To wonder if I could/should get into teaching

[Whattodo182]

That really.

I'm looking for a career change, not an easy life FWIW.

I have a degree in a pretty vague humanities subject, but probably would be looking to get into history/English/social sciences teaching.

Is there a demand for these subjects? Lots of info online for funding for training but seems to be mostly science/maths. Could I take this route despite not having a relevant degree?

Any opinions/advice welcome

Talk to some teachers before you make that choice.

I suppose if you are just feeling too valued and happy, getting into teaching might be a way to remedy that.

(Don't do it. I know many teachers, and the only ones who are happy or have a decent work-life balance are they ones who do the bare minimum and do not care about the kids they teach).

I wouldn't be advising anyone to teach but if you truly think it's your calling, go with English as there is always a demand for English teachers.

I'd suggest getting some serious volunteering experience before putting your whole life in to this career though. You might be surprised by the things teachers have to do.

Go and spend some time in school. Talk to teachers about their work load and more importantly, when you watch a lesson that looks like an absolute doddle, think about and ask about the work that went into getting it that way. Very few successful teachers delivering consistently good lessons started out that way. It can take years to do it well.

There is an exodus from the classroom at the moment. There is a demand for every subject. Yes, sciences, maths and MFL are long-term shortage subject areas but all subjects require replacement teachers continually.

Google ‘subject knowledge enhancement course’ as you will most likely need to do one of those before being accepted onto a PGCE for secondary - you could do English or RE but I don’t think there is a history course, For primary, your degree won’t be an issue.

It is getting harder and harder to stay in teaching for longer than a few years but it helps if you enter the profession with a realistic understanding of the job and what goes on behind the scenes. I genuinely love it but I am teaching 10 years post qualification in an independent, a job I got through life circumstances pushing me onto supply. I am pretty sure I would not still be teaching if I was still in the state sector.

I have a social science degree and teach English. It’s not easy - I work most weekday evenings from 7pm until 10pm during term time.

There is a shortage of English teachers but not, to my knowledge, History or Social Sciences. This years PGCE students for English didn’t get any sort of bursary either, which shocked me.

I wouldn't advise anybody to go into teaching. I've just left (Scotland) and it was pretty bad but from what I've read, it's a lot worse in England,

Paid my daughter's school fees, bought my house, broke my health. Don't do RE - you see too many pupils and have too much marking to do. I speak as one who knows. 😉

I am.a teacher. I like being in the classroom but not the unrealistic demands of the job. It is relentless. It can potentially take over your life. I would advise you to talk to other teachers.

None of those are shortage subjects so there's no bursary.
Do I love my job? Yes.
Would I recommend it right now? Probably not.

No no no no no no no no no no. (Source: ex-teacher, currently retraining.)

Honestly ? I’ve been a teacher for 23 years and I love what I do .however , it is not a job to take If you just cannot think of what else to do ;you have to really want specifically to be a teacher .I would definitely spend time in a school to get a feel for it before you commit to training as it is exhausting . I am history trained , there is not a shortage of history teachers . I do teach outside of my subject area, but that’s probably because I have a lot of years experience .

If you know a teacher well enough, ask if you can shadow them on an average school day. The whole day, from arrival at school at 7.30 and including meetings (obviously wait outside if confidential), marking, preparation and work done at home. When interviewing prospective trainee teachers I always recommended this and could spot the students who nodded along with no intention of doing it. They were the first to burn out. You may also have to do a subject knowledge enhancement course prior to starting training if your degree isn't in a national curriculum subject.

Do you have boundless energy and a very thick skin? Do you enjoy working far beyond your contracted hours? If so, go for it. Being in the classroom is (generally) great, so it’s not all doom and gloom - but realistically, it’s a very tough job.
(Secondary English teacher with 20+ years under my belt)

Don’t do it to yourself. The workload is too great and cuts are making things worse.

Op.... you will get advice to NOT do it with every job/career change. Nobody already in a role seems to enjoy it enough to recommend it

Please bear this in mind

I’d advise anything other than teaching. I’ve just got out after 12 years. I’ve been wanting to for about 4 years but needed to wait for DH to earn enough to take the hit on my salary drop.
I’m earning minimum wage while I retrain and I’m so happy.
A good friend has just become a teacher and I’m afraid I have muted a group chat about supporting each other, because I just don’t want to hear it any more.
When I think of the pace, the noise, the pressure, bringing it all home with me, I’m so relieved to be out of it all.

I loved teaching but the workload and school politics broke me. I left after 7 years with debt from PGCE and with very damaged mental health.

