Accountant or Maths Teacher career change - mid-40's?

[Valkyrie99]

Posting in AIBU for traffic as not getting response elsewhere.

I have worked in IT for the last 20 years. I'm now in mid-40's. I had to give up FT work to look after young DC and have lost my techy skills rendering me unemployable in IT. I am still doing a part-time job in IT resourcing but feeling the need to think about something that will give me better employability prospects in the future.

So i'm looking to re-train as either :-

1. Accountancy/finance officer/bookeeping/treasurer role. Worked for a relative over 25 years ago, doing purchase ledger work and accounts admin in school holidays. Thought it was ok. I'm happy to pay and study for CIMA or ACCA to become part-qualified before looking for work. However, not sure how easy it would be to get a job in my 40's without any experience ? Especially part-time work ?

2. Maths Teacher - i love Maths and always enjoyed helping others However, I have a lot of stress at home as have a child with SN, so fear that this will just add to my stress load. I would have to do a PGCE/SCITT part-time. And i would only be able to work part-time as a Maths teacher. Not really sure whether a school would employ me as a part-time Maths teacher ?

Any advice from Mumsnetters welcome.

Valkyrie99 - Could you consider moving into more business facing roles in IT e.g. Business Analysis, solution design or Product Ownership type roles. There tend to be more opportunities for over 40s in these types of roles where domain knowledge and experience can count and possibly more scope for flexible working. Your technical understanding would stand you in good stead without so much emphasis on the software packages. Ive definately seen these types of opportunities on returner programmes. Im not sure you'd be able to get away from the continued professional development whatever you do as its a requirement everywhere. Redundancies and instability are rife in the Private sector generally so I doubt it's IT specific. Good luck with whatever you decide anyway.

children leave at 4.30 peacan pickle

I would recommend that you self-fund yourself through either the CIMA certificate papers or ACCA F1-F3 to get an idea of what's involved and to show potential employers that you are committed to a career change. You may even be eligible for one of the new accountancy apprenticeships.

Camiila by 'no stability' in teaching, do you mean that the head can get rid of you whenever they want ? I'm sorry to hear that you have such a rough time in teaching. I have to say that this has been my general impression regarding teaching - that it's very stressful and very, long hours for most teachers.

flyinglotus434 - yes i that's something i was thinking of. I've been researching 'Data Analyst' as it aligns more closely with the techie job I was doing. Do you know if returners programs require you to have previous experience in the advertised role ? Thank you for your advice and encouragement.

Well I trained as an accountant but switched to math teaching. Prefer math teaching, I adore teaching, but it’s mentally more straining than accountancy was, and not as well paid.

Stickerrocks - yes that was what i was thinking of - self funding CIMA or ACCA and then looking for a job.

I think accountant would be a better bet - you can earn a lot more per hour and shouldn't be a problem training in your 40s and then finding work.

But, you could also consider maths tutoring. I've done a bit myself (I am an accountant and have maths a-level, but never been a maths teacher). Tutoring is pretty lucrative, although antisocial hours if you are having to tutor children after school or at weekends. Could be worth considering as an alternative to teaching in the classroom. Much less stressful/paperwork. My lack of teaching qualification was no hindrance to getting clients.

Turnocks34 - i understand. I think i would feel the same (as in enjoying teaching Maths more than accountancy) but i've been under alot of mental strain at home for years, so i think something more repetitive and less demanding at work would be better for my well being.

Enidblyton1 - thank you, that is really good to hear about tutoring. This is something I have also considered. I have Maths A-level and Maths degree and have always loved helping friends with Maths. Something to consider once my children are older and the anti-social hours won't matter as much.
Out of interest, what sort of age group do you tutor ?

I'm a part time Maths teacher. The part time thing won't prevent you from getting work or training. I have never worked at a school that was fully staffed in the Maths department for a full academic year so once you qualify you can probably just write to local schools with a CV even if they are not advertising.

I work 0.4 (2 days). I do one meeting a week and the other night i stay until about 4.30. I probably do around 4 hrs work outside of school but it does vary. When i was training full time I was working every evening until abou 10pm and then one of the days at the weekend. My NQT year was tough too with similar working hours. After that it got better, I got quicker and better able to prioritise and multi-task. I can't even begin to imagine training with DC but you would be part time.

