To career change to primary teaching?

[RedYellowGreenBlu]

I am a qualified lawyer. I hate it. I have been trying to escape for four years but I am struggling to find another career I want to do. In part that is down to logistics – location, having two DCs etc (so cannot just start from scratch either). I am 41 and qualified in 2010. I earn well but not as much as you would think. I don't want to go inhouse etc etc.

I keep getting drawn back to teaching, again and again. I recently saw a career specialist who did personality stuff and teaching came up, again.
The reason I have not taken the plunge is family members, friends and friends of friends have all told me no. Don't do it - too stressful.

Does anyone teach who actually enjoys it? If you hate it – why? Where do you live?

You’ll need to train in which ever way you’re able. It’s a hard and intense year to train. Then you have a couple of years as an ECT.

You haven’t said what age your children are, but teaching isn’t family friendly, particularly with young children. You’ll be working in the evening and at weekends, so child care might be an issue for you.

I don’t know whether you could volunteer or work in a support role in a school, to get experience and a flavour of what it’s like. Unfortunately support roles are really poorly paid and that might not be viable for you.

I'm an ex teacher. I taught for just over a decade in primary. I loved it even though it was hard but something changed after the lockdowns and it became so bad in schools. I miss it so much but could not go back until I start hearing that the pendulum is swinging back.

Pre-covid the issues were around work load so could sort of be managed with really good time management and understanding SLT. Post COVID the issues were with behaviour (entitled, arrogant children, unsupportive parents and fearful SLT). It became impossible to manage fairly low level behaviour. As an example, pre-covid I dealt with children with severe emotional difficulties throwing chairs, escaping from the school playground, climbing on tables, setting off fire alarms. These were often children who had awful home lives but all managed well in school with supportive slt. Vs post COVID children refusing to sit down in lessons led to parents asking to meet with me to discuss how firmly I spoke to their child (one parent said "he's only 9, what do you expect!"). Another parent called me a bitch, heard by children and my colleague who reported to the head. The head did nothing. Pathetic and after a couple of years and a change of schools I'd had enough. I'd love to return one day so I keep an eye on the staffroom board in hope that things improve in the next 10 years or so!

But in summary, no I'd not recommend it. Maybe take a week AL or unpaid I'd you can afford it and ask some local primaries if you could volunteer? It won't give you a good idea of a teacher's life but will maybe take the rose tint off

Teacher here, dreaming of law ... considering a conversion course, yet again.

Look for a way to use your legal skills.

Teaching is extremely stressful. Your family members are right: stay away.

Teacher here. Qualified in 2012. Currently work part time as have young children.
For the most part I enjoy the teaching and working with the kids.
I am forever being pulled a thousand different ways. Constant and never ending admin tasks, Conversations to chase up, Phone calls to be made, deadlines, planning, prep, meetings. All this on top of needing to be stood in front of kids actually teaching 9-3:30.
This just never ends and once one task is ticked off the list, another is created!
I work most days at home and rarely switch off.
I buy most of my own resources so I am currently working loads of unpaid hours and paying for teaching resources too. All this is quite mad when I really think about it and my ok salary is probably closer to minimum wage in reality.
I want to do a good job for my students but I currently feel very burnt out!
Pros for me are school holidays off with my kids.. but other than that, the job is quite time strict. No flexibility in start/finish times, so can never do school runs. Can't book time off term time. This year my aunty died and I was a pallbearer, I was given the time off unpaid.
I don't recommended teaching right now!

But you are used to a high stress job!

Ironic isn't it! I would say the same about law :)

I am used to stress, high stakes. High workload.

Am reading all the comments and taking on board thank you. Really good to get this insight.

They are 8 and 11, so becoming independent in some ways.

I’m retired now, but my entire career was in teaching, ending as an assistant head. I don’t think, even with many years of experience, I’d do it now.

Have family who teach and they hate it. Everything is bad bow it was ok 10 years ago but bow it is way to hard. And the environment is awful.
A reason why I will be homeschooling. Schools are just jungles and teachers have no control.

I teach in special education and love it. Left mainstream about a year ago as the stress was killing me. My days are probably harder now, the likelihood of being hurt is higher, but I’m much less stressed.

