So family unfriendly! Working hours have been pushed

[Lana07]

I absolutely HATE it they force us with their STUPID flexibility to work till 22:00 (for 6 weeks for Christmas, fair enough) and 20:30 in retail.

I used to finish at 18:30 the latest.

Family evening is RUINED when I get home by 21:30/22:30.

Please DON'T tell me I am lucky to have a job.

My post is NOT about that.

And no, I am not in a position to change my job for the nearest 3-5 years minimum.

I originally DID NOT sign up these hours but they they are pushing and pushing!!!

I've been with this company 16 years.

@FrangipaniBlue

You have my totally sympathy OP.

Consumerism has pushed the retail trade to opening later and for longer.

You're essentially expected to sacrifice your family time in the evening so that other working people don't have to sacrifice theirs at weekends.

It's pretty shitty if I'm honest!

I totally agree!

• of course you MUST work every other Saturday :)

I work every other weekend because they needed me on Sunday too.

And if I drop Sunday, they wouldn't give me another day and I'd lose it.

When I needed to transfer because we were moving for my husband's job, they FORCED me to work EVERY weekend! :)

I did it for 1 year then I exploded inside and they gave me every other weekend off :)

Imagine 'family life' when my husband has every weekend off and worked every weekend :)

*I and worked every weekend

[quote Lana07]@VanGoghsDog

Thank you. I will tell them about my legal right tomorrow.

Previously they told me they use and exploit me like this because it is 'operationally required'.

I doubt they would ever care about it to honour it and will get away with what suits them the cheapest way to operate.[/quote]
You have a legal right to request different working hours under a flexible working request. You don't have a right to actually get it.

I’m not a careers advisor but I do work in IT. The options you’re interested in above are quite distinct. To be an IT teacher, you’d need an undergraduate degree in IT & possibly a teaching qualification, depending on what part of the UK you’re in.

A business analyst role, as in to be employed directly as one straight away, usually requires a business / accounting / IT qualification. Some organisations would allow you to join in a different role, then perhaps move into a BA role after a few years & train on the job, maybe gaining a qualification through evening / distance learning.

I can't help with counseling or marketing I'm afraid but I am a teacher so can advise on that.

Pre-requisites for teaching (you can return to college/uni to complete these as a mature student):
GCSE grade C in maths and English (or equivalent qualification )
A degree in any subject
PGCE qualification - there are loads of different routes into this, some are paid and some are on the job training.

However, I'm not sure teaching will offer you the work life balance you wanted. I arrive at 7.15 every morning and leave at 6pm. There is often work to be done outside these hours and I work anywhere between 55hours - 75hours a week. Other years have been different and it's more 50-60 hours but I've never managed below 50 for more than 3 weeks in a row. Much can be said about unrealistic work expectations of teachers but I would say only an hour or two a week max are spent on 'pointless paperwork'.

If it's something you're interested in though I would say there is no harm in further persuing it. There is loads in information online about routes into reaching and this country is desperate for m more teacchers .h

@Smokeahontas

I’m not a careers advisor but I do work in IT. The options you’re interested in above are quite distinct. To be an IT teacher, you’d need an undergraduate degree in IT & possibly a teaching qualification, depending on what part of the UK you’re in.

A business analyst role, as in to be employed directly as one straight away, usually requires a business / accounting / IT qualification. Some organisations would allow you to join in a different role, then perhaps move into a BA role after a few years & train on the job, maybe gaining a qualification through evening / distance learning.

Thank you. I will look into that.

I used to be a teacher for foreign students in Eastern Europe. I have 3 years of Teacher's College and 4 years of University degree. I understand I have to study more and adapt my Diploma in the UK.

I am only interested in teaching if the paperwork level is normal and is not crazy taking even more of my family time than now.

A fair point on the work / life balance @KerfuffleShuffle. Most IT jobs require an element of outside of the 9 - 5 at some stage, especially anything on role that involves projects / deployments. I’ve worked some very long days fuelled by Nespresso and Irn Bru.

@KerfuffleShuffle

I can't help with counseling or marketing I'm afraid but I am a teacher so can advise on that.

Pre-requisites for teaching (you can return to college/uni to complete these as a mature student):
GCSE grade C in maths and English (or equivalent qualification )
A degree in any subject
PGCE qualification - there are loads of different routes into this, some are paid and some are on the job training.

