To wish I could have a permanent job?

[Bedknobsandbroomsticks2]

I've made mistakes with jobs in the past, for instance my first 2 jobs after graduating were 0 hours contracts, and eventually I couldn't live on them financially so left each one after around a year respectively.
I left one job after 1.5 years after constantly being overlooked for a promotion and people with less experience etc. Getting promoted right in front of me. Despite having also been there 1.5 years.
I left a job after a similar amount of time due to a bullying manager. I had applied for roles in other depts but not been successful.
I left another role after a year due to being put on informal capability procedures (school role).
One job I had for 4 months, but in those 4 months I worked in 3 different settings.
Once I moved as the manager was a total bully, the second I moved as I had a service user who was violent, but they kept that quiet and then he punched me in the face out of nowhere, and also ran off and bit a 2 year old child whilst in my presence (i am not blaming the service user) I just can't believe they didn't mention the complex needs at all. It's not something I am comfortable or experienced with. The next place, I was the only quiet person amongst a group of self-proclaimed 'crazy and loud' women. They were nice, but I knew I'd find it very difficult as an introvert.
I'm currently with 4 different agencies and flit between different roles with them. I've been doing this now for 1.5 years, and even within this time I've walked out of places after a week as there was a very bitchy staff atmosphere, or the role wasn't at all what I'd thought it would be etc.

Anyway I manage my hours, I always get plenty of work and I think my pay is correct for what I do.
However I've never held down a permanent job for over 2 years and I'm 31. Some friends make jokes about it but inside I'm ashamed. I shouldn't be, being an agency worker is very flexible and I've worked in so many different settings right now. Sometimes I do wish I could be in one place permanently where I could progress.
I'm on around 23k a year I believe, whilst by no means a very poor salary it is still quite low compared to what most people my age are earning.
I'm qualified as a teacher, I have a degree and I'm multilingual. However I've done a lot of supply and I simply cannot manage behaviour, it's the reason I don't want to go for a full time teaching post.
I'm also scared of bullying again after having experienced it in a few places. I have reported, told people not to speak to me like that etc. But these people are everywhere. In a temp job it's fine, you don't have to ever see them again but when its your manager it's different.
I just don't know what to do. I do recognize that I've given up on roles far too soon in the past.

I'd absolutely love to be an ECT and earn 28k, I've never earned anything close to it. It would be great to have a permanent teaching role but sadly I'm just not good enough for it

If teaching isn't working out for have you thought about breaking down what elements you do like and seeing if that can be transferred to another setting or industry? Such as educational leads in museums/attractions for school age children, environmental education with wildlife charities, working in adult education? Maybe jobs where behaviour of kids isn't really your responsibility?

Thank you for the advice. I worked in a private language school for adults where I was told I'd have around 25 hours a week (0 hours) but in my last week I had 10 hours all week. I just heard from them yesterday that it's still very quiet.
I need to be going for permanent full-time contracts rather than 0 hours.

There are many non-teaching roles on TES, but most are around 21k or below. I feel like in this day and age I should be aiming for more, with regard to paying bills, and in the future if we have children, etc.
But hopefully something will come up

A lot of people aren’t great at managing behaviour when they first join a school. Despite what you may be told, a lot of it is just sticking at a school for a while and being ‘known.’

Hopefully that's the case, however I think I'm just too nice and easily intimidated.
I've just walked out of a placement as I had year 11 boys literally coming up and shouting in my face because I had given them a breaktime detention they deserved.
I guess it is worse on supply.

I've had good success as a TA but sadly most schools are offering 15-17k actual salary.

I'm sorry, you aren't going to like this. Yes zero hour contracts are rubbish. Etc. Etc. But in 10 or so years you have never found a job that recognises how good you are. Not one has lasted. Multiple problems or issues in every role. There are certainly bad employers. But 10 years worth? You are either looking at the wrong roles, or you are expecting too much. Having a few bad jobs is hard. Every job you have had appears to be bad. There is only one common denominator there, and you need to consider why that is?

Yes I totally agree it's my fault too.
I worked as a Cover Supervisor at a school which was not good at behaviour was awful. There I got put on informal capability for handing out too many detentions etc. And that's when I quit.
I suppose I don't know what I'm truly good at.
I just hate working with bullies so I usually just quit asap as i was bullied a lot at school and I've been spoken to like dirt in some jobs.
I just need to stay in one role.

I think you may need to look at salary sacrifices. It's pointless to overlook jobs due to the salary if the jobs at the salary you are looking at aren't working out.

