Is teaching really that bad?

[Cremeegg456]

I did a secondary PGCE and gained a pass with Merit, and 'outstanding', that was 6 years ago and I've never completed my nqt year.
I know the PGCE isn't representative of what actual teaching is like though but I remember it being what seemed like a lot of unnecessary paperwork, but we also had the assignments on top.

I've done various work with young and elderly people since which I've enjoyed, but I've never made a lot more than minimum wage. Had zero hours contracts, agency work etc.

I did enjoy teaching but I am just not prepared to work evenings and weekends as well, it's just not worth having no life for me. Not prepared to work more than 45 hours a week.

But truthfully if I want a higher and more stable income I think I would have to go into it, if I'm thinking of buying a house, children etc in the next few years.

Would be interested to hear from people as to what their work life balance really is.

A friend on mine left teaching last year after 10 years. Described it as working every weekend and most nights. Wasn't helped by Covid but she said it was pretty much like it before.

She left and changed career and marvels now at spending weekends and evenings with the family. Like many, she has work she does at home but nothing like teaching.

She did admit that part of the problem is how teaching is structured in that teachers being pretty much term time workers, it isn't easy to spread the load out wider beyond the terms apart from those who are super organised and can plan lessons months ahead.

It sounds to be like the whole school terms and days need reviewing but in the meantime, I wouldn't be a teacher. She said those teachers that are shit, don't do the work required and don't care as there isn't much schools do to get rid of crap teachers. That is of course unless OFSTED arrive and they get an inadequate.

@Cremeegg456 complete your NQT abroad, accommodation, flights, health insurance paid for and no tax (country dependent). Better work/life balance but you’ll still need to put work in for your first year or two resources wise and then you’re set. Students are on the whole so much better behaved abroad, teaching in the UK is horrific at the moment. Will give you a chance to save for a house deposit, although you might never want to return!

@SoftwareDev

It's not as bad as you think - it's worse.

There is a reason hundreds of us are leaving the profession!

Yep

I taught for over 30yrs. Took early retirement (15yrs ago) and managed to get my pension with a 25% drop but it was worth it - or I would be in prison!! My last few years were awful and I know it hasn't got any better since. Lack of respect from students, parents and SLT. Shit, shit,shit. Work/life balance....forget it

I have been a teacher for 22 years. It is beyond dreadful, and I now work in a really good school. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t work weekends and evenings. We are officially paid for 30 hours a week which is pro rata over the year to cover holidays. We get 5 hours a fortnight ‘free’ to plan, prepare and assess which is the minimum that the government say we can do our job in. We are led by the donkeys in government who have no school experience. If your heart was in it, you’d have continued after your PGCE. TBH most schools would wonder why you didn’t continue and you may find it difficult to get employment.
Join the Facebook group ‘Exit Teaching and Thrive.’ This is a huge group with 54k members (which should tell you something) and has great advice on how to use your teaching skills in other areas. It’s run by 2 ex-teachers.

I think the mantra that the hard work is just for the first few years doesn't hold true. Yes, you get faster at planning, but I've been teaching 7 years and in that time my curriculum has completely changed three times. This means every couple of years, I am starting from scratch again.

The results of the pandemic has massively increased the number of students with MH issues. They need our love and support, and the school tell you this, but they also want you to get their predicted results despite all this and it's your fault if not. The school I'm at now is definitely one of the better ones, in that it will come up in my evaluation but I doubt it would hinder me. I know of lots of teacher friends who do not get their pay rise if at least a certain number of students don't get their predicted grade (based on a computer algorithm that was created in Yr7). Lots of year 7s have come up to use after 2 years of computer use during lockdown, unable to write properly. Which makes sense because the first lockdown would have been prime pen license time, which they never had to work for. A good chunk of the class have a reading age between 7 and 9 years old because they did no workover lockdown, which means they are struggling to access secondary text books, which means extra work on the teacher to differentiate.

There's a massive exodus of headteachers at the moment, this is going to massively change the dynamics of schools. And the retention and recruitment issues means that many kids are going years without a qualified teacher. Again, when you get hold of that class, you've got all those gaps to plug, so lessons you planned years ago aren't going to help.

I love working with the kids but if you want to do the job properly, the workload is massive and the hours are leading to teachers to burn out. The pay is a red herring because you start off well, earn just enough to get you a nice lifestyle, but the progress pay is tiny with frequent pay freezes.

@MarieG10

A friend on mine left teaching last year after 10 years. Described it as working every weekend and most nights. Wasn't helped by Covid but she said it was pretty much like it before.

She left and changed career and marvels now at spending weekends and evenings with the family. Like many, she has work she does at home but nothing like teaching.

She did admit that part of the problem is how teaching is structured in that teachers being pretty much term time workers, it isn't easy to spread the load out wider beyond the terms apart from those who are super organised and can plan lessons months ahead.

It sounds to be like the whole school terms and days need reviewing but in the meantime, I wouldn't be a teacher. She said those teachers that are shit, don't do the work required and don't care as there isn't much schools do to get rid of crap teachers. That is of course unless OFSTED arrive and they get an inadequate.

Teachers don't work term time. They work weekends and "holidays". none of which they are paid for.

Bollocks to not being able get shut of poor teachers. It's never been easier. I've never seen an effort to get rid of the shite that wasn't down to mismanagement by management.

Oh hang on...you're not a teacher, it's your friend

The biggest problem in teaching is the insecurity. You’re only one bad obs away from losing your job.

