Anyone not regret going into teaching?

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Ok so I did my nursing back in 2009 and completed the first year. At the time, I asked/begged to be transferred from adults to children’s nursing but a place would only become available if somebody had left and they didn’t so I did as I really wasn’t enjoying it. Fast forward to now and I’m married with 2 children (7&4 almost) and I have been going backwards and forwards with pursuing primary teaching. However, I am yet to meet anyone that hasn’t regret their career choice. I’ve spoken to two that I know in rl and both hate it and I’m reading various forums and everyone seems to hate it, I think this maybe what has put me off over the years but I can’t squash the idea completely for some reason. So do you regret it? I understand the day of a teacher will have changed a lot if you have been doing it for many years. Anyone want to share their honest feelings?

Some sectors are worse than others. Secondary is where the real behavioural problems and violence are. Primary kids are still manageable and have some respect for authority. Post-16 salaries have been cut so much you’d be better of working on the till in Aldi. All sectors suffer from unmanageable workload. I quit teaching as soon as I had an excuse became a SAHM.

Thanks I’m terrified of making the wrong decision!

I've been teaching for over 20 years and don't regret it.

I don’t - but I don’t teach in a school. I hope never to have to do so again!

I've been teaching for 23 years. I don't regret it at all. It's very hard and stressful at times (often!) but then so are many other jobs. It's given me a good life and along the way there have been many "this is why I'm here" moments that make it worthwhile.
I've spent most of my career working with children who have additional needs.

I love teaching. Hate all the rest of the bullshit that goes with it.

I've been teaching almost 15 years now. Yes it's hard work & stressful at times (as are many, many other jobs!) but I get paid well, have an ok work/life balance most of the time & really love spending summers with my son. Every day is different & you're always 'on' with nowhere to hide but I like that!

I loved it for most of my 30 years but am so glad I retired 3 years ago. It's a different job now.

I love it- really love it- but I'm in SEN not mainstream and work in the nicest school on the planet.

Wow lots of positives, I really appreciate the feedback. Now what to do 🤔

I don’t. Swapped jobs just over 10 years ago and enjoy it. Some days are more difficult than others, but a bit of venting and move on. Mostly the kids are fab, entertaining and interesting. ( secondary science).

It’s hard work but I love it.

I’d highly recommend working as a TA first. It’ll show you what the job really is and make training much easier if you’ve got that experience.

I love teaching but hate all the rubbish that goes along with it. However I work in SEN as well and really love that part of the job. I do find the job nearly impossible with having children though, other than making school holidays easier it is not a family friendly job.

Could you afford to do some volunteer work in a school or possibly look at TA work. With your nursing skills you may find you have lots of transferable skills in working in a special school with children with medical needs. The pay as a TA is really poor though but might help you make up your mind.

26 years in. Done various teaching jobs in various schools. Plus other work here and there (supporting home Ed pupils, local authority work). Currently work in a school in leadership position.

Really enjoy it overall, some bits dull and annoying, like any job, but all the bits that involve actual teaching of children...love it.

Right now I like it- had a good day and it’s the start of half term 🙂

If you asked me Tuesday night when I was marking books at midnight... I was ready to quit. I’m seriously thinking of finding a way to leave mainstream teaching and going into SEND or a much smaller school, or possibly even teaching adults... love the kids but the massive classes and feeling that we’re just on an exam treadmill with less and less time for personal relationships and creativity is really getting me down.

I've just started my NQT year in secondary. I like it, I don't regret it but.maybe that's because I have no experience of what it was like previously to be a teacher.

I have taught secondary for 27 years. Always loved it.

Love it - every minute of every day (secondary) - if you can’t love it you shouldn’t go there

I came into (primary) teaching around 34 years ago. I've really enjoyed it, in the main. But then, I've possibly been very lucky in the schools I've landed in.
Would I take it up now? Not in a million years.

I’m nearly at 15 years too but took a non class based role this year (SENCO).

I love what I do. I feel like what I do (even though it can never be enough due a severe lack of resources) makes a difference and I felt the same in the classroom.

It’s a hugely frustrating, exhausting, draining, anger inducing (at the government mainly), challenging, exhilarating, hilarious, rewarding, wonderful job and I don’t think I would be as happy doing anything else. That doesn’t mean I don’t sit with my head on the desk and want to sob some days, I really do

That said, boy does it make your life flash by in a blink as you are constantly looking ahead to the next holiday in a kind of ‘if I can just make it to the October half term, I can catch my breath’ kind of way.

Last year was my NQT.
For context I was employed full time as an unqualified the year before, training part time the year before that and two years as a TA before that!

This week I mulled over just how bad it would make me feel to admit defeat and move back out of teaching in the next 18 months.

I have had two other careers before this. I teach a core subject at secondary. I work in a deprived catchment with high SEND, EAL and pupil premium proportions.

I love my students, they are hilarious and brilliant and I get so much out of teaching them. I love my colleagues. We have excellent facilities and fairly comfortable supplies despite falling budgets. I don’t really need to spend time “planning” as I now have all of my materials and collaborated on the new curriculum sows with the team.

The endless workload, made up of pointless exercises that I just don’t believe benefit students is destroying my wellbeing.

Seven weeks in and I’m supposed to have focus marked every book (124, half what I had in another school!) 3/4 times by now. There have been four data drops, a parents eve, a careers event, after school yr11 revision weekly, two twilight insets, two HOY meetings, weekly dept meetings, science club, two duties per week, a million urgent tasks, calls, follow up meetings related to my form (then that needs logging in SIMS)... it just goes on and on.

If you are to survive as a teacher in the current climate you will have to have enough resilience to work your arse off and never have any hope of getting everything done or avoiding forgetting something critical at least once per week.

I love it.
Like any job it has its pros and cons.
Like many jobs what it's like depends on your individual workplace culture.
Each school will have its own pressures (e.g. when I worked in special measures schools you'd hear people go on endlessly about how people in outstanding schools don't know what pressure is but in leafy outstanding schools you can have SLT and parents wanting to know why the A/B pass rate at A Level is only 60%. One school it can be fights and verbal abuse but the other can be sly make up lies about the teacher and parent will defend their dahling to the teacher and do the MN frothing approach).

I hear some tales (and have some myself) that would put someone off teaching but there's still some lovely places to work.

If you go in with your eyes open and are good at shutting off and being an optimistic realist then you'll probably enjoy it.

As every PP has said, it is very demanding on your time. You have to let it be your life during term-time.

I teach Primary and on the whole do enjoy it. I like finding effective ways to teach different concepts and trying to motivate and understand the children and to give them meaningful experiences in the classroom.

We do have amazing TAs and a very supportive leadership though.

I love it but I have a thick skin and work part time!

I love my job. But it is in Australia in an independent school. I worked in a great school in the UK (kids still could be little shits though!). Moved to sydney. Earn twice as much and 90% of my job is teaching with very little bullshit.