How Stressful is the PGCE Really?

[DudeDudeson]

Hi, I have a place on a PGCE but have had cold feet about it ever since being offered it. I've been teaching English as a foreign language for too many years now and really want to get out of it as it feels like a trap. I'm decent enough at it after an initial few years of being absolutely rubbish at teaching. I've taught at university too while doing my PhD. I was ok at that but not great according to my former supervisor.

Anyways, long story short, I actually went and checked out two schools and it was ok? I mean the behaviour was pretty meh, nothing majorly awful. And yet I read a flood of stories about how awful teaching is the in the UK. My concern stems from this and also the workload. I'm ok with a steady amount of work but would not be able to withstand an avalanche of demands and zero work life balance. I also suffer from IBS and insomnia, exacerbated by stress which are not good for teaching. For reference I did teach full time in ESL, teaching 6 hours of classes a day but couldn't keep up with the pace. I'd get overtired and make mistakes. The reason I'm considering teaching is that it's a meaningful job and my CV is solely in education as that's all I've ever got jobs in.

I have an offer of an Instructional Design course as well, and am eyeing that but have major doubts about landing a job after it as many ID firms want corporate experience which I don't have. Conversely if I managed to survive the PGCE, I would be confident about landing a job. However, my lack of confidence stems from the actual surviving part. Given that my school visits appear to contradict what I'm reading on the internet, I'm at a bit of a loss in gauging just how demanding the course is. If it's fair, I think I can pass it. On the other hand what I'm reading is seriously spooking me and I can't afford another course that doesn't work out. I need to make whatever course I do actually result in a step up from what I've been doing for years.

I initially found it stressful, now after many years it's just autopilot. I don't find it stressful anymore. As regards 13-15 year olds, I don't dislike them or anything, I just did a lot better with older age groups.

Oh I am sorry.

Honestly you'd be better off trying to get a job as a temp in a university in admin while you figure out your next move, just google, temporary jobs university admin. Youv'e spent many years in higher education and have a Masters and PhD, that should get you through the door working as student advisor or straight Uni admin. Its better paid than TEFL and pretty secure (more secure than academia nowadays) and just keep plugging away at applications.

You could always work 3 days a week or something and look for teaching American Lit at a campus somewhere . Believe it or not PhD's in English and Lit dept's aren't as common as you'd believe , many just have MA's and a few published books, the Uni's all want PhD's these days. There's also all the further education colleges English and Lit depts. Your experience teaching undergrads is enough again to get your foot in the door , I managed to get teaching gigs at both Uni and FE College, post PhD, based soley on teaching undergrads stints during my PhD, I have no formal teaching qualifications ( I drifted out teaching after a few years post PhD, never got a feel for it).

When I was doing my PhD's we had lots of lecturers in further and higher education were in my cohort to increase their job propects.

Don't give up, keep up the career counselling and get some personal counselling as it sounds like you've had an awful time of it. I know its a cliche but it really is darkest before the dawn.

You've achieved something that 99% of the country hasn't, reached the top of educational achievement, you're a massive over achiver.

Unless you have a calling to teach kids , don't do this, and I'm certain you'll find your path doing something you love, it will just take more time.

Sorry for the terrible spelling, my laptop is f*cked after one my kids spilt fizz all over it a few weeks back and some keys don't work.

You couldn't pay me enough to be a secondary teacher, I have nothing but respect for them. I have a few friends from my first degree days that becae teachers and their stories put me off for life.

Thanks for these suggestions. My main issue is I'm from abroad (next door in Ireland) so it counts against me. I've fibbed about my address on my CV before but it doesn't seem to work. I applied for admin roles in universities but no replies. There's zero going in Ireland in academia unless you know somebody. I've been out of academia for 7 years so HR are counting that against me - I've been out of the loop too long. Out of interest how did you find those FE teaching jobs? I mostly use jobs.ac.uk

The PGCE is a tough one, I actually relented and didn't go forward with one last year because the doubts and fear became overwhelming. Afterwards I felt I had made a big mistake giving into that fear. However, I now have a second chance and feel if I don't take it, I'm royally screwed and going to end up middle aged, quite poor and full of regrets. It's kind of last chance saloon and though it wouldn't have been my first choice, I feel like I have to make some self-sacrifices to achieve some stability - it's ironic as right now I have no life and I'm interested in pursuing a career that leaves one with no life apparently, but it potentially offers a marginally better shot than staying where I am, it's like a choke-point of sorts.

@DudeDudeson
don't look my age but you're saying it's actually hard to get a job in secondary teaching? This is my main pro for doing it, that I could actually finally get out of TEFL into something with some security. And it was main con against ID, that I'll just end up back in TEFL. But if the two are equivalent in terms of jobs prospects where I am at this stage in my rather failed life, then it changes things significantly.