That's true.. it's probably going to be hard for me to start on anything above 22k sadly.
ECT 28k but I'm just so scared of messing up with behaviour. I'm not bothered about working Extra hours it's just behaviour, if you can't crack it then you can't teach properly. I don't want to be put on capability or fail my ECT.

I think as Misty said, look at alternative careers, that are better paid, but where you can use your current skills. How about becoming a trainer for a software company, as an example, but anything that floats your boat...?

You need to have a good look at which aspects of the job you like, which ones you can put up with and what you absolutely hate.
Then go job hunting withthat list!

A for the money, it really isn't everything. You need to get a few good years at one place under your belt, and gain some real experience, then move on to a higher level.

Thanks, this has made me feel a bit more positive.
It's mainly managing behaviour, I just don't have it in me.
Last week I worked with a woman the same age who I've never met before and she deliberately knocked something out of my hand, shouted at me and told me that working with me is stressful. That's another place crossed off my list now.
This is what puts me off permanent jobs, the bullying.
I'll just have to think about it

Noone is forcing you to take 0 hours or supply. How many years post qualification are you? Maybe look for maternity cover or specific subject roles. You were naive to expect promotion after 1.5 years then leave.

Could you do one to one home private tutoring instead?

I feel you're working in the wrong type of environment. Schools are rife with bullying. For the money you're on, you could easily get an entry level office job which pays the equivalent. Many offices are bitchy too but at least you can find roles where the customers/clients aren't abusive.

It’s not the length of time you stay at a permanent job, but the impact you make and your reasons for leaving. I’ve been in my chosen career 8 years and have had 5 jobs- but my reasons for leaving have either been redundancy, end of FTC, or career progression.

I tend to agree with the poster above that suggests you are the common denominator- are you in the right career? I changed career as it was rife with toxic workplaces and I struggled with the industry standards.

I don't think the school sector is for you.

Bit like I would be useless in the police or army.

What would a big change of direction look like?

I think you need to take a look at your skills. And see in what other jobs these are useful in. I don't think the school environment is suiting you.

Can you use the Microsoft office apps? Are you organised? Register with some agencies that supply staff to different types of companies.

What about teaching adults? What is your subject specialism?

I think your expectations and reactions are really out of whack.

I wouldn't expect to be promoted after 1.5yrs. I also wouldn't quit at the first sign of bullying - have you tried standing up for yourself instead of just running off!?

I did stand up for myself in every situation and reported it, but the bullying lasted several months in most cases.
So now if I go to a new place and there's an arsehole like that I just can't be doing with it full stop.
It wasn't that I was expecting it after 1.5 years, but as I said my colleagues had been promoted despite being there the same length of time, 2 of them, and started telling me what to do etc. Even though we'd all started work on the same day.
Anyway my expectations may be totally wrong. I just don't want to make the same mistakes again in a role

I'm 31 and I'm in my third year of a job that was meant to end soon (yay) but is getting extended for a year (boo). Great for people with mortgages and kids but not me that needs variety in life. I'm in the handing in notice fantasy stage. Before now all my jobs were 1-2 years or just summer placements as I travelled a lot. It's stressful changing but I wouldn't have wanted to do those jobs any longer than I did.

For some people a job for life is what they want, for others they like variety. Having a varied career is becoming more normal now. I see often that people say they only way they've had a decent pay rise is to jump ship every 2 - 5 years to a new company.

The working with unruly children clearly isn't for you. After some awful years in retail I decided that customer service / public interaction wasn't for me so I avoid those jobs like the plague. You need to decide what you can and can't tolerate in a job and only apply to those that you could tolerate.

Before covid an office setting was anxiety inducing but I could just about manage. Honestly the work from home movement has been a blessing, so more bullshit office politics and dreery/distracting chatter. Seems like you'd fit a work alone kind of job more? I've been lucky that my current job has all lovely people on the team and no one is difficult to work with. We all just get on with the job and have occasional Teams meetings online. Obviously this one is harder to predict whilst job hunting.

I wish you luck!

Could you look for a job in a sixth form college where you would have fewer behavioural problems, if you really want to teach?

Otherwise, you say other people were promoted and then were telling you what to do - if they were promoted to a supervisor level then that is literally their job! Do you generally have issues with authority?

You may have had some bad luck, but you mention walking out of quite a few places, you seem to give up to soon. Most people do not quit because somebody else got a promotion, this happens in life. Promotions are not given on length of service either, I expect that other person had some promise that the employer had seen, this also happens.

It doesn’t sound like you are in the right field for you and I do think you should try something else. But whatever it is you do, you need to try and stick at it and you need to understand that not everybody will have the same level of success in the workplace and this is completely normal.