Career change: From university researcher to secondary teach

[midnightOK]

This is not a AIBU post, I mainly post it for traffic.

I am currently doing research in university. I am on a fixed contract and I am over 40 years old. I keep feeling that research jobs are not sth suitable for me. On one hand you need to keep learning new stuff, which becomes difficult when u become older and often distracted by kids or housework. On another hand, my job is not a permanent one and the lack of job security makes me worrying all the time. I am thinking of retrained to be a secondary teacher, but not sure if that would be a sensible move? English is not my native language and I am worried that it might be difficult to deal with teenagers, especially when I have to consider cultural differences and language barrier etc. Can anyone pls advise me? Many thanks for wisdom Mumsneters.

Or in case you have any good suggestions for my next career? I have a PhD in engineering. I have tried to apply for some data scientist positions, but deeply in my heart, I don't want to do jobs which you have to keep learning. Thanks

I’m confused about what’s attracting you to teaching. Is it just the job security?

Yanbu. I am also a researcher at a university on yet another fixed term contract and I know exactly how you feel, especially on the job security front (similar age, three children, mortgage etc). It's a never ending workload and the pay is pretty poor for the hours I end up putting in!

I have recently jumped ship and got a job with the civil service - currently working my notice period at the university. I couldn't bear it any longer and this is a permanent role. I also work in a data science and my new job uses a lot of skills I already have.

Teaching did cross my mind as an alternative career, but I don't think I could afford to take a pay cut while training.

Why not volunteer? Or apply for a TA role? It would give some insight.

@PurpleDaisies

With what you’ve said about not wanting stress, you’d be mad to go into secondary teaching. Have a look on the staff room board.

I am Ok to deal with common stress, but the stress in university research work is another different issue. It seems like there is no end to the work and you have to keep up with the pace of paper publishing and knowledge update. My brain doesn't have a good break. When I am working, I am working, when I am not working, I am thinking of working.

@QueenOfDuisburg

Yanbu. I am also a researcher at a university on yet another fixed term contract and I know exactly how you feel, especially on the job security front (similar age, three children, mortgage etc). It's a never ending workload and the pay is pretty poor for the hours I end up putting in!

I have recently jumped ship and got a job with the civil service - currently working my notice period at the university. I couldn't bear it any longer and this is a permanent role. I also work in a data science and my new job uses a lot of skills I already have.

Teaching did cross my mind as an alternative career, but I don't think I could afford to take a pay cut while training.

That's a great move. I rarely see any council job coming up related to data science. Do you come across it from common job website?

Um yes. I left secondary teaching as there is literally no end to the work and I was up late each night preparing for the next morning. My exact problem was 8 never switched off as you are always "on" in term time trying to play catchup with the million things you need to do for the next day/lesson. You do get a good break in Summer... but I needed to be able to stop more often than that and ideally at least weekly. I think teaching is going into exactly the thing you are trying to leave...

@PurpleDaisies

I’m confused about what’s attracting you to teaching. Is it just the job security?

Yes, job security and the long holiday. The pay is decent too, I think. I can't afford a big salary cut. I don't worry about learning new things or handling stress in teaching. Teaching is quite different from my current research work. Although there will be new things which have to be learnt, they will be fairly easy and manageable for most people ( I assume)

Oh dear. Please do read some staff room threads.

@BluebellsGreenbells

Why not volunteer? Or apply for a TA role? It would give some insight.

Can't really afford the salary cut. I need to pay mortgage and raise the kids

My next vote was the civil service. A friend joined recently and is really enjoying it. Short term contracts are stressful and Uni’s not much fun to work in these days.

There is a bigger issue though. You are a successful mother with a great job and are only in your forties:) You need to make the changes to free you up to feel this.

I felt the same when working as a researcher. I moved to a professional services role in a University and it felt like "stepping off the treadmill" of the constant strain of keeping up to date.
If you enjoy engineering your knowledge can be really useful on e.g. knowledge exchange, impact, research administration, research project management. I got a role in prof services in my discipline then moved within the university to another discipline and have been promoted since too. With your data skills, you could move to e.g. central planning dept. Lots of interesting roles to consider. Don't overlook your knowledge of how research and researchers work. This can be a strength in these Prof services roles.

If you're going to do anything I wouldn't enter secondary, or at the very least academies the SLT teams within them can be quite toxic and there is a lot of reports of bullying towards lower staff coming through the unions at the minute, maybe try becoming a college or sixth form lecturer instead?

Oh op, please don't go into teaching for job security and long holidays.

I went into it because I wanted to work with and support teenagers. I found a renewed love for my subject but had to stop full time teaching as it was destroying my life. It is a non-stop treadmill of work, every day exhausting teaching then every evening the slog of marking, weekends busy with planning, holidays too, apart from the summer break.

And yes you need to learn new things. Actually that was one thing I liked about it. Teenagers spitting at me and throwing things and swearing at me - not so much.