Don't know about accountancy but the accountants I know earn far more than I do.

Thing is I know it's not a reason to take a job but it's lovely to have the holidays with your children. It's also nice to have a job which isnt dull although some days I do wish I could just go into an office and work quietly on a computer.

Fruitcorner - thanks, that's really useful to know about Math departments generally not being fully staffed.

I have tutored up to GCSE - as I didn't feel confident to tutor A-level without a refresher course! Mostly 13/14 year olds. Some just needed their confidence boosting, others were really struggling to grasp basic concepts. It was fun seeing them make progress.

I am part qualified CIMA and currently a Part time maths teacher.

In terms of enjoyment I love my teaching job way more than my accountancy job in a large blue chip company.

In terms of pay I earn less now part time teaching with 8 years experience than I did starting my graduate scheme at previous company 19 years ago.

In terms of stress accountancy, including month end and year ends etc, teaching is more intense.

I do not recognize the work life of Camilla up the thread, I arrive at school at 8:30 - long commute and two children at nursery, I work 3 days, leave by 5pm every night except parents evenings. I got Mat pay, sick pay, union member, no issues at all. Oh and I am working in an academy. I work maybe 1 day a holiday in school max. None so far this year.

I am moving to another part time role in September - two reasons, commute is wasting a lot of time which is daft given the lack of Maths teachers, and I will now be in the same county as my children when they start school to avoid holiday clashes happening.

My advice would be to speak to some schools locally and see if you can go in to observe - we have loads of people do this at my school.

Huge demand for tutors as well.

I've been teaching for 13 years. Before that I was in journalism. Until about 10 years ago, I found teaching to he very fulfilling. Now the paperwork has multiplied and the threat of inspection looms large over many schools. I have been lucky enough to work in a great small independent but have had to leave because of relocation. I am under no illusions that my next school won't be as stress free. My two cents? Don't do it. It's a thankless job for which you are paid peanuts.

That's a good point about tutors noodle if you are a qualified maths teacher near me you can charge £27/30ph for tutoring. Just tutoring 3 students a week would be an extra £270 a month ( sorry to do the Maths for you!)

Blimey Camiilla. I would much rather deal with a bit of challenging behaviour than work 80+ hours a week... Not that I can see why it should be an either/or...

I'm relatively happy in teaching. I work 2.5 days a week in secondary (roughly 8.15 until 4.30), plus a day self employed teaching in primary schools.
It's been super stressful and busy this term with 3 parents evenings, performance management observations, a million book scrutinies etc - but here I am in the last week of term looking forward to a week of Easter events, trips to church, award presentations and then a lovely long fortnight off.
It's peaks and troughs in teaching and you have to look at the year as a whole.

No union, Camiila. Is that even legal?

Thanks all. This has been a great insight. That's really good to hear the good and bad about teaching.

Have to agree with Camilla here..
I've been considering a similar career change. And have come to realise that teaching is definitely not the family friendly flexible option I thought it would be. I know a couple of teachers who live locally, and their kids holidays / half terms rarely match with their place of work. They both rely on family to help out with their own kids, not an option for us, so I've decided to shelve the idea for a while!

Have you thought about the HMRC Tax Specialist Programme? We have a lot of ex accountants and a couple of ex maths teachers so thought it might be worth a look. You get paid to train and salary on finishing is reasonable. No long hours culture and the work is interesting and varied.
www.gov.uk/guidance/tax-professional-development-programme

Sorry to hijack. I am thinking of doing AAT (I have been doing the family business accounts for a few years). If I want to be accountant am I better off going straight to CIMA or ACCA?

I’m a Science teacher. I’ve been in a great school for the last three years and have enjoyed teaching during this time.
However, the thirteen years previous were absolute hell which made me very nearly give up altogether.
The moral is if you’re going to go for teaching, choose your school VERY carefully.
I would be inclined to advise against teaching because schools like mine are rare.

@emsyj37

Is the training a full time programme? How much choice is there in terms of location?

I’m an accountant but would love to retrain in tax.

emsyj37 - Thank you so much. DM was an Inspector of Taxes so I have thought about it. However, I don't think there are any more tax offices near me now. As understand it, many were shut down. Would they expect full-time working to start with ? I really need a local, part-time position.