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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

AIBU to want to leave teaching after getting QTS?

26 replies

TierdOfLockdown · 28/02/2021 14:20

For a few reasons:

Because I just don't think it is worth the stress!

Managing behaviour is not my forte.

I don't find the GCSE curriculum interesting

The pay freeze and coming tax rises make it even less appealing.

I want to be be to have a comfortable life (I dont need to be mega rich, but it seems a lot of teachers are just making ends meet after kids etc)

I also feel that the more i learn about teaching/the education system, the more disillusioned I become with it.

The staff atmosphere at my school is okay, so that isn't the issue.

I got a first class stem degree from a russel group. Do you think I am better off trying to find a different job or is there a good future to be had in teaching? (Obviously I wouldn't quit until I had another job sorted, as I know the economy isn't good atm)

Especially if you're currently a teacher, what would your advice be?

Fyi: I am working in a school and have had my own classes from september,

OP posts:

Original poster

TierdOfLockdown · 28/02/2021 14:22

I also feel like teaching is not respected by the public and lockdowns/covid has made this even more evident.

OP posts:

Youllbeoldertoo · 28/02/2021 14:22

@TierdOfLockdown

You sound like you think you’re above teaching, so no it doesn’t sound like it’s for you.

mynewusernameisthis · 28/02/2021 14:23

Don't stay if it's not for you. For your sake and for theirs.

petitdonkey · 28/02/2021 14:25

I’m not quite sure why you chose teaching. Your job is to make the curriculum interesting and behaviour management is a key component of the job. (And I don’t just mean challenging behaviour, all behaviour)

I definitely think you need to reconsider your career path.

Original poster

TierdOfLockdown · 28/02/2021 14:26

I don't think I am above it, I just really don't enjoy it.

I don't enjoy planning/teaching lessons or managing behaviour. Which are the 2 main parts of the job for me.

OP posts:

Wearywithteens · 28/02/2021 14:27

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn at the poster's request.

Original poster

TierdOfLockdown · 28/02/2021 14:28

@petitdonkey I know that, and I feel so bad as it is. All my observations so far have been good. And I am told that I undersell myself but it just isn't enjoyable for me.

I think just writing it here has confirmed that I need to find a new job

OP posts:

Subordinateclause · 28/02/2021 14:28

I'd leave. You have a great degree and the longer you stay, the harder it is to get out. If you don't love it now, you probably won't ever and you need to love it to put up with all the crap!

PumpkinPie2016 · 28/02/2021 14:29

While I wouldn't recommend staying if it really isn't for you, I would suggest perhaps giving it another year.

All being well, covid restrictions are ending in June so schools should be more normal in September. This year has been the hardest I've done in 12 years, it's been phenomenally difficult but it won't be like this forever.

There are good salaries to be had in teaching- I now hold a middle leadership position and I am upper pay scale. I don't struggle for money at all.

We get a good pension which is worth having. Plus, summer holidays! I definitely work evening/weekends/parts of half terms and Easter but generally, apart from results days, Summer is mine and it's bliss!

There are parts of the job that are irritating but that's the case with all jobs. When I am finding it tough, I focus on the kids - they are endlessly entertaining and make me smile every day. I love seeing them progress and when they achieve success, there is no better feeling.

Ultimately, all of the above is my opinion, only you can decide if you want to stay with it.

Excitablemuch · 28/02/2021 14:29

Goodness, I love my job but if you have a choice right now and even any doubts then don’t do it. You have to love it to make it worthwhile - seriously!! Run run run!!!

Bluntness100 · 28/02/2021 14:33

[quote Youllbeoldertoo]@TierdOfLockdown

You sound like you think you’re above teaching, so no it doesn’t sound like it’s for you.[/quote]
Snippy.

She doesn’t sound like that at all. And it’s perfectly fine for her to say it’s not cor me and explain thr reasons why. Christ I’ve lost count of the amount of threads from teachers whinging about all the things she mentions and more.

lolulop · 28/02/2021 14:34

Well you shouldn't do what you don't want to do.
My sibling is a teacher - good salary though & pension & works well around her dc.

