Teachers who came from another career

[jumpin26]

Hello looking for advice- I've been considering a career change currently I work in corporate banking and manage a team of around 20 people (very junior staff in an entry level role)
My job is high pressured lots of demands from the top for paperwork and deadlines a lot of push from the bottom from a team who basically think you should do all of their work and they should get the bonuses for the outcomes...

Reading this board it sounds like teaching isn't far off and I'm working 40hours a week for the pleasure and not much more salary than a teacher who has been in the role 2/3years

Anyway if you came from another career path into teaching how did you find it differed from your old job or how was it the same? And if you are happy to share what was your old job? Thanks in advance

Don't forget we have these volatile, mercurial things called children (and their parents!) to add into the mix of all the pressures you might think are familiar to you in your current role. dealing with these growing humans every day is the almost unique challenge of teaching.

I also doubt your job is a political football, subject to constant political scrutiny, ideology and change, or one where you have to have your brain and memory and performance constantly 'on',

This is not to be cynical, nor to demean what sound like transferable skills that you already have. They are just the things that might be unexpected and that do -paperwork and behaviour aside- grind us down. Plus the expectation to be helpmeets, counsellors, life coaches , experts in and solvers of all the world's woes and be a punching bag for half of Mumsnet

And when you start out, you might actually miss the thing you have become highly adept at - ie managing other colleagues. You will have to take instruction yourself for quite a few years, but you will certainly still get those diktats from above!

Have a look at the thread about less than 40 hrs/ work life balance/ £50k : 16 or so pages and maybe two teachers have piped up, one a deputy head and the other in a private prep school!

a lot of push from the bottom from a team who basically think you should do all of their work and they should get the bonuses for the outcomes

This, by the way, describes teenagers to a tee!!

I used to be a research scientist for a pharmaceutical company. Teaching is much, much harder and hours are far longer. I never saw anyone reduced to tears once in the 6 years I did research, whereas in teaching it's a regular occurrence.

However, I have a very low boredom threshold, and was bored out of my brains doing research. I've done loads of dead end jobs (bar work, supermarkets, factory work), and all of them bored me out of my mind.

Teaching is the only job I've ever done that isn't boring, hence why I'm still doing the job. But do NOT under-estimate how unbelievably hard the job is - the job is mad busy, massively exhausting, and there are days where I feel like complete shit, because I have been treated like complete shit, either by a child or by a member of staff.

I had a 10 year career in the private sector before teaching. A bit of a niche area, so can't really say exactly what it was. I had a significant amount of responsibility and also managed teams. I flip flopped between extreme stress/pressure and extreme boredom, most of the time.

Teaching is more rewarding, for me anyway. If you like the kids, it helps. I like teenagers, I find them interesting and quite funny. Being in the classroom with the kids is great. EVERYTHING ELSE to do with teaching (and there is A LOT of other stuff) is crap. I knew this going into the job, though. Every teacher I asked for advice told me not to become a teacher.

Some of the things that I hated about the corporate world, can also be found in teaching. In particular, people in management positions who should not be in management positions. Tyrannical SLT seem to be quite commonplace. They are like that because of the high stakes nature of the education system, and that isn't going to change.

Go into schools and see if you like being in the classroom. You need to REALLY like it. I laugh most days. I never did in my old career. That just about outweighs all the ridiculous crap. If/when the balance changes, I will leave.

Such a shame, but the profession really is on it's knees at the moment.

I came from a recruitment and sales job, with staff under me too.

Nothing. Nothing, can ever prepare you for teaching. You basically perform for six hours a day, and it's really, really intense.

If you've ever trained staff you'll have an idea. My DH used to complain when he delivered training to his company staff about how tired he was he only did this once because i laughed in his face and that was 15 willing adults.

Despite all the crap, it's still a marvellous job on good days. The kids, 'your kids' will make you and break you.

Just when you think you've had enough, one thank you card, creme egg or grateful parent on a phone call erases the fact that a delightful year 9 told you to eff off during lesson 4, that you've got a truckload of marking and you realise it's now 1:30pm and you've not actually been for a wee yet today.

Teaching is a physical, emotional, mental, spiritual/philosophical burden. Yes you do laugh a lot - if you like gallows humour. Don't do it.

I ran my own small research consultancy before entering teaching and before that I was employed in marketing and fundraising roles. It definitely helped that I'd never earned big bucks, so I didn't have to give them up!

I enjoy teaching on the whole (although I have had to make some hefty compromises on salary and location to get the hours down to ones that don't destroy my family life) but it came as a shock to me that SLT and junior management (heads of department, section and so on) receive zero training in managing other adults. Some of them are okay at it, but quite a few aren't.

