Would anyone recommend being a Teaching Assistant as a career?

[squirrelonapetridish]

I'm currently working as Learning Support in Higher Education, one zero hours contract, not paid in holidays etc..My background is in FE and HE support, no primary /secondary experience at all. I desperately need a permanent contract, that pays something over the holidays. Would a Teaching Assistant be a good move for me or is it jumping from the frying pan into to the fire?! Please advise!!

It's transferable enough to step into secondary. The trouble is it being pro rata salaried, so paid the whole year, but monthly wage is lower. And a lot of TA positions are yearly contracts.

That's what I thought, but it may be a better situation than I'm in now. The summer holidays are so long!! I'm also paid in arrears so I didn't get a full months pay until November!

Depends on the school, really. I've seen some TAs having to work their fingers to the bone, others who have a rather lovely low-stress job with nice kids and very reasonable expectations.

If you're on zero hours anyway, depending on your area / own transport etc, it might be worth your while to join a supply agency - a relatively easy way of trying out a few different work places.

I’ve been a TA for a couple of years, absolutely love it. I’m not doing it at the minute as I’ve been assigned to be an LSA and I really hate it so I’m praying I can go back to being a TA next year. You get all the good bits of teaching without the stress of being the teacher.
Paid throughout the year too.

TA’s are usually over-worked and unserpaid but it’s a nice job to do. The hours are regular and you get the benefits like pension and life insurance. You don’t get paid for holidays (contracts are usually for 38 wks a year) but you do get paid every month. If you can survive on the pay then go for it. Most TA’s stay in the same school for years but bear in mind that they are also the first in the firing line as a result of budget cuts. A TA used to be for one class in most schools, now each TA usually covers a couple of classes.

Thanks for all the comments, will have a good think about it. Will maybe try the agency route first to get some experience and see if I like it. Have heard mixed reports on TA work but overall it definitely sounds better than the situation I'm currently in.