To take a massive pay cut

[CaptainChannel]

I am a very unhappy teacher earning just shy of 37k. The job is making me ill and unhappy and I plan to leave at Xmas.
I would like to change careers completely but to do so involves a large paycut. I have applied for and been invited for an interview in my industry of interest, but the role is advertised at 23k. It's a job I'd love to do but the salary isn't great and obviously by leaving teaching I give up the school holidays with my DC.
DH is tentatively supportive as he knows how miserable I am as a teacher, but obviously 23k is a low starting salary for a graduate in her mid 30s. If I was to be offered the job

Pros are almost no commute, my 2 Dc will not have to attend breakfast club anymore, it's well away from teaching but still linked to education, hopefully I wouldn't cry on the way to and from work every day.
Cons are obviously the lower salary, loss of holidays, loss of teacher pension.

I could attempt to negotiate the salary up a bit but it's not something I've done before!

So do I stick with teaching as it's relatively well paid and just suck up my feelings on it, or take the financial hit and follow what I want to do. As a family we can afford it although it would dent our disposable income.

I gave up my teaching job because I was crying on the way to school. I was miserable. I got a nice job in a university with around the pay you describe. …but I was a bit bored. A teaching job came up in a nicer school—I took it and have now been there 5 years. I love it! I would recommend a carefully chosen school move rather than a complete change

I'm another ex-teacher saying do it! Get out now before the stress kills you. I took a big pay cut but it's been over 2 years now and I'm so much happier and healthier. It was definitely the right choice. You can always go back to teaching if you want to in the future. Teachers will always be needed.

I took a £15k pay cut to move to the same city at now DH in my mid 30s. I wasn't a teacher but had a great career working at a senior level in corporate governance. Once DC came along I went p/t in a role which still required a lot of travel and long hours. Eventually something had to give. I now work in a role 3 days a week, it's got no management responsibility and I earn half what I used to 15 years ago. But life is so much better, I have time with the kids, I have time for myself. I feel semi-retired at 50. It's brilliant.

Just on the potential for negotiating the salary up - it’s £23k. If you managed to negotiate it to £25k that would be a big step up from the company’s perspective (remember they have to balance the pay against all the other people doing the same job who get paid £23k), and £25k is still a massive drop for you. Would you be happy if the job had stated £25k? If not, don’t get sucked into accepting it just because they’d agreed to your request - it still might not be enough to make it worthwhile.

Thank you that sounds interesting. Which university is that if you don't mind me asking? Just in case it's near me!

There’s loads of them about. Go to www dot jobs dot ac dot uk. You can search by area. I see 7 such roles across the 4 Unis in my city.

Your description of your school sounds exactly like my previous school, OP. I felt like I was in a pressure cooker. I got a job in a different school two years ago and my working life was totally transformed. I really love my job now. If you've not lost your love of teaching but you are just hating your workplace, why not try a different school? You have nothing to lose. All the best OP, it is hard to make big decisions when you are already so stressed out

Massive reduction in stress compensates so much more than a drop in salary that is likely to increase with experience etc.
Depends if you can afford the (prob temp) reduction in wages.

I talked to a male friend the other day and he said he has always negotiated bis salary up. He isnt particularly impressive but earns way more than me. Ive nener done that. Thats a miniscule salary for your age and experience. Def ask for more!

Just imagine you are a mediocr
e middle aged white man...

Music in private schools is an important subject especially in the lead up to 11+ scholarship applications. Parents and kids take is seriously and the music teacher in my daughter's independent primary was very well-respected and had a lot of gravitas.

I left teaching after 9 years when I was on ups 2 (40k ish i think). I took a job for 33k in an industry I had a bit of experience in pre teaching. I'm now up to 49k in less than 3 years. It obviously depends what industry you end up in but although the drop in salary was tough going for a while, the progression has been very fast for me (mainly through passing industry exams). Get out of teaching if you can it's just not worth the trauma to your mental health!

@CaptainChannel as a private sector worker married to a teacher I think you’re in for a nasty surprise when you leave the well paid public sector with sick pay and pensions decent pensions for the private sector.