PeckyOwl · 28/02/2021 14:36

The parts of the job you hate are never going to go away, it's not something you can change by moving schools.
Best to quit sooner rather than later. As the pay goes up, and you start to get older and more obsessed by your pension, you'll find it harder to leave and start over again in a new career at the bottom of the salary scale.

Theydidntwin · 28/02/2021 14:41

You don’t have to stay in teaching if you’re not enjoying it.

If you don’t like the GCSE syllabus, what do you think about working in a sixth form college? Do you have one nearby which only offers A levels or the IB rather than GCSE resits etc?

Alternatively, the right independent school might suit you better than a more challenging state school, if that’s where you are now. For me the key to being a happy and effective teacher is a good relationship with the students. Children are children and can misbehave wherever they go to school, but if your colleagues set good expectations for pupils’ behaviour it’s easier to maintain that in your own classroom.

keiratwiceknightly · 28/02/2021 14:45

You should leave if you if feel that way.

I know it's not your fault but it does piss me off to see those STEM graduates with the lovely bursary clear off so quickly. They should be required to pay the bursary back IMO.

Theydidntwin · 28/02/2021 14:46

I didn’t mean to imply that behaviour is better in independent schools than state ones. It’s better in some independent schools than others, and some good state schools than others, for many reasons.

There’s a lot of professional and personal satisfaction to be gained from working in the more challenging schools but you are still helping students if you teach elsewhere.

Original poster

TierdOfLockdown · 28/02/2021 14:46

@keiratwiceknightly I didnt get a bursary! I have an unqualified teacher wage.

OP posts:

keiratwiceknightly · 28/02/2021 14:50

Fair enough. But I'm sure you see my point re others then!

Actually if you've come up through the training on the job route, you've had a harder time than you may have on the PGCE. Obviously it's been an awful time to train for everyone but I do think the schools direct type qualifications are much less well supported and therefore often harder.

The6thQueen · 28/02/2021 14:50

I think I’d give it a little more time. Teaching in a pandemic is nothing like teaching normally!
Also, planning gets easier as does behaviour management. With enough experience it becomes second nature.
Would you consider sticking it out another year?

The pay in teaching is pretty good - with many opportunities for progression. Whilst not flexible, the working hours are ok with young children. I leave work at 4pm when I finish teaching, spend the evening with my children, then start work 8-8.30 once they are in bed.

SmeleanorSmellstrop · 28/02/2021 14:52

Teach abroad. As a British qualified teacher you can get a crazy high salary teaching in an international school or tutoring, in a place with very low expenses. Your company will usually provide free housing and a yearly flight allowamce so you can return home without spending a penny too! I am saying this from experience!

DreamingofBrie · 28/02/2021 15:05

@SmeleanorSmellstrop

I was going to suggest looking at teaching abroad for a few years. I had a classmate who moved to teach abroad in the ME a few years after doing the PGCE. She loved it.

I would love to spend a few years teaching in Asia. I have family there and would like my dc to be more immersed in that side of their heritage. With dh's job and the dc being so settled at school though, I don't think it's going to happen.

Teaching is really tough OP, especially so in a pandemic. You don't sound as if you think you're too good for the job at all. With a good STEM degree though, you have plenty of career opportunities elsewhere if you decide teaching isn't for you.

Fgs1 · 28/02/2021 15:11

If you’re not enjoying it and want to leave you’ve answered your own question really

Jfsrhkkydcb · 28/02/2021 15:14

Why did you train as a teacher? What were you hoping for?

ButIWantedToBeYourValentine · 28/02/2021 15:16

YANBU. I quit my PGCE 6 weeks before qualifying because I knew I didn't want to do it.
Never looked back.

Redsquirrel5 · 28/02/2021 15:16

I have worked in Education for nearly thirty years. I resigned last year. I have seen a lot of young, fresh, full of ideas students and NQTs become disillusioned and leave. It is not the job most people think. If you are not enjoying it now you certainly won’t be enjoying it in twenty years time.
Some schools are more difficult than others to work in and I have only worked in Primary. Don’t worry if you have found it is not for you as you will join a long line of teachers who have left. I know of nine who have left in the past three years. They were ranging from NQT, QTS to long served teachers. There is life after teaching. Good luck.

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