Don't do itttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt!!!! Lol. I am doing it the moment after deferring for what seems like years, due to ill health. I guess it's worth it, but it's soooooo hard, demanding, takes over your life. I knew this, lots of my family, including my mum, are teachers; they've told me not to do it but really wanted it and had to find out for myself. I've loads of experience and so was fully prepared for what might come. But oh my oh my oh my.
I have no children yet, but I do have cats, a rabbit, two horses, a husband and a house undergoing a big building project. I don't work on the side. I have all but given up on my horse for the next few months ( My husband does most of the looking after and I ride when I can (never), but in a typical week, my average shut-eye quota per night, is around 5 hours. I commute to uni which doesn't help, and my placement is also a similar distance commute. I am up at 530, go to uni for 9 starts, have sessions all day with half an hour's break if lucky, come home for 6/630 and then start writing essays, printing off notes, researching, reading, planning etc. Get to bed for 12ish. My relationship has suffered, I have no social life or life at all and I am ill all the time. I broke up on Friday and am not motivated at all, but need to finish my, yet unstarted, 5000 word essay for Friday so I can have a break over xmas (that is why I am STILL up).
BUT IT'S ALL WORTH IT! Try going to www.tes.co.uk/staffroom and to student teachers staffroom, and you'll get the picture. It's fun, it's challenging, it's worth all the tears, aggro, stress, lack of sleep, lack of food, lack of friends etc etc. Then NQT year is meant to be even harder. We'll see if I get that far. Good luck all of you. I am at Exeter by the way.