There is a lot more stress in the real world than teaching.

@CarolinaInMyMind

I talked to a male friend the other day and he said he has always negotiated bis salary up. He isnt particularly impressive but earns way more than me. Ive nener done that. Thats a miniscule salary for your age and experience. Def ask for more!

Just imagine you are a mediocr
e middle aged white man...

Yes. I would agree to always negotiate. But there may be a scale/grade points - standard in public sector, charities, 3rd sector, etc. Also, £23k isn’t a great salary, but saying ‘your age and experience should get more’ is a complete red herring. If you’re changing sector, and there’s really particular technical or specialist knowledge needed, then I wouldn’t expect someone with no experience in that field to automatically be given a salary commensurate with others who have worked in that area for a while. You should also remember that discrimination around age isn’t legal, and you shouldn’t be awarded a salary due to age. (But I recognise that age & experience often go hand in hand.) So - just so as the OP isn’t going into a new area with unrealistic expectations. The same would be true for a man.

hello! I handed in my notice as a teacher this week and I'm taking a job that offers the same salary pro rata as my teaching job does for 3 days a week. for the exact same reasons as you. check what your take home pay will be. mine is only 250 a month less than I currently get! which is counterbalanced by less petrol. it was a total surprise - I thought the take home pay would be a lot less. I'm 40 and I feel like I need out and this is hopefully the start of a new career! good luck. take the job! X

Could you look at jobs advising teachers? Our county council always seems to be advertising those jobs.
Do part time supply and hopefully find a school you would like to work in. You can always tutor.
Life is too short to work at a job you hate, but jobs outside teaching are not much better or stress free .

@CarolinaInMyMind You surely can’t still believe in the gender pay gap? Would you like to buy some magic beans if you do?

I don't think 23k is that bad a salary. I'm 39 and it is what I earn.

@garlictwist

I don't think 23k is that bad a salary. I'm 39 and it is what I earn.

But if you took a third off your monthly pay check youd definitely miss it.

Don't worry too much about the holidays- all of us who aren't teachers manage! As you said, a combination of annual leave, grandparents, playdates, sleepovers, I would say holiday clubs but my kids never liked them and even so somehow we managed. (and as older kids they don't need 100% supervision now)

Knowing that you're a music teacher I would take the jump. You always have the option to supplement your income by taking individual pupils for instrument tuition, which is a good hourly rate. Or being paid to run a choir somewhere. Or paid to perform! Get back to the fun aspects of music!

Life is too short to be crying on your way in to work. It sounds as though you've done the numbers and can drop your wage, do it, don't regret anything x

Do it. My husband is an Assistant Head on £58k a year and has applied for his dream job (University role) with a pay cut of £20k a year. I totally support him and have said we will managed perfectly fine. I have seen how stressed he gets in teaching and the crazy amount of work he has to do for home. His interview is on Tuesday and I am really praying he gets it.

[quote CBUK2K2]@CaptainChannel as a private sector worker married to a teacher I think you’re in for a nasty surprise when you leave the well paid public sector with sick pay and pensions decent pensions for the private sector.

There is a lot more stress in the real world than teaching.[/quote]
I'm also married to a non teacher, and most of my friends are not teachers so I'm not in for any surprises thanks.

I am not saying teaching is more stressful than anything else. I am saying I am stressed in my particular job which happens to be teaching.

@CBUK2K2

[quote CBUK2K2]@CaptainChannel as a private sector worker married to a teacher I think you’re in for a nasty surprise when you leave the well paid public sector with sick pay and pensions decent pensions for the private sector.

There is a lot more stress in the real world than teaching.[/quote]
Whilst I agree there are great sick pay and a decent pension in teaching - I completely disagree there is "a lot more stress in the real world".

For a start it will depend what job you compare it to and what triggers your stress. It's also quite insulting to use the phrase "real world". For teachers schools are a workplace, and it is a demanding job. It's no more not the "real world" than any other profession or sector/industry.