I think it depends which subject you teach. If you are going to teach maths or science you will probably get a job easily. You have more qualifications than I do, so schools may be more interested. I was an English and Drama teacher. The only schools that showed an interest in me were rough, inner-city schools, and I didn't think I had the stamina and resilience for them. I was 33 at the time. It may be that the current teaching shortage is more severe, and therefore a post may be readily available, but nothing is guaranteed. As a well-qualified 38 year old, you will be more expensive than a 22 year old. How qualified are you in TEFL? Do you have the diploma? If you do, you may be able to find work writing text books, being a rep for text book publishers, examining etc. It will never be the stable career that secondary teaching is in terms of progression, salary, pension etc. Sorry I don't have better advice. Just sympathy as I was much in the same boat. One friend of mine who worked for years in TEFL retrained in tech and became a UX designer. There are other options if you don't leave it too late.

Yup teaching English. I definitely would be eaten alive in a rough school, they'd take the piss out of me for all my quirks. In fact I went to a rough school as a teenager and got severely bullied so definitely would want to avoid that again. I have an ACELS cert which is just the older version of the CELTA and a PhD in American literature with some publications. I was looking into UX design but got demoralized when I read how flaky it is to get a job in it. I'm considering Instructional Design as it's more related to my teaching experience but I feel the same way that it's about selling yourself into it. I'm aware of my limitations now in the jobs market, I know I don't have the ability for networking, gift of the gab or salesmanship skills, which makes pursuing such positions incredibly risky (at least for me). I was hoping to do the PGCE but then get off to Spain/France and get my experience there. I could stick out 2 years in the UK if I got work in a supportive school with reasonably good behaviour.

Hi Op, I'm an EFL teacher and nearly went for a PGCE so can relate to your situation. I never meant to stay in TEFL forever and I worked in ELT publishing for a while but it wasn't a good fit for me so I focussed on getting a good TEFL job at a university. To do this I did a Masters at 28 and a PG Cert a bit later. A few years years I got the job I have now, and I am happy.

I am 47 now and work for a university on grade 7 which is about £42,00ft - I work 80% as do many other teachers; anything 20%-100%. It is a really nice job - I teach maximum 3 x 90 min classes a day but usually 1 or 2, with up to 15 students in a class, between the hours of 9.30 and 3.30. They are adults of various nationalities and motivated to learn. we have freedom with what to teach and little marking or report writing. It's rewarding and the students are lovely. When I'm not teaching, I have a desk in an office which is comfortable and I manage my own hours; most of us have flexitime. I can wfh when not teaching. You can progress if you want to be a manager but I am happy where I am as there is variety within the role. Sometimes I do materials writing projects where I wfh and don't teach much for a while.

We also have very good sick pay and support for those who have disabilities or illness so teachers feel supported.

The conditions are much more comfortable than teaching in a school. I have colleagues who left school teaching as it was so stressful. Some were heads of schools. I do know friends who have left TEFL for the stability of school teaching and they find it very very hard work.

You could reconsider staying in TEFL if there are jobs to aim for near you or somewhere you'd move to. I moved for this job and never regretted it. 6 hours teaching a day is way above what you would do at a university usually. It is undoubtedly harder to get a decent job now than when I started here so it's worth researching what is needed these days.

I'm sorry you feel down about your abilities. I felt I was an average teacher for years and better at the planning than delivering, but I have worked on it and am good now. It helps that I work somewhere with great support and resources. Maybe you haven't had that in your teaching roles?

Your job sounds awesome. I think most uni jobs in ESL require TESOL? I kinda put that off because of the fees but I don't know, if I could get onto a higher salary and get some much need job security, I would go for a masters in TESOL. I think I discounted it because I want to work in Europe and branch into literature, I think out of a matter of pride more than anything as I used to teach that in university. The crazy thing is that I have yet to do the SKE course I need to complete to get the offer of a place. My subject knowledge is pretty sketchy, I don't know most of the texts on the English curriculum. I mean I taught Shakespeare in university, the novels, etc but my memory is crap and there are plenty of books in the school curriculum I never covered. I'm reading Jekyll and Hyde at the moment and it's a slog to say the least.

Right now I'm in an extremely supportive and flexible school. I lucked out after years of being in mercenary schools. I was unceremoniously let go without being told after working for 3 years in one school. In the subsequent school I just walked out when I had an absolutely feral teenager class for 4 hours and got criticism instead of support when I couldn't manage them (they were out of control before I even stepped into the room). The current school was straight after that experience and it was like night and day but I feel like I've been stagnating for years.

For reference I did teach full time in ESL, teaching 6 hours of classes a day but couldn't keep up with the pace. I'd get overtired and make mistakes.

This, and your post at 21:52 were enough for me to say Teaching isn't for you, let alone the PGCE and then Probationary period.
That's before you got on to the bit about not getting on well with 13 - 15 year olds.
What makes you think becoming a secondary teacher would be a good next step in your life ?

The PGCE year is incredibly challenging for someone who passionately wants to become a teacher. I really wouldn't apply if you aren't even starting from that point.

