Should I become a teacher?

[namechanged4u]

I wanted to get some advice from people who are currently in the teaching profession.

I'm really unhappy in my current work situation. I'm self employed and work doing accounts for my husbands business, and I hate it. I don't have any real qualifications, have just worked in call centres and admin jobs prior.

Growing up, I always wanted to be a teacher but chose to go travelling instead of to Uni. I'm at a point in my life now where I am considering going to Uni and getting a degree in Primary Education with QTS. I have got some experience of working with children (not in a school) and during my A levels I did a few placements in schools, but that was about 14 years ago.

The trouble is, I know quite a few people who work in schools (teachers, head teacher, TAs, HLTA) and all of them have told me not to do it. That it's not what it used to be, too much red tape, etc. It's not that I don't believe them, but they've all only ever worked in schools whereas I've worked in some really awful jobs so I wondered if that was distorting the perspective from both sides somewhat?

So I wanted to ask here, what you really think about teaching, is it a good time to study and become a teacher, or would you tell me to run a mile?

[neveradullmoment99]

Teaching is the only one I’ve done where management doubt your ability all the time, no one trusts you to do the job, even after years of experience, everything from a lost jumper to Ofsted is a top priority with no prioritising and you are on stage having stuff metaphorically and often physically thrown at you for 6 hours. Then you start on the other half of the job.

So true. Do yourself a favour and find something better.

[Timbertruck]

I love the people I work with. I enjoy the kids. I love my subject. I fecking hate the endless admin and ridiculous new initiatives that try to reinvent the wheel.
The only way I can manage these days is buy working part time... otherwise I'd have left long ago

[neveradullmoment99]

I'm the same @Timbertruck. I could never ever ever do it full time.

[LolaSmiles]

You might find one of these amazing supportive schools I hear about to get you through the first couple of years. Out of my PGCE cohort of 20 only 5 are teachers still.
A few of us had a PGCE catchup around the time the 5 year retention figures came out. We realised that out of 30ish from our cohort 10-11 of us were still teaching.

I've seen the full spectrum of support and it makes a big difference.

[millimat]

Out of my PGCE cohort of 20 only 5 are teachers still.
Wow! That's the reality of teaching.

[gotmychocolateimgood]

Primary teacher here. The pressure is massive to get children to age related expectations and performance related pay means you have to jump through hoops constantly even after you qualify. In my school most teachers arrive at 7-7.30am, take 30 mins for lunch and go home at 6pm or take books home to mark. 90 books to be marked daily, once a week in green and pink highlighters, otherwise with a personalised comment. Logging behaviour and meeting with parents / agencies / senco is time consuming. Many parents are not supportive of education and do not understand the importance of having books at home etc. The responsibility pastorally for vulnerable children is huge and these children still need to make the grade. Dwindling TA support, expectations to differentiate for 32 children and show progress every lesson, moving goalposts with moderation, having to prove you are pushing them to progress at every opportunity. No time to get to know your class, far too much emphasis on English and maths to the detriment of other subjects. Leading a subject at primary and making a paper trail to prove you are raising standards.

Being in the classroom is a joy. No two days are the same, it's never boring, it's fun. The pressure and paperwork are obscene though. 60 plus hours a week is the norm.

[Timbertruck]

I should say that of the people I started working with in my first job (all quite young etc) 5 have gotten out to different industries. 3 have been promoted out of the classroom... guidance, behaviour support etc. 1 is still working full time but no kids yet and myself working part time.
Most never made it past 10 years in the job.

[Tiredand]

"I had a 10 year career in the private sector before becoming a teacher, so can offer a bit of insight here. Firstly, there is a massive audit culture in teaching. Even in the most basic of admin jobs, management will assume that if you are asked to send an email, or update a file, you will do it. In teaching this is not the case. You are not trusted to just do the job and there will be random work sampling, learning walks, half termly observations etc. etc. because you just can not be trusted to teach. This doesnt seem to ever go away, no matter how experienced you get.
There is also the problem of poor classroom practitioners escaping quickly into slt, thus reducing their timetable, teaching less, becoming even worse teachers... and then going round telling everyone else how to do it. I would say this is very similar to private sector though, where incompetent brown nosers and psychopaths climb the ranks quickly.
I find the pay is poor. Teachers who have done nothing else seem quite pleased when they get to UPS3 (approx 40k), but it takes about 11 years to get there. So most teachers are about 33 when they earn this amount, but often that is doing 60 hour weeks. I earnt this amount, adjusted for inflation, by the time I was 27, and did a 45 hour week for it. In teaching, I have never worked so hard for so little financial reward.
Funnily enough, it is the low status of teachers which has bothered me the most. The parents dont respect teachers (as society doesnt), and the kids pick up on this. The children can be downright rude."