The other surprise was that teacher training types don't think there is such a thing as a transferable skill from anything outside teaching. They literally ignore everything you've done before. I had a 15 year career before, some of which was directly transferable.

Then again, you are the boss in the actual classroom...as long as you have a good grip on student behaviour of course.

The UK school system is also very fragmented and variable so you would need to think carefully about subject, location, age range, type of school - experiences can be very different. It is also far from straightforward getting trained.

If you go into it because you want to teach, do it. It's hard but if you get in the right school then it is doable.

Most children and most parents are lovely and reasonable.
There's a vocal minority who are a PITA (look on education boards for the sort of people who say they are fuming their child has a detention for 'only...' or deliberately buys non uniform and then tells their child to argue back)

There's a lot of jaded teachers and understandably so because in some places it's awful.

If you really want to teach (vs thinking it'll be better pay for a similar job) then try to get work experience and go in with your eyes open.

I was a Chartered Surveyor before I went into primary school teaching.

Teaching is definitely more stressful, more responsibility, longer hours and way less money! However, like the poster above, after 14 years as a Surveyor, I was extremely bored. There was also little satisfaction and, other than making money for rich people, I never felt like a was making a "difference" (as wanky as that might sound 😬).

I just wanted to add I like teenagers too. It is important that you actually like children of whatever age range you plan to teach. You can only find that out by spending time in classrooms with them.

I was an export manager
It’s very hard to compare, but positives include;-
Teachers are more interesting to chat to than sales people
There is less lying
Pay is transparent
Learning something is seen as something worthwhile rather than a means to an end
I don’t have to stay in soulless hotels

That being said, I’ve recently gone part time and work in fostering

I came from the finance sector and now teach primary. I work twice the hours for near enough half the pay. I don't regret leaving my previous role but I'm not sure how long I'll stay in teaching. I can't work this hard forever. Forty hours a week would be a dream!

Its teachers from another Planet that bothers me !

I worked in the private sector (language-based role) for 11 years and managed a small team. I am now in my 3rd year of teaching primary. I've been lucky and managed to get part-time work which means my work-life balance is actually balanced!

As pp have said, I was getting bored in my old career, was fed up of travelling and didn't feel like I was really making a difference to anyone. I love teaching, love the fact that children are so interesting and funny, love the fact that I am actually making a difference to their lives and some of them might even remember me when they are adults.

I do feel that I have made the right decision in changing careers. I suppose I might feel differently in a few years time, if I decide to go full-time. If you want to do it, then I would advise you to go for it.

I worked in retail, sales and marketing for 15 years managing a team of 45

It was like Groundhog Day, I was never 'off' working a 10/11 hour day and then having people ringing me after hours, on my day off in the middle of the night of the alarms had been triggered

Targets were set on random calculations and took no account of local influences, human nature -or even just Sod's law. I was accountable for my team's performance and if they didn't perform then I was judged on their performance regardless of how hard I'd worked, what interventions I'd put in place and what training I'd delivered

-so lots of similarities with teaching really

I now work 10/11 hour days during the week but a maximum of 4 hours across the weekend -and I choose when those 4 hours are. I work in the holidays, but on my terms and when I want to -between Christmas, Easter and summer I have 6 weeks when I choose to do no work and the rest of the school holidays I choose when I work and how much

I did miss the people management side at first but I work for a head that recognises prior, non-teaching experience and I have quickly moved to middle leadership

I came from banking too, OP, and had no training (I work in a private school). Teaching is much, much easier than my previous office job and while I do have to lesson plan and mark outside of working hours, I don't have business trips all the time and most things that take place at weekends or involve going away overnight (training courses, trips with students, etc.) are planned in advance whereas in my previous job they were all at very short notice. Teaching is really fun. Children are wonderful and so are most other teachers. In teaching there seem to be more incompetent people in management than in the areas I worked in before, but that's only my personal experience. For the same reasons, the meetings are often utter bullshit and an insult to everyone giving up (being forced to give up) their time to be there. Again, in my experience.

The working day itself in teaching can be quite full on - even in the busiest office job there will be 1 or 2 days in the week when you do get 20 quiet minutes to yourself for lunch or a 5 minute coffee break. Also it's weird not to go to the toilet when you want.

(And teachers will complain about their workload. A lot. They do have a lot of work and responsibility, but - in my opinion and experience - so do many other workers in other sectors).

Overall I am so happy I changed to teaching even though my salary is a pittance.

Thanks everyone for your responses- I really appreciate all of the perspectives!

I have decided to take a leap to the next step and have scheduled volunteering time in a local school to get a real understanding of the role first hand in a classroom environment

I came from university admin. Teaching is a big pay rise for me. Longer hours but the holidays are amazing.