Need career advice asap! Should I apply? Salary v work/life balance...

[IHeartKingThistle]

Sorry if this is long. After 12 years in secondary I now work in Adult Education. I'm part time and fairly ad hoc so lots of free time to do planning. It fits in round the DC brilliantly. I can still do all the school runs. There's minimal marking. And I absolutely LOVE doing it. Seriously, I love it.

However, the pay is AWFUL. I'm on a zero hours contract and as the terms are shorter than school terms and I'm not paid for holidays, my actual salary is really low. No pension either. To top this up I do a lot of private tutoring in the evenings - 7 students a week over 3 nights. The DC (primary school age) hate it as bedtime is always a rush and I miss out on reading to them. I don't mind the tutoring but rushing swimming/ tea/ bath/ bed before students arrive is a nightmare. The DC are brilliant but I know they don't like it.

Now an opportunity has come up for a contracted post in my Adult Education role. It would mean working every morning and afternoon, though I'd probably still be able to do most of the school runs I think as it'd mostly be school hours. If I went for it and got it I could give up tutoring in the evenings. I'd have to do planning in the evenings but that's OK. I'd also be able to re-start my pension.

Does it sound like a no-brainer?

Here are the things holding me back from applying:

1. The pay is still awful. I'd be on 18k, possibly 19k pa. If I was full time in a school I'd be on 35k ish (I'm UPS1). I know that I'd have shedloads more work to do, and more stress, in a school, but it still seems like a low salary.

1. I haven't worked 5 days a week since I had the DC!

WWYD? I came out of secondary schools to give more time to the DC, and tutoring is stopping me doing that. Do I give up my lovely part-time weeks to get my evenings back?

I need help - I've lost sight of everything! Closing date is tomorrow

Apply. See if you get an interview. Then hopefully if you get offered the job a quick gut instinct will give you the answer. You can overthink sometimes. It sounds like a good move to me. What's to lose by applying?

I suppose it would be useful to know if I actually stand a chance of getting it!

Where are all the helpful people tonight???

Oops that sounded bad - momzilla I didn't mean you weren't helpful!

I agree...apply. What you have at the moment sounds good for school runs, stress and little else. Not having a pension would be a massive concern for me, and it must be hard on your children to fit around your current work schedule.

Why don't you have a browse as to what is out there that pays ups and how this weights up against the 18k job stress, time and money wise?

If you were full time in school you'd be paying for wraparound care for up to 5 days a week. I work .6 and take home almost the same as I would if I was full time but paying for childcare. My childcare bill for 3 dcs would be £600 a month and that's with PILs doing 2 days care.
And the stress involved in teaching isn't worth the extra pay either.

This job sounds like a good compromise, tbh!

Thanks so much for the advice. I think you're all right! I've been out of secondary 3 years so I need to remind myself of the stress, the directed time, the piles of books, the lack of support, the wraparound care, the exhaustion... I think avoiding all that might well be worth the lower salary. I don't think it's benefiting the DC at all to have such disrupted evenings. You're right about the pension too. And I love this job - that's worth a lot, right?

Choc I have been looking - I could earn more than 18 doing various things but everything comes with drawbacks. I need to remember that a big plus of this one is that I already work for them so I know how it all works.

Also, it would be steady and permanent. What I have now is not. It's looking like I'm applying, isn't it?

It's a bit scary!

Argh trying to write covering letter without sounding like a twat.

Sounds like a no brainer. And if when the DC are older you wanted to increase your hours, this new job sounds like a better position to be in to do that

Good point closer.

Sorry to keep posting - it's so hard to know if you're doing the right thing!

I did it!

Well done. I wasn't offended at all. Pleased you've applied. Fingers crossed.

Thanks momzilla. At least now I can stop thinking about it!

Well done! Sounds like you have done absolutely the right thing for you and your family . Good luck!!!

Thanks. Bet I don't get it now after all that! But I think even if I don't I'm glad I threw my hat in.

Apply! Sounds good. I hope your application is successful and that whichever decision you make works out well.

My dh was in a similar position.

He applied, he got an interview and went. He didn't like the place and withdrew.

He got great experience, he gained confidence in that he got the interview, but he also got closure knowing that he didn't want the job after all.

Apply. You might love it. You can always return to tutoring. You may get there and decide it's not for you.