I got to sleep at approx 02:30 after a busy 10 hour shift and was up at 08:00. I'm away to do the same again.

If it's that bad, do something about it, or if you don't intend doing that, shut the fuck up moaning.

Most Teachers I know had it as a second career, they say it's much harder and they moan!

Can I just repeat that one in ten teachers quit last year. If anyone has children at school and isn't horrified by that statistic then why on earth not?

I wonder if the teacher bashing may be down to teachers complaining and striking since the seventies. If it is so bad now was the complaining in previous years not really justified. I recall in the 70's and 80's often hearing about the marking and holidays not making up for all their overtime in the evenings.

Teachers got paid a lot less comparitively in the 70s and 80s. There was a hike in wages under the Labour government in the late 90s. However since then demands on teaching staff have increased and wages frozen.

No one gives a shit because they assume the teachers leaving are the crap ones that can't hack it. Until it's their dc being taught gcse by a succession of casual supply and unqualified cover supervisors they won't realise that this view is mistaken.

I doubt more than a tiny minority of teachers were teaching in the 70s/80s - a lot of them weren't even born then!

Wouldn't it be great if jobs were made as stressfree as possible? It feels like there's a twisted virtue in being ultra stressed at work.

Oh god sounds like my sister who was a primary teacher - she never had a life as work was so exhausting and all time consuming. I was a single parent of a toddler working full time (shifts including some nights) as a care assistant with people with dementia (with no family support I might add). But apparently my life was cushy, and oh how lucky I was to be able to do such an easy job with no stress in my life .

It gets tiring and comes a point where you just have to give said martyr a wide-berth. Just to clarify I don't believe all teachers are the same and I know the job is hard. I have friends who are single parent teachers (working full time), other family who are teachers and raising children (as couples - both being teachers). I have friends who are nurses, social workers and manage to have a life and function without being jealous of my cushy life!! . Sometimes though I do wonder if these whingebags people are cut out to be teachers.

I presume you home school Mistress if you have such a negative view of these whingebags!

I didn't say the job wasn't hard, or tiring, or didn't demand a lot of time and effort. I know lots of teachers who work extremely hard. I work hard and I do have a full timetable as the class teacher I'm with is off sick most of the time, hence I'm holding the fort (really shouldn't be allowed, but hey ho). It's me or supply so they'd rather keep a known quantity it seems. Compared with my previous corporate job though, it is a doddle. Sorry if that offends people but I've worked all over, in pretty senior positions, and never worked so little. It's all relative. When you're used to being on call pretty much 24/7, 7am - 5pm in class and then a bit of time in the evenings for planning doesn't seem much.

This makes me dislike this forum. A lot of the time, it is massively supportive and informative.
Is it ok to have a thread bashing SAHMs? No. Doctors? Office workers? Every thread linked to teachers seems to end up with nasty comments about it.
OP, I can see where you're coming from in terms of your original post - but it's opened another floodgate of comments. Why is it a competition to determine the most stressful job?

Sprinkle, I'm guessing you were paid far more, for a senior corporate position? That has to be taken into account as well.
Great that you feel less stressed but it really doesn't cover the range of experiences you can have in teaching or any other job?

I wouldn't link exhaustion necessarily to hours worked. When you have 5 hours of classes who severely misbehave in 5 different classrooms that's exhaustion. Oh and he school I taught in finished at 4:05 and only had 30 mins break a day.

Fair enough sprinks enjoy your new career. Fingers crossed you remain having so little to do.

I work shifts, which are becoming harder and harder to manage as I get older. If I make a mistake, a life could very easily be lost. I get paid an awful lot less than teachers.

That sounds like moaning to me.

30 reading diaries to mark every day ? never seen a marked reading diary

Anyway teachers have it very hard, thank goodness there are people who want to do it & do it because they love it. Thank you all

I think teaching must demand a lot of mental stamina. I wouldn't want to do it but the best ones I've come across, seem to love it and I imagine it's a bit of a "calling".
However I know a couple of teachers who bang on about how hard/exhausting/badly paid etc etc it is in a way that people in other professions don't do, I think that's why teacher bashing happens. I don't thing TB is fair but the complaining gets a bit old especially if any suggestions are shot down (ie they are just getting it off their chest) and nothing changes!

Yup, 30 reading diaries to mark. The children have to write about what they are reading, a summary or review etc. I'm meant to read and comment to this daily. It isn't a job I prioritise, (or think is particularly important), but it exists.

Sprinkle I guess it depends on the corporate job doesn't it? I worked in a management position for a large multinational before teaching. It was nowhere near as stressful as teaching (in this country) I also got paid far more 15 years ago than teachers on the the top of the main pay scale do today.

Different people have different experiences.

Like I said before it's the pointlessness of much of what teachers have to do that is frustrating. Perhaps you have more sensible management. I sincerely hope you can come back on here once you've actually started the job and say the same as it's good to know there is some sane management in schools out there!

I'm not moaning, I don't have to, I left.

I know the workload of teachers has increased dramatically, and the expectations. But I also know teachers had a reputation for complaining about their workload and hours 20 years ago when things were different. I wonder if it is about them feeling they have to justify their holidays?

Did they complain about workload and hours 20 years ago? I thought that was about the rubbish pay they were getting?

They went on strike in the 80s to get a lunch break I think.

Brasty, thanks for the sweeping statements
Do you have a particular chip on your shoulder about teachers? Because this is coming across as pretty goady.
Perhaps it's the friends you choose, rather than their profession?

Yes they did have a reputation for complaining about workload. But probably also had to face criticisms of lots of holidays and a short working day.

Although the pay was not that high, the job itself used to be a good one. It no longer is. And no, I don't want a race to the bottom. Life seems to be getting harder for a lot of people.