Definitely DO NOT train to teach if you don’t like stress. Long hours, pressure from SLT on progress and results, worry about children, endless admin and data and meetings after work multiple days a week (more, the more senior you become) as well as getting to work by 8am at the very latest. Working in holidays, over weekends, evenings once the kids are in bed as there is just not enough time to get it all done at school if you need to get home to pick up kids and deal with their evenings. The guilt of what I was putting mu child through (11 hours in childcare from 7am - 6pm and really not having much to give when I was “present”) made me give it up. I think you probably would not make it past your PGCE year, especially if you are even slightly apprehensive of teenagers.

OP I would really discourage you from moving into secondary teaching. I think you would be miserable. From what you have said, it is not remotely suitable for you. To give you some idea of my experience:

I retrained as one in my 30's with small DC. It is without doubt the hardest, most stressful, most soul destroying job I have ever done. I worked all the hours of the day and night. MY DH had to take over with the DC completely and they lost their wife and mother. Every evening, every weekend. All the holidays. And it was never enough. There was always more to be done. Even when I did stop for a couple of hours, I could not stop thinking about everything I still had to do. The work and the pressure followed me and haunted me every moment of my life.

Then in the classroom you have a load of kids that won't be quiet and listen to you, after everything you are giving up to plan these lessons for them, they don't care, they don't want to learn. They swear and throw things at you. They spit at you, they make sexual comments. Then you have to come back the next day and smile at them and "start fresh". So they can do it again. They complain. The parents complain - you are too strict, you are not strict enough. You are lying about little Johnny, he would never do that. You are picking on him. If they are misbehaving, that's your fault. You are responsible for their results even thought they don't give a shit. They can say and do whatever they like to you and it will be your fault for the "relationship breakdown', you are not warm enough, your lessons aren't jazzy and interesting enough. You are on your feet running from pillar to post all day, your throat hurts from trying to talk over them. The technology breaks, there are no board pens, you spend your own money trying to provide things for the kids. Often, you have to choose between eating or going to the toilet because you won't have time for both.

It took everything from me, mentally, emotionally, physically. My hair fell out. I cried almost every day. I stopped after a year. 50% of newly qualified teachers quit within 5 years and there is a reason for that!

@disco123 what do you do now?

Why not project management or grant application support, OP? Every university seems to have a group dedicated to supporting grant applications, many staff are ex-researchers themselves, could be a stepping stone to more finance-focused roles, too.

More examples, Edinburgh, UEA, Exeter...

I am Ok to deal with common stress, but the stress in university research work is another different issue. It seems like there is no end to the work and you have to keep up with the pace of paper publishing and knowledge update. My brain doesn't have a good break. When I am working, I am working, when I am not working, I am thinking of working.

Believe me the stress in teaching will be a shock to your system. There is no end to work, no end to paperwork and no end to new rehashed strategies. You will think of teaching and the kids you teach 24/7. You won't sleep worrying about some of them.

Not a job to go in to for an easier life, good pay and holidays

Oh yes and I forgot to mention that you can't be off sick, because there is too much to get through, and anyway you still have to plan the lessons for your classes, even if you're lying in hospital having a (probably stress-induced) miscarriage...

[quote L1ttleSeahorse]@disco123 what do you do now?[/quote]
I was. SAHM for a long while. Put my energy and passion into my own DC. I'm now dipping my toe back in with supply teaching actually and it is SO much better. Wouldn't suit OP either though because it's not stable income.

However! For me - I actually DO work 9-3 now! I actually DO have those long holidays! I have my weekends and evenings with my family. If they have sports day or anyone is sick or we want to go on holiday I can take time off. No marking. No planning. No responsibility for their results. No parents. Oh, and I'm paid more. Still have the behaviour of course but I don't take it so personally because I am more detached.

I think people saying “don’t go into teaching if you don’t want to keep learning” probably don’t realise just what amount of learning is required to do research. I don’t think the OP means that she never wants to learn again - just that she doesn’t want her entire role to be as intensely focused on constantly new stuff as much as research is.

OP - I sympathise. Maths / physics teachers seem to be in demand. A job in a college or a good high school would have less drama, I imagine. Otherwise, coding, or retraining as an actuary, or seeing if the University has any research support roles?

If you don’t like learning new things and don’t know if you actually like or are interested in teenagers, secondary teaching is really not for you.

she doesn’t want her entire role to be as intensely focused on constantly new stuff

She will be learning “new stuff” every day, a lot of it more difficult for her because not tied to her subject area and unfamiliar. She will also have to be ready to examine her current knowledge, unpack and restructure it in order to communicate it to young people. This can actually a very difficult thing to do - especially for someone with no direct experience of the (English I assume) education system.

Yes, job security and the long holiday. The pay is decent too, I think. I can't afford a big salary cut. I don't worry about learning new things or handling stress in teaching. Teaching is quite different from my current research work. Although there will be new things which have to be learnt, they will be fairly easy and manageable for most people ( I assume)

I would recommend teaching in FE colleges. Many colleges have Engineering Departments.