THIS

Mrs. T is a teacher and frankly I've never seen such a pathetically managed profession. Professional implies a level of ability and being trusted to get on with the job but the government seem to think differently.

Unless OFSTED is disbanded in the next 5 years there will be no teachers left. Mrs. T has taught PT for the last 20 yrs (thus enabling her to have 2 days unpaid at home to keep up with paperwork and planning and therefore still have a weekend). 4 yrs to go before early retirement.

If you are a head reading this ask your staff to anonymously (and I mean 100% anonymously) feedback on your management style and level of support and see if you are part of the problem.

As others have said before, what I've seen are mainly the poor practitioners escaping into management.

[Chocolatedeficitdisorder]

I was a graduate nurse, then an FE teacher and now I work as a senior TA in a secondary school.

I really, really considered going the teacher training route but as every year goes by I'm glad I didn't. I get the time and opportunity to build strong relationships with pupils and leave my job behind when the bell goes each day. The extra money doesn't seem worth the balance I have now.

[HopeClearwater]

Everything CatAndFiddle says on page 1 is true. And I’ve been in some shitty jobs.

[BackforGood]

The latest is we have no colour copying without permission

Oh, if only that were a new thing. I started teaching over 30 yrs ago and have never worked in a school where you were allowed to colour photocopy without specific permission. I've worked in schools where you have a 'ration' of the number of copies.

I think CatandFiddle sums it up well in the 2nd reply.

The teaching is great - interesting, rewarding, stimulating, everything it should be but the total lack or being trusted anymore just grinds you down.

You have to just ask yourself why retention is so poor, and why the Gvmnt is having to spend so much money and effort in continually thinking up new schemes to bribe people in to teaching.

[rosesinmygarden]

I wouldn't recommend it.

Teaching is brilliant. Working in a school in the UK right now is horrible.

[Girasole02]

I left teaching after 18 years and now do day to day supply. I still enjoy the contact with the students but the rest of the job is soul destroying. If my son said he would like to become a teacher, I would do my utmost to talk him out of it.

[fedup21]

Definitely do a subject degree first and then a PG year if you still want to teach.

The reality is, most new teachers leave quickly, so paying £50k for a non-transferable degree is painful.

The trouble is, I know quite a few people who work in schools (teachers, head teacher, TAs, HLTA) and all of them have told me not to do it. That it's not what it used to be, too much red tape, etc. It's not that I don't believe them, but they've all only ever worked in schools whereas I've worked in some really awful jobs so I wondered if that was distorting the perspective from both sides somewhat?

Just because you’ve worked in some awful jobs, doesn’t mean teaching isn’t awful too.

[floraloctopus]

Out of my PGCE cohort of 20 only 5 are teachers still.

Out of my PGCE cohort of 20 a quarter of the students dropped out of the course.

[leccybill]

Secondary teaching is not quite so intense as primary I find, although behaviour, defiance, refusal and generally being spoken to like shit is pretty much the norm. The odd lovely teenager makes up for it a bit.
I've done 15 years and I reckon 5 more and I'm out. It's a young person's game! I'm tired!

[BurnedOutAndUsedUp]

No. I'm applying for jobs in a completely different sector. I'm a headteacher and can't carry on trying to protect my teachers and the children from the tide of shit that they keep pushing on us. Also, the number of parents who are aggressive, violent and disgraceful is growing and watching child after child fall through the cracks despite your best efforts is heartbreaking and soul-destroying. Don't do it! Be anything else. This profession isn't treated like one. It is not trusted or valued. Stay away if you can.

[HouseworkAvoider10]

Nope.
Don't do it.
The govt is killing off education and teachers are very much undervalued and underpaid.
Find something else.