Move to Ireland? We're crying out for teachers and there is nothing like the extra paperwork and long hours. Yes I have to do my planning etc but never work on a weekend or during our (longer?) holidays.

I don’t work in the evenings but I am in work from 7:30-6. I live very close to work, though, so I still get a good evening.

I try not to work too much on the weekends and I often don’t. We are a 4 form entry and share the planning but the marking is about as heavy as it’s possible to be and we always have 8 million other things on. I also have subject leadership. It’s very, very busy but if you force yourself into a routine where you do everything as soon as it’s given to you and use every single tiny bit of time in the work day then it’s sort of doable.

I don’t think it’s the type of job you can go into unless you really love it, though. However I still think it’s an easier gig than hospitality.

Sadly it is pretty bad I be been a teacher( primary ) deputy head and HT and have loved it (mostly) . But over the last few years things have got progressively worse . I've had enough I just don't want the stress anymore . I like working with the kids and am a good teacher but it consumes too much of my life . I'm out as soon as I can !!

Also, Jesus Christ I’ve just read the thread and I’d like to throw into the ring that I regularly have times when I think “I can’t believe this is my job”/“I can’t believe I get paid for this”/“I can’t believe anyone would want to do anything other than this.”

I’m sure I’ll get tons of people being like “just wait until you’ve been teaching for 500 years THEN you’ll hate it!” but it’s really not true that all teachers hate their jobs. And I have a really challenging class this year too.

It’s doable. I’m full time with toddlers from choice. Yes they go to nursery during term time but I have all the holidays with them. Apart from a handful of pinch points throughout the year I do not bring any work home. However, family admin is completely shared with husband 50/50. He does drop off, I do pick ups. We take turns being off if little ones are I’ll. Having that equal share makes the biggest difference.

Yes it is. Hope that helps!

On the other side I actually enjoy teaching!

@WithRosesAroundTheDoor

A friend of mine was ranting about this the other day and it's just hitting me how right she is. The whole culture around teaching is wrong and really takes advantage of the emotional connection that we have with pupils. In no other job would you be expected to put in so much unpaid overtime. There are no other roles where you would be considered failing and put through capability without hours of unpaid overtime. It's so bloody wrong and is reliant on us being afraid to let the side down.

This this and this screamed from the rooftops where nobody can hear and nobody cares.

I did enjoy teaching but I am just not prepared to work evenings and weekends as well, it's just not worth having no life for me. Not prepared to work more than 45 hours a week
I work a 55 hour week Monday to Friday and - at crunch points of the year - at least one full weekend day. I teach English, mainly to KS4 and 5, but I have additional responsibility which reduces my teaching load.
I love my job. But if I want to not take work into the holidays - and I try not to - I have to work evenings and weekends.

@intheblightgarden

Teaching is a vocation. You have to love it. Even then, it's hard work but if you love it then it's worth it. The first few years are the worst, once you're settled in a school and know what you're doing and have your plans made etc you can settle down a bit.

Why did you do a PGCE if no real intention of being a teacher?

I did a PGCE and had every intention of being a wonderful, wholesome, fun-loving and effective primary teacher, having worked in schools for ten years. I thought I would love it, I wanted to love it. Less than two years in and I know that I either go part-time or I leave because my family are not getting the best of me, and I've never been so stressed. Half-terms are great, but it takes a few days for my shoulders to relax, and a couple of days after that I'm back to my brain being too loud/busy thinking about the following week. It is relentless and I just want to be able to switch off.

@WithRosesAroundTheDoor

A friend of mine was ranting about this the other day and it's just hitting me how right she is. The whole culture around teaching is wrong and really takes advantage of the emotional connection that we have with pupils. In no other job would you be expected to put in so much unpaid overtime. There are no other roles where you would be considered failing and put through capability without hours of unpaid overtime. It's so bloody wrong and is reliant on us being afraid to let the side down.

Medicine? Law? Banking? Almost every profession requires you to put in hours of unpaid overtime.

Not willing to work more than 45 hours a week. Then don't do it you will fail and leave everyone else to pick up the pieces. Your mentor will waste hours supporting you. Your HOD will be fielding complaints from students, form tutors and parents and desperately try and support you. You will be off sick and leave everyone else to cover. You will leave and everyone else's timetable will change/extend to cover your classes.

I’ve been a secondary teacher for 20 years. It fits well around a family, but you do resent the extra hours - which, if anything, have increased, rather than decreased, despite having become more efficient due to experience. The demands are intense. Post Covid, behaviour is a real issue. Some children are still wonderful and keep you going, but ultimately I can’t wait to retire.

I’ve left teaching for a job in finance (I’m a maths teacher)
I had to take an £8k cut from UPS3, but my goodness the lack of stress and benefits make up for it. Despite working full time I feel like I’m part time as I have all my evenings and weekends back. The company I work for really invest in their staff too.
I’m lucky in that they had previously employed teachers, so know about all the transferable skills. Everything else I could be trained in.

In short, I wouldn’t teach again if you offered to doubtless my salary. Life is too short not to have a life.

Yes, it is.

Well done LaM. I haven't found a post teaching niche yet (teaching adult ed for peanuts in the mean time...)

Could you work on a special school? I guesssing this is alot
harder and more demanding during the day but there can’t be as much marking and paperwork if that is what your concern is. My sons class there is only 4 kids, a teacher and 3 ta’s. I will point out though that I have no experience of this myself so it may be a complete no goer, I could never work in specialist myself but then I’d never consider being a teacher in mainstream either