Has anyone left medicine (or other healthcare) to retrain as a teacher?

[Pizzapuddingandpie]

Looking for any advice or general thoughts.

In a nutshell: mid 30s, currently a SAHM to young children. We are lucky that DH is a high earner and that I have local family who are (very very willing!) to help with childcare when I return to work. I've taken a few years out of medicine to have my family and was never very senior to begin with. I'm not really sure I want to go back. I like parts of the job and recognise that it has been very good for my confidence but I don't think I love any specialty enough to go back to night shifts and revising for exams. I'm pretty good at dealing with stress but feel more and more worried about how the serious outcomes a mistake could cause. I also struggle with the lack of flexibility and choice (i.e. having to move around areas, not being able to apply to a new job if unhappy) and am just not sure if this is what I want to be spending my children's childhood doing.

The one thing I've always been really interested in is being a primary school teacher. I've been looking at schools for my eldest recently and have had a real pang that this is what I'm meant to be doing. I'm not (wholly) naive as one of my parents was a primary school teacher, I dated one and I've done work experience and part-time work (whilst at uni) in school settings. I'm also well-versed in the difficulties of the public sector and in working antisocial hours. However, I'm also well aware that, like medics, lots of teachers aren't too happy at the moment (to put it lightly!) and I'm not sure if this is all a bit of a pipe dream to escape from medicine?

More and more I'm wondering about not returning to medicine and perhaps working as a TA (unsure how competitive these roles are?) for a bit to see how I find it before applying for teacher training when both my children are school age. Has anyone got experience of similar? Is this a stupid idea? Obviously the pay will be different but I never got to a point where I earned very much in medicine (did a few years of clinical fellows if anyone is interested) and there has always been a (probably high) possibility I'd stay as a SAHM so I'm not really comparing the salary to an end-medic salary. A tiny part of me worries about 'wasting' my medical degree, and I've heard colleagues be quite rude about people who leave medicine for something 'less prestigious' (their opinion, not mine, although I admit I do worry about what people would say about leaving, a lot of my social life is made up of medics...)

Sorry for the essay but I'd be grateful for any thoughts, advice or personal experience.

Sorry just re-reading - am early 30s not mid (just in case this makes a difference to people's views on retraining) - clearly getting ahead of myself!

This doesn't really answer your question, but are there no teaching jobs that might be suitable for you at universities with medical schools?

Or junior clinical fellow jobs in ambulatory care or SDEC?

I'm not from a medical background, but thought that I would let you know teacher training while parenting is possible with the right support and mind set. I qualified to teach in my early 40s. It took me about 6 years to complete my training as I didn't have a degree. I did my degree part time while working full time as a TA which took 4 and a half years. Then gave up work to do a year full time teacher training. I have 2 children who were both in primary school when I started my degree.

Thanks for the reply @Wowzel. It's definitely something I've thought about although I think it would be tough with my years out. I also moved after having children so have no contacts where I am now. Something to think about though. I do think I'd really like to work with children though. I wish I had a bit of paediatrics experience but it feels a bit late in the day for that now and I'm not sure I'd cope with the stress!

Good for you @Caaarrrl and thanks for replying! How do you find it? Obviously a lot of teachers are very vocal on mumsnet about the negative aspects of the job, as are medics. In real life, I know both medics and teachers who are overall content in their jobs despite the stressors.

If I were you, I would look at teaching Biology, Chemistry and Maths A Level. Still tough but maybe more doable than primary and there should be part time opportunities. With these subjects you would be in demand and fewer behaviour issues at decent sixth forms. Look at the PGCE for FE.

I went into it with my eyes wide open and knew that it would be difficult and I would be doing far more hours than I'm paid for! I'm mostly happy though and have been teaching nearly 10 years now. My eldest DD is also a teacher now. I think it's about having realistic expectations.

I left medicine a few years after I qualified and have now been teaching for nearly 10 years. In a slightly different position as didn't yet have kids, and I trained in Secondary rather than Primary, but I am overall glad I made the switch.

The first few years of teaching are really tough no doubt. But once you are in a rhythm with planning, marking etc. it is much easier to manage your own time, especially when you have a good bank of resources built up.

So many of the skills you have from your medical career will be transferable to teaching, and the kids I teach are often interested in taking about what medicine is like as a career (I try not to put them off!!)

I also had quite a few negative comments about 'what a waste' etc. that did get to me a bit. But in teaching you get to make a huge difference to people's lives, just in a different way from medicine. I didn't view it as a waste - I had a great time at uni, and made good friends in med school as well as during foundation years so I have come to view it as time well spent!