I cant face posting again but you might like this thread, basically i trained in law, hated it and am now a primary teacher, i love it but its not always easy https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5274234-to-retrain-as-a-teacher-at-just-turned-50

I keep getting drawn back to teaching, again and again

Why-what appears to you about teaching? What do you envisage the working day/week looking like?

I've also recently retired (at 55) having been a primary teacher my whole career. I ended up as a deputy head/SENCo and whilst I loved my career, it was incredibly intense and it occupied my headspace 24/7 in term time.

Certainly there was joy to be found in every day, but I really grew to resent the workload and the impact that had on my family life. I would work all day, come home only to continue working! Fortunately I have an amazing husband who picked up the slack at home with cooking, cleaning etc but I missed out on so much of my children growing up. I don't regret going into teaching-I had a fulfilling and successful career but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone now, not if you value your evenings and weekends anyway.

This is the question I was going to pose to you. Exactly what is it that draws you to the profession?

I'm over a decade in and it's only still workable as a parent because I work as a supply and have none of the crap associated with it aka all the bits that aren't teaching..

@Tulipsanddaffodils3 wow thanks!!

@Shinyandnew1 what appeals, well I guess working with children. I enjoy communicating. I enjoy helping people (but am burnt out from dealing with cases involving vulnerable/injured adults).

I worry about work all the time and when I say worry I am talking about serious things like cases ending up in the media, making a mistake and being sued for negligence.

I WFH and have done for 5/6 years now and I am sick of it. I miss interacting with people.

I love teaching. It's the best job in the world.

It's also utterly soul destroying.

am burnt out

I would say that's the reason given by most people on leaving teaching.

I would seriously recommend you look at the Facebook page, 'Leave teaching: exit the classroom and thrive' and spend an evening reading some of the posts on there.

I think people need to go into teaching with their eyes wide open as it's a very different place to how many envisage it. I like working with and communicating with children; that feels like about 30% of the job.

I think if you're in any way burnt out, teaching will only make it worse

family of teachers here. Exceptionally challenging but incredibly rewarding. If it’s your calling, do it. Term time is exhausting but you do recover in between

Unless you have a young family at home and are the sole childcare for every school holiday! 😅 I’ve never recovered since I had my own kids too.

I love my job. I'm part time in a good school about to go back after my second mat leave. It's definitely getting tough with higher needs coming through and less support and money to deal with it. Ultimately it comes down to your school. Many schools are toxic and they have very unhappy teachers. Get a good school and it can be great. It isn't family friendly though

Sometimes change can be as good as a rest! If you’ve always wanted to do it and there is a route in for you and you can make it work financially. Why the hell not. You only live once and you can always return to law. Teaching is hugely dependent on what year group you teach, the ethos of the school and SLT - there can be positive teaching experiences. There are also private schools, international schools, boarding schools, village schools - it’s not all doom and gloom. Yes the workload is high but most experienced teachers can manage it and you have to be a person who is firm with their own boundaries. Engaging with children all day, planning what’s best for them and their education is going to be a lot more dynamic than drafting documents and client meetings - hopefully that’d be what you want! Best thing about teaching is your only ever a maximum of 7 weeks away from a break!!

Have you thought about teaching law in a college or university? They will likely put you through your teaching qualification.

I teach and don't often have big worries about it so don't find it stressful in that sense. I do very often think about it for many of my waking hours though - little niggles the minute I wake up, all evening, on Boxing Day or other times you'd expect I'd have forgotten about it. It's also a 'stressful in the moment' sort of job. Sometimes I have days of meetings/paperwork instead of being in class and I cannot believe how fresh I feel when I go home, even when having dealt with pretty heavy going stuff.

At present, the thing I find hardest is the levels of SEND in the classroom - can easily be 35-50% of children in the class needing adjustments. There is just so, so little support for them compared to even 5 years ago. If up to half the children in a classroom are needing additional/different support to the universal offer, we surely need to be questioning the whole system.

If up to half the children in a classroom are needing additional/different support to the universal offer, we surely need to be questioning the whole system.

Absolutely agree with this. So much need and so many parents wanting a bespoke experience for their child and blaming you when it doesn't look like they'd hoped. One person can only do so much.

If you’ve been coping with the stress of a high stress corporate job like law or accountancy you’ll be fine. Go for it, you only live once!!