I've been a secondary teacher a very long time. The job has perks and I'm reasonably satisfied but that's more to do with the fact I'm established in a school a long time and I'm on a high salary band. Being in the classroom can vary from tough to enjoyable but that's less than 50% of what we do. Preparation, paperwork, reports, meetings and all kinds of monitoring take over 50% of the time. You're completely answerable to a variety of managers and deadlines are often and non-negotiable. You need to be very well up on technology because we use a variety of technology in all lessons now, in addition to data entry and marking. You also need a very thick skin and patience to deal with the behaviour of pupils and parents. If you're on a full timetable, you'll be working at a high intensity and it's a stressful job.
However, lots of people are well able for all of the above, me included. You just need to go in with your eyes wide open. I don't think I could do anything else now, not because I love it but because I've become institutionalised.

Teaching suits some people and not others. It is a very demanding job however, and more of a lifestyle than a job.

There's no way of finding out if you're suited to it from just researching online. In my time as a teacher, I've seen some people who dreamed of being a teacher since they were very small and thought it was the only career they could ever imagine themselves doing, but left after 1-2 years because the reality was so different. They were incredibly passionate and hardworking, but it wasn't for them. Others, who just fell into teaching by accident, found it really suited them.

Your best bet is to apply using the DfE school experience scheme to see if you can get experience shadowing or observing teachers in a school.

Check carefully the entry requirements for various teacher training schemes as well to check what subject your degree would actually qualify you to teach. Keep in mind that when you're applying for jobs later on, a lot of schools will give preference to someone with a degree in the actual subject so try and choose a subject that your degree is clearly linked to. (Then again, there's such a shortage of teachers that schools can't be overly fussy either...)

I'm a teacher, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone as a career choice. I'm stuck here for now, but as soon as I'm not needing the school holidays for my kids I'll be leaving.

There’s a bursary for geography, and with your history background you’ll more likely be hired with 2 subjects under your belt.

I teach history and geography in a private sen school. I’ve never worked in mainstream (except during pgce - but that didn’t give me a true reflection) and by the sounds of it, i never want to!

Most of the teachers on MN seem very unhappy with teaching and that it negatively impacts on most of their life.

I know lots of teachers in RL that (seem to) have a work-life balance similar to other friends. A good friend of mine is a teacher at a private school (she has also worked in state school) and she doesn't often seem unhappy about her job.

I guess it might depend what the area or school is like but I think most replies will say don't do it

It's not just on mumsnet there's a leave teaching Facebook group with 90,000 members. There are 500,000 teachers in the UK. I've left teaching as it wasn't for me due to the workload

I enjoy my job now, but no longer a classroom teacher, now work in pastoral side, additional needs etc. it has taken me 21 years to get to this role.

Honestly, if you’re just thinking of a change of career, and not specifically if you have a calling for teaching, my advice is usually don’t touch it with a barge pole unless you are prepared to:

• only holiday when it is 3x the price to go (or just don’t go on holiday as you can’t afford it as is the case for me and my family)
• work long hours, weekends, evenings and in your holidays.
• have regular ‘learning walks’, book looks and lesson obs and be judged on many different criteria.
• have to evidence everything!
• deal with difficult children and parents and having to take being shouted at, hit and feel threatened.
• Have difficult conversations about safeguarding and worrying about children and their families when you go home for the evening.
• experience very little respect for your profession or acknowledgment of the difficult working conditions and expectations from the government and the media.
• constantly having to keep up with changes and updates to the way you do your job.
• have to look out for the well-being of the families you work with and children where very little consideration is given to your own from the government.
• accept that you will spend much more of your time meeting the needs of the children in your class than giving time to your own children. Unless you’ve got a good head teacher, you will miss pick ups, drop offs, school concerts, coffee mornings etc.

I mean, I could go on.

I need to mention, I deal with all of the above, find it rewarding and have worked hard to establish a good work life balance and accept the additional hours I have to do. I’ve have cried more times than I can mention and soul searched many times over the years about whether I was in the right career (teaching does that to you, makes you feel periodically insecure and not confident about your skills as so much continually changes) I have a wonderful head teacher and fabulous colleagues. I work in an area of deprivation with children and families who have many struggles and often am a social worker more often than a teacher.

I’m not saying this to put you off, I’m saying it to give some realities of life as a teacher. It’s not all school holidays, 3.30 finished (never is that!) and rewarding lessons! If you read all of the above and think that reality is something you are prepared for, then go to a school, volunteer and spend some real time shadowing a teacher. Try a few schools in different year groups and areas. Listen to the talk in the staff room and see what the general mood is.

Only those things can help you decide.

I really do love my job now, but I’m +20 years in and it’s truly taken me about 16 of those years to get to this point.

I’m not quite sure what all the fuss is about. I was a secondary school teacher before having my children and enjoyed my work and found the hours quite reasonable and the holidays amazing. If you’re organised with marking and setting work you rarely have to work past 6pm. Most professional jobs require a bit more than 9-5 anyway.
In state schools the school days usually finishes at 3pm ish which gives you a few hours after school to catch up.
I have also never worked more than a couple of days at the end of the summer holidays preparing for the term ahead.
I taught maths though which is probably much quicker to mark.
Any particular questions let me know