How old is 'too old' to start teaching?

[Yimpy]

Is there a cut-off point?

I'm 27, a part-time worker and general stay-at-home dad. I never went to university when I had the chance and have spent the bulk of my career working in hotels but I've been discussing taking the chance to do a degree during this time instead of working. Probably with Open University.

It was my dream when I was a teenager to teach secondary school but I failed to follow through and ended up meandering out of school with my reasonable-ish qualifications into a shelf-stacking job at Sainsburys. I've had a decent career but the calling has always been there and I can't get it out of my head.

Thing is, I'm looking at the qualification time (including post grad) and we're talking about graduation maybe 5-6 years from now, which is a wee bit daunting to say the least. I'm worried about committing to something like that when the environment is ever changing and I'm concerned about being in my early 30's when so many graduates will be in their early to mid 20's.

Does anybody have any insight they can offer?

I am a 42 yr old NQT and my HOD was a 50yr old NQT. In secondary.

Never too old if it's what you want, you are a mere baby in comparison

I'm a trainee teacher -I'm a lot closer to 40 than 30 and there are a couple of 50 year olds on my course

Never to old but the pgce and starting off is tough.

Be very sure it is what you want and you're not looking through rose tinted glasses.

The question isn't whether you're too old, really, but rather whether you are actually aware of what will be involved in teaching.

Do you know any secondary teachers? Have you read any threads on here about people interested in becoming teachers?

At the moment, a lot of people are trying to get out of teaching.

I would suggest trying to spend some time in a secondary school in some way first before committing years to getting qualified.

Yes, I volunteered 2 days a week for a year before starting my course last year. I realise that I was very fortunate to do so. I know more teachers who have left the profession than stayed (my university friends and family), but it just felt "right" for me. Teaching was something I always wanted to do.
If I was paying £9k to train and completely changing career then I wanted to make sure that I was doing the right thing.
It is hard, my course last year was very tough. It also very much depends on the school, I love where I am (I was lucky enough to stay where I volunteered), my colleagues are fantastic; the pupils, whilst challenging, make me smile every day. I know some on our course didn't have the same experience.

Thanks for the insight, folks, it is very much appreciated.

I have a little bit of insight, noblegiraffe, through two friends who are teachers. One has encouraged me and the other has warned me away from it but the latter is a music teacher and he feels like his profession has sort of ruined his hobby a little bit. So I do wonder if subject choice is a factor if you want to teach secondary.

I do read the odd educational blog and have a keen interest in news about schools. I used to lurk the TES forums for some insight and to see some of the discussion but it is a wee bit slow over there and very language and acronym heavy at times. It never mattered a great deal before because I never had the infrastructure here at home to make the leap until very recently.

I know that it isn't Dead Poet's Society and that much of the job these days can revolve around behavioural monitoring as opposed to actually teaching. I know that a great deal of dedication is required, given that you have to plan lessons, mark homework, keep on top of pupils etc. I feel prepared for that.

That's great to hear, Lizzylou, and I hope I would have the same experience. I'm sure it can be challenging but it has always been the dream for me to do that. I feel like I'm capable of taking it head on.

Yimpy go and get some observations in at a local school. If there's an opportunity for TA work, take it. You really do need to get a feel for what school life is like, you'll either love it or hate it - there's rarely an inbetween.

What is the best way to go about it, ChampagneTastes, would it be to approach openly with aspirations for teaching? Or just look for jobs and apply?

We occasionally have people coming to my school for a day to observe lessons and chat to teachers because they are interested in teaching, so just contact local schools and ask.

What I did was look at the courses available, then emailed/rang schools in those courses. I paid for a 2 day school experience course. Then approached the other schools in the SCITT to get more experience. Only one replied. And they offered me the chance to volunteer as much as I wanted. And I made sure I plied them with biscuits and loved the school and the kids and the department.
I needed a minimum of 5 days experience in order to apply for the course. I think you now need more.
My school would actually have been my last choice when I started all of this

I would get an email address for the department you are interested in and ask if there's any chance you can go in and observe. Do that a few times then you stand a better chance in a ta interview.

I'm nearly 42 and I volunteered last year in our local secondary school and now I have a job as an HLTA in a different secondary school. Despite being told to 'F* off and die in a hole' and being called a bitch today, I'll still be applying for teacher training at the end of October when the UCAS applications system opens.

I'm 42 and six weeks into a Primary PGCE. Mature students make up about 20% of the cohort, our backgrounds are very diverse. My degree and career were pre-kids, others have just completed OU degrees.

The real difference I'd say between us and the younger students is that we all have far much more classroom experience under our belts - either as TAs or SEN assistants. Get as much of it as you can now - it'll either confirm your ambitions or put you off for life!

I did 3 years in SEN. I was very up front with the school that I was aiming to become a teacher eventually and they couldn't have been more supportive.

Good luck!