However, I'm not sure teaching will offer you the work life balance you wanted. I arrive at 7.15 every morning and leave at 6pm. There is often work to be done outside these hours and I work anywhere between 55hours - 75hours a week. Other years have been different and it's more 50-60 hours but I've never managed below 50 for more than 3 weeks in a row. Much can be said about unrealistic work expectations of teachers but I would say only an hour or two a week max are spent on 'pointless paperwork'.

If it's something you're interested in though I would say there is no harm in further persuing it. There is loads in information online about routes into reaching and this country is desperate for m more teacchers .h

Thank you.

Why can't teachers' useless paperwork be simplified?

I definitely don't want to make my work life even more demanding. I want it easier, not harder.

I want to work smarter, not harder :)

@KerfuffleShuffle

Is your job what you originally expected?

How do you survive all these hours and stresses?

Have you thought of changing your job?

Have you considered being a Teaching Assistant OP? You will still be in schools in a role somewhat similar to teaching but without planning/delivering lessons/assessing and all other time consuming and pressuring parts of teaching.

Hours vary from 15 hours to 35 hours a week depending on your contract. However, evenings/weekends will be free from 3 30 ish onwards and it's only a 39 weeks a year contract. Obviously your pay massively reflects this but it does offer the family time you want.

I don't want to work a minute extra on my feet.

Probably part-time retail & part-time counseling would be a good choice for me.

@KerfuffleShuffle

Have you considered being a Teaching Assistant OP? You will still be in schools in a role somewhat similar to teaching but without planning/delivering lessons/assessing and all other time consuming and pressuring parts of teaching.

Hours vary from 15 hours to 35 hours a week depending on your contract. However, evenings/weekends will be free from 3 30 ish onwards and it's only a 39 weeks a year contract. Obviously your pay massively reflects this but it does offer the family time you want.

I like secondary school intellectual challenges more than primary school.

Can an IT teacher work part-time?

@Lana07

Have you thought of changing your job?

Not sure if that was for me or @KerfuffleShuffle, but no, I haven’t.

It’s part and parcel of what I do. If the shit hits the fan, if a customers site is totally down, then you do what you have to for as long as you have to, to get it going again.

If you’re on a deployment or project and something goes wrong, it’s not always an option to abandon and say ‘I’ll pick it up tomorrow’. Most of them take place out of normal working hours to avoid disruption during the day to the client. It is what it is.

@Lana07 the hours are totally what I expected and I 100% knew this would be the case when I applied to my current position a few years back. I do enjoy my work a lot. I love my school where I work and the staff team but the requirements of my pupils and their local community massively contribute to my work hours. I have many friends who are in schools where they regularly work 45-55 hours a week and they are very happy there. Each type of teacher has a school which suits them and each type of school has teachers which suit them. It's just about finding one which works for you at your stage of life.

If you are interested in schools and education, I think being a Teaching assistant might be a good fit for you.

And secondary schools have TAs too - although the intellectual challenge of the job doesn't come from the curriculum, it comes from how best you can effectively support pupils. It would boil down to whether you prefer the company if teenagers or younger children.

This post is a bit mad. You say they changed your contract 6 years ago but you decided to stay. If you don't enjoy it cut your hours there to very minimal part time hours to keep your share options and do something else! Companies in all kinds of sectors are having a recruitment crisis and looking for staff.

I am only interested in teaching if the paperwork level is normal and is not crazy taking even more of my family time than now

I like secondary school intellectual challenges more than primary school

Why can't teachers' useless paperwork be simplified?

Possibly IT female-friendly options but not coding staring at the black screen all day. I'd like to find out a bit more about Business Analysis if it could be for me

Counseling

Maybe Marketing

You're quite demanding aren't you?

Counseling is 4 year minimum training. And you should start now with a one day week course but the homework and counselling will take up another day . It is tough and will rarely get a job you will have do alot of volunteering. So famliy time will be zero. Why is your husband forcing you stay in your job by buying shares .. you could have left years ago . The money is either good or you really need it . Your son is 14 you could a office job as there is school runs to do.

Possibly IT female-friendly options but not coding staring at the black screen all day.

What does this mean? Why is coding not "female-friendly"?

Slightly agree @DameMaureen. While it is good to know your values, ethics and work style when it comes to careers , it is important also not to be too black and white in your thinking, as something that you have ruled out because of XYZ, could actually fill you with so much passion that you can overlook the XYZ.

If you plan to study in the future, one thing you could have a look at are Holland codes. They will help you pinpoint areas that you would perhaps find more fulfilling then your current role, where it seems that you can no longer overlook XYZ anymore.