What's wrong with posting at 21.52?

Sorry my brain isn't working today, I see what you mean

I wouldn't say I don't get along with 13-15 year olds, just that I'm better at teaching older age groups and more advanced stuff. That's the feedback I've been given by family members and even to some extent at work. That's why I wanted to be a lecturer.

Conversely if I managed to survive the PGCE, I would be confident about landing a job

Well, yes-there is a huge retention and recruitment crisis in teaching at the moment!

I’d be doing a lot more research into why people aren’t staying.

Honestly. It's bloody awful. You are under constant assessment and evaluation you always geek like it's not good enough you face daily criticism. BUT if it's something you want to do go for it.

Teaching in the UK is honestly awful (I've taught abroad too si much nicer!)

You sound like you want a reasonable work life balance. You will not find that in state school teaching these days. You might find better in an independent school.

To be honest you sound so unenthusiastic about the whole thing, I don’t think you’ll enjoy it. I would think of something else.

I did my PGCE at 38 and had no problem with job offers and that was a time when there were 40plus applicants for a job. You’re bottom of the payscale at that point.

I don’t think the PGCE is hard - you get tons of support, a very limited timetable, easier classes and, as long as you show you’re learning and improving, they’re keen to pass you.

However, the first year of teaching is savage. You’re on your own in the classroom, prepping everything from scratch and your inexperience shows. Second year is tough too.

I had small children and was a secondary teacher so didn’t want to stay at school or work much in the evenings, so I only did 4 days and did all my marking and prep on my day off. Much more possible at secondary when you could get kids to do assessments/homework on paper and give it back a week later. I think teaching is only manageable on 4 days per week. But 20% less salary of course.

So I’m saying there are ways around the markload but you may find the drop in pay unacceptable. And there are lots of ‘just ok’ teachers about so I wouldn’t worry about that. I didn’t have a vocation but my career trajectory and pupil feedback suggests I was a popular and successful one. Some teachers are full of empathy, others are great at explaining topics, some are ‘fun’, some are just solid. You don’t have to be everything -develop your strengths.

That seems way more reasonable. I would be able to manage that but definitely not the 11 hour days one of the other posters was talking about. Hell, I can't even spend 11 hours working on my music and that's not a job. 11 hours for me is just not sustainable for any length of time. I would absolutely take a pay cut just to get the experience to then get a job in an international school. I currently work 4 days and would never go back to 5.

@DudeDudeson I'm going to try and say this in the gentlest way but you don't sound cut out for teaching. You say that you found ESL too much, well teaching is going to be far harder and much more stressful and demanding. You sound like a lovely person but you really are setting yourself up for failure if you go down this route.

It sounds like you only want to do PGCE because you can't see any other career path. But why put yourself through the expense and time and stress when teaching isn't a passion and it seems you are ill-equipped for it.

There must be other things you can do that are more suited to you? Is the reason you're not going ahead with Instructional Design purely because of your lack of corporate experience? If it is, then get some! Volunteer or get experience as an intern. Have you contacted people in that field via Linked In to get advice?

I've tried on many, many occasions to network but people don't warm to me. This is why teaching seems like the more solid route. I'm aware of my limitations. There does not appear to be any volunteer roles in ID, I would have gone down that route if there were. Getting the PGCE is my last attempt at insurance against poverty, I've been rejected from all other career path attempts except teaching.

Getting the PGCE is my last attempt at insurance against poverty, I've been rejected from all other career path attempts except teaching.

This seems very dramatic! It’s not teaching or poverty, you know!

Why not look at the Civil service or other public body instead? You could use your TEFL experience and work for the recruitment/on boarding/training section. I recently started at a public body and have met many ex teachersin all sorts of positions. The starting salary grade point is similar to teaching and there is lots of movement internally, and once you have completed your days hours you are done.
Yes, I lost the school holidays but if I didn't have DC I wouldn't even notice it was holiday time as I'm not exhausted, plus I've not picked up any illnesses either.
I work hybrid flexi which is amazing, do my hours anytime between 7am-7pm with 15 flexi days a year on top of normal holidays. I'm on my lunch break, took an hour (I can take up to 2 hours) and walked to the beach instead of overseeing detentions etc.

Unfortunately it is. I'm living with my parents and earn less than 15k per year. I need to get a better job or I'm doomed.

I really think you need to consider other options. You seem to be very black and white. There's a middle ground you know? Have you considered setting up your own business? With remote working, there are so many more opportunities these days. If you need income, why don't you become an online exec assistant for a while? It may help you make connections and it's something you can do from home in Ireland. Lots of info online but you can even get free training courses such as this one:

https://alison.com/course/executive-assistant-skills

You could consider retraining as a Speech and Langage Therapist, eg see here:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/pals/study/masters/msc-speech-and-language-sciences

I don’t believe your only choices are teaching or poverty, no.