Financially - like you, I never had time to become a high earner in medicine, so it didn't make a massive difference. Now I have more time to spend what I earn, even though it's less. I appreciate I am fortunate to have been Abel to make that choice though.

Look at Teach First as a route - lots of career changers. And may suit you better being 'thrown in at the deep end' having already worked for a few years.

Not sure if any of that is helpful - feel free to ask anything.

Takes guts to leave medicine so good luck with whatever you decide!

Thank you all!

@Caaarrrl I think you're right and I hope my expectations are realistic from being around so many teachers. Obviously I don't know the ins and outs of the job exactly but I do know that I wouldn't be leaving work at 3 or never working in my holidays .

@Pine24 I'm so glad you found my thread, thank you so much for your comments. Sounds like we are coming from quite similar places. I definitely don't view it as a waste either and think it would be a greater waste to stay doing something I don't love, but medicine is a very consuming identity and I part of me can't imagine never introducing myself as a doctor again. Most of my friends are medics and a lot of DH's are high flying city types. I stupidly worry about what they'd all think and what they might say. I think teaching is an incredibly rewarding and important profession, no less so than being a doctor.

Parts of your post sound word for word how I felt about things when I changed!
I made the switch shortly before a couple of my friends also left the profession, so felt like they got it. The others were really supportive, and some doctors who I've met in the last few years say they wish they'd got out sooner as they now feel too long through specialty training to leave. So I think people will be more understanding than you expect! Even those who love the job and live and breathe Medicine will have likely had thoughts about leaving at times.

From an identity point of view.. I can really understand you feeling like that, if you went to uni at 18 that's a lot of your life that you've felt part of that medical community. The teaching community in my experience is very welcoming and supportive which may help build your evolving sense of identity there. I found my sense of identity changing when I became a Mum, and have started to view identity as less of a static thing.

A word of warning... Medicine and Teaching tend to attract perfectionist-types which puts us at risk of burnout! So if you do go down the teaching route bear that in mind and be kind to yourself.

My sister who was qualified, experienced and fairly successful, in another field chose to work as a teaching assistant during a difficult time in her life. She wanted to be more available for her children and to hold a less responsible position.
She mostly enjoys the job and the companionship she gains from the other staff.
Unfortunately the experience she has brought with her, from her previous role has meant that she has been given lots of responsibility without any financial reward, or formal recognition.
After fifteen years as a TA she has realised that in reality she is being exploited. As a late 50 year old she is finding it difficult to change jobs.
She now does not really have the physical stamina to do the job but must continue until she receives her pension age 67.

I'm not (wholly) naive as one of my parents was a primary school teacher, I dated one and I've done work experience and part-time work (whilst at uni) in school settings

I really think you need some more up-to-date work experience as in the last few years there have been huge impacts of Covid, and of the lack of funding over the last decade of not just schools, but other support services especially SEN provision.

There will now be children in primary classes who have extreme needs, both behaviourally and medically, but for whom no alternative provision can be found, who in previous years would not have been in mainstream education. Pupils who desperately need EHCPs and extra support are being turned down left, right and centre. What I am hearing from my primary colleagues sounds extremely challenging.

Working as a TA for a period would give you some insight. Generally TA roles are no longer competitive and schools are struggling to recruit because the pay is very poor and staff are being lost to work in supermarkets.

I think you should have a look at academic jobs - you could go straight in as an ACF from F2 and depending on what type you wouldn't have to do clinical work again - for example anatomy demonstrator. You end up using medicine and teaching UG (med / nursing / dent/ biological sciences etc. ) It can be stressful but in a totally different way and it's joyful teaching people who want to learn. Have a look at HEE website - there's some animations and info on there about alternative pathways.

The TAs in my school seem to fall into 2 groups:

1. stay a year and then go into teaching (or not!!)
2. older ones who have been doing it for 20+ years

IME once they find you have a medical degree they will use you for some sort of teaching (if in secondary) but on a TA wage

TAs roles used to be ideal as they were school hours jobs 9-2/3
Now TAs are in at 8 - 4 and work including break duties / full 5 period days / interventions before and after school, oh and they write IEPs and annual reviews / meet SEN parents for IEP annual review meetings

When my school were recruiting recently they wanted a maths / science degree / experience yet the wage doesn't reflect this!

Hi @Pizzapuddingandpie - just came across your thread as I’m considering a similar move to the one in your OP. Did you go into teaching?