To give up this "easy" money?

[DietC0keandLime]

I currently work for a fairly small manufacturing business, when I joined the office was an absolute mess and the business on the brink of collapsing, so I was given a profit share in the business as an incentive to help turn it around, but I don't own shares or anything like that.

The business has really grown over the past ten years since I started, and I have ended up being paid really well these past couple of years for what I do (around £50k, the role would normally be about £20-25k if not for the profit share) and I think that would continue to be the case for the next few years as well.

The owner of the business is really lovely, but I don't actually like the job for the most part, I find it really stressful, my mental health has been quite bad for the past year and I think it is a big contributing factor. There's nowhere for me to grow within the company, and I feel like I'm just fed up.

I really want to completely retrain in something different, I have a career in mind but I would need to go back to Uni and do a full degree to even get started in it, which would take 3/4 years and the maximum salary I could ever realistically earn would be £40k. Probably this industry would be more demanding and have it's own stresses, but I think it would be more rewarding as well.

I'm 35, no kids, but DH isn't supportive. He can't believe I'm even considering it. He thinks I've dropped really lucky with my current job and I'd be crazy to give up the "easy" money. DH earns around £70k, we've made good financial decisions in the past and we only have a small mortgage and have an additional joint income of £1k per month on two rental properties we inherited. I don't expect him to support me through Uni, I would get a loan to cover my half of the bills and have a small amount of savings too.

I'm grateful for my current job, I really am, I feel guilty for thinking about giving it up but I hate the thought of still being here in five years time. It's like Groundhog Day.

I need some perspective please. What do you think, WIBU to change careers?

Do you have enough savings to fund the course and your living expenses for the duration? I’d be wary otherwise. Years of training, hard work just to have high stress levels for less money🤷‍♀️

Teaching seems to me to be like nursing, people are leaving in droves and you need to think carefully before jumping in. I’m a nurse and would not recommend it to anyone, a lot of teachers say the same.

You will be working for another 20 years at least. That's a long time to be doing something you don't like 40 hours a week (or whatever full time is in your firm) I'd say retrain.

It isn't 'easy money' if it's stressing you out and causing a gradual decline in your mental health. That's actually quite costly.

I’m curious that with £70K + £50K plus two rental properties you’re talking about a loan to pay your share of the bills. Why don’t you have a fuckton of savings with that income?! I’d at least delay the career change until your built some savings - which will be easy to do.

Apologies about the PGCE earlier, I thought you’d said you’d volunteered previously whilst at uni, but you didn’t.

I would look at making changes to your present job - can you train up someone to do some of it, work part time?

Also, my husband is a teacher, now in senior management. It is a lifestyle, not a job. The stress is endless.

YANBU to retrain

YABU to become a teacher, seriously don't do it (spouse of teacher)

Life is too short to look back full of regret and what ifs. Your finances seem fine, you don't have dc and don't plan on having any, I'd say you're as free as a bird! BTW, I've done something even crazier than what you're planning to do and it involves two dc,moving countries, going back to uni and no job security. Life will carry you through. Don't be scared. Do what you want.

@StormcloakNord

Advise doing something other than teaching.

That in itself is a hard, long, unrewarding slog but to have an unsupportive DH on top of that you'll end up feeling very tired, burned out and lonely

Blimey, somebody has to teach the UK's children and who better than a motivated prospective teacher! Incredibly people keep having families, how bloody inconvenient! If the teachers on here feel so hard done by, get the hell out, diversify, travel abroad to teach....the world's your oyster! A good teacher is a godsend!

@DietC0keandLime

I just would really love to work with children. I don't want my own but I do like being around them. When I've volunteered in schools before, or I worked for a while with late primary aged children in a hobby capacity, I've loved it so much. I think I would fit into the "staff culture", and my current job is very isolated and I'm lonely. I'd enjoy being around children and I think I would enjoy the work itself.

I'm not scared of working hard, or having to put the hours in. I'm not worried about the money side of things too much, it would be less money but I just think I might be happier.

This sounds a lot like you want children of your own. Do you have any?

Primary teaching is very intense and high stress. Many people find it all consuming in term time particularly in the first few years. 50-60 hours is common and even when you’re established there is a lot of paperwork so can be difficult to get the hours lower. Definitely go in with your eyes wide open by shadowing teachers, volunteering in class and asking lots of questions.

The right school with a supportive environment makes all the difference but this can be hard to suss at interview and can change at the drop of a hat depending on the management team.

In your situation I would probably look for a different job and retrain but do voluntary work through brownies or similar to get the satisfaction of working with children rather than jump into teaching.

Sorry, you already said you don't. Still, it feels like there is more to this.

I’m a teacher and I love it, but I do 3 days a week and it’s secondary. Full time primary is fucking brutal. I don’t see my primary teacher friends in term time, even without covid.

FFS you have (almost) three properties and your partner is a high wage earner. Do what you want.
Why does he think you need money more than being happy?

Also if you ever split up teaching would be a better option as a transferable skill than a job you hate.

I wouldn’t do retrain as a teacher I say that as someone who is very good at teaching but can’t stand all the extra stress and hassle and basically no life that goes with it.
My mother taught for many years although she stopped for a while until we were school age because it’s so hard. She would have stayed part time if a change a circumstances hadn’t have meant she had to be the breadwinner.
You need a supportive family to teach because if impacts so much on family life.
There are a lot of ex teachers around for a reason.
Other jobs that might work are TA, after school club leader, preschool, forest school leader, nursery worker, there’s fostering, assistant HV, family support workers and many other options. Do not give up the £50k a year without serious consideration and actually spending a good chunk of time in school.

Why not do the train to teach on the job route? I think that's very common nowadays. I'm in secondary so maybe it's different in primary.

Can I swap my job with yours?

Why don't you volunteer instead? (perhaps the scouts or brownies)

You get to enjoy time with children without all the paperwork teaching brings.

I'm a teacher who got out, though I wasn't in primary. I don't know any teacher who doesn't find it a stressful and thankless task, tbh.

Don't do it. Teaching will be worse for your MH!

If you like being around children why don’t you just have them? You can teach them without having to spend years retraining?

And yy to teaching being on of the most stressful occupations.

I knew the ‘retraining’ would be teaching. Don’t do it!! I wish I had done almost anything else.

Follow your heart.You obviously aren't living on the breadline, you don't have children and it sounds as if having a family isn't part of your future, so go for it.Life is too short to do a stressful job you don't enjoy until the day you retire.

There’s more than one kind of teaching establishment though. With a teaching qualification you can do a College, SEN, a PRU , supply , teach abroad. There’s lots of alternatives to being stuck in a mainstream hell hole.

You are in the lucky position of not needing the £50k even if teaching turned out to be the worse idea ever.

BTW how have you still got any mortgage left on that sort of money?

OP, don’t let the comments here put you off the idea of teaching. Nobody here knows you and you might be a born teacher who would slip effortlessly into teaching. However, I’m concerned you would have to start from scratch with a 3-4 year degree. That is a big commitment in time and money if you end up not enjoying it.

That said, I don’t think you should stay in your current role a moment longer. As your financial situation is good, how about applying for a TA role in a school or admin roles within schools. My friend earns £35k as a school registrar and loves her role. Yes the salaries might be lower, but if you find your niche your job satisfaction should be much higher than it is now.

Could you negotiate 3/4 days and a role change and find a TA position for 1/2 days? I have a couple of friends who were going to train as teachers but found the TA role, with less responsibility and proportionally much more time with the children, was a better fit.

Is there any other new challenge you could find in the job?