To consider retraining as a primary teacher?

[CrumpledCrumpet]

I’m early 40s, have two primary age DC, decent job/career with 50k salary but fed up of my current role. I love being around my DCs primary school and I see the teachers and I think “I want to do what you do”.

I always volunteer to help in the classroom when the opportunity comes up, I love being around the children. I love the school environment. When I was younger I volunteered in schools too - only talking an hour or so here and there though.

I like working under pressure/stress and I work better in situations with lots of feedback / stimulus. I like ‘performing’, delivering presentations etc in my current role. I’m generally patient and calm but enthusiastic.

But…

Everyone seems to be quitting the profession, so I clearly must have a rose-tinted view.

Although I like performing/presenting etc I am a classic introvert and think I might find being ‘always on’ exhausting.

I will obviously get paid less than I do now.

I can’t even get my own kids to listen to me half the time

Is it insane to even consider?

My SIL recently did a PGCE at the age of 48, despite several teacher friends warning her against it! I think she thought it was now or never so decided to go for it. She's in her first year of teaching now and seems to be doing well.

I wouldn't work those hellish hours for the pittance of a pay they get, not a chance. I need to put food on my table and actually live my life.

Also I'd only want to teach nicely behaved, engaged children. I've got no patience for the violent ones who throw chairs, bite and finally get expelled for sex or knife crime.

@CrumpledCrumpet Did you end up taking the plunge and retraining?? I'm considering doing the same!

Ha no I didn't, in fact I'd forgotten I'd thought about doing it!

With hindsight I realise I needed to be doing something that felt more rewarding and worthwhile - when I wrote this I was really frustrated with my job at the time as it felt completely futile due to organisational issues. What appealed about teaching was the more immediate impact of working with children.

In the event I left that job for a better paid role the sector I was currently working in which was a terrible mistake, I nearly had a breakdown.

I've now moved to a new role in a charity which is using my existing skillset, it's much more poorly paid but I love it. I think there's three things which I'm getting out of it - one is that it's much more rewarding on a day-to-day basis (which is scratching the itch that I think was driving me towards teaching, I just needed to be doing something that felt purposeful). Also it's a really positive and supportive culture and I have lots of autonomy - realistically I don't think I'd have necessarily had either of those things in teaching. And the workload is much more manageable - most days I log-off at the end of the day and don't need to think about work again until the next day!