Is teaching that bad?

[typicalityhm]

I’m in my first year at university so have a little bit of time to decide but once I’ve finished my degree (French and History) I would really love to go into teaching, ideally secondary.

I think I want to do this for a few reasons, I really love helping people and when I do something meaningful, seeing that it’s helped someone makes it all worthwhile. I also loved Secondary school, I got on really well with my teachers and had a lot of friends, I loved the environment and it felt like we were all in it together.

My aunty is on MN and she recommended I ask here for advice so I’m actually using her account but with the username changed

Does anyone have any advice as I’ve spoken to my old HoY and she thinks whilst I would be good at it and fit in most schools, she also thinks teaching isn’t looking to get any better with either a Boris or Corbyn government and it’s a burning building I shouldn’t get into.

I have Spanish up to A level so could probably teach French but I really love history too. What would be most advisable?

I got on really well with my teachers

Be careful that you aren’t basing your desire to teach based on your own, nice, top set experience of school. Ask for some work experience in a local school and check out what goes on in bottom sets, shadow a pupil with SEN and so on. Make sure you know what schools are really like. (We had some PGCE drop outs as soon as they got into schools because of this lack of experience).

MFL would be easier to train to teach than history because it’s a massive shortage subject and so there are large bursaries. No idea which is nicer to teach though!

Nqt here - no, it's not that bad. People will tell you it's shit but in my experience those people have never done any other job and have no frame of reference.

I did 21 years. It's vile. Do anything else. Lap dancing. Fork lift truck driver. Anything. Don't be sucked into that world of lies.

Try it out for a few years, once qualified you can teach abroad. Think of it as a short-term job and you should be fine.

I’m in my 19th year of teaching and currently signed off with anxiety and depression. I wish I had done anything else but teach.
Don’t do it.

Don’t think if it as a short term job, it’s very very difficult to get out of.

And I’ve done 3 other jobs and teaching is harder and more stressful than all the previous jobs put together

21 years in and am pretty broken, to be honest.

Still-we need more teachers so...do some shadowing and see what you think.

There seems to be lots of negative replies! Personally I love teaching and wouldn't do anything else. I agree the previous poster that It would be a good idea to try and get into a few schools to get some experience and decide for yourself if you think it is right for you.

Like a previous poster, I’m currently signed off with stress and I do wish I had made a different career choice - but, funnily enough I wouldn’t advise you not to try it.

I started my family early on in my career and have been trapped in teaching since because of the holidays and the way we have set up our lives which made me feel I would have to teach until my children are at least at secondary school. But the job has drained me and dealing with poor behaviour has finished me off entirely!

If I had delayed having children, I would have probably taught for a few years and then changed career or done what some of my friends have done and taught abroad, which is an amazing opportunity with far better quality of life than teaching in England.

However, I can’t deny that there have been some great aspects to the job and I look back over my career and feel so proud of the lives I have touched, influenced and changed. I am so proud of how hard I have worked and the skill set I have built up.

I can’t see the harm in trying it out, but being aware that there is a retention crisis and a lot of experienced teachers are leaving because of workload, behaviour and the steady creep of multi-academy trusts. There is no shame in deciding it isn’t for you! But getting QTS and a bit of experience could be a great idea. Just don’t get trapped!

I’m in my fourth year and I’m about to go back after three weeks off with stress.

I’m going to get out as soon as I possibly can (managing finances, impact on CV, other life events that don’t mix with a new job).

I love my students, working with teenagers is brilliant and I am brilliant at doing it. Sadly that part of the job has become an irrelevance.
I have experience in different schools (in education for 7yrs) and have done a number of other completely different jobs in my life. My immediate colleagues are the best friends I have ever had, but even that is not enough.

It is like an eternity of being treated worse than the kids are... an endless stream of meaningless tasks that you all know are fabricated to make people higher up look busy and good at “managing” everyone below.
I find just makes me deeply unhappy and anxious. I don’t want to live with such a poor quality of life any more.

PlasticPatty That made me laugh too much. I’ve Been looking at getting into teaching and hear more bad stories than good....
I can dance though, so guess I’ll be ok 😂

I see teaching as a job. There have been difficult moments but overall pretty happy with my job and school. Could do with another pay rise though.

I really love it.

However, I have the following things in my favour:

1. I'm in SEN where we are still allowed to think about children before data.
2. I've been doing it a long, long time and have become efficient.
3. I'm in a school I adore with a Head I'd do anything for.

In a previous job I've been signed off with stress. Wrong job/ wrong school for me.

I think it depends entirely on the school. I loved my first school, moved and hated the new one. I didn’t stay for long. And I really enjoy working in the one I’m in now again - nothing to do with the kids, the school I’m in now has by far the most challenging behaviour but SLT is very supportive and the workload is sensible. So pick your school wisely is what I would say is the main thing.

It will depend on the school but often the problem is the management and the constant scrutiny that gets people down. Beware, as another poster said, that you aren't thinking that teaching will be anything like your own experience of being a pupil.

I taught for a very long time in a sixth form. One thing that drove me mad was that the results were always seen as the teacher's fault. You could turn yourself inside out for students but if they left halfway through the year for whatever reason or if they didn't work towards an exam etc then it was seen as the teacher's fault. We were very rarely praised when things went well.

I don't know many teachers who didn't find the whole experience completely soul destroying.

Primary teacher here, I qualified in 2001 and have taught full time ever since. I've worked in 6 different London schools, all were good in most respects and one I left after two years because the head was a b*tch. My last job in London was as Deputy Head, then DH was offered a job overseas and off we went. I now do a similar job in an international school.

Most of my colleagues are in their 20s and working to save up some money and enjoy the experience of working overseas. Definitely something to consider while you are single and have been qualified for 2 years.

Check out the community on tes.com for more views on whether to enter teaching, or not!

Not all classes will be like the one you were in at school. You were likely in top sets. Imagine teaching those that don’t want to learn. Your best bet is getting a bit of work experience at a variety of schools to see what the reality could be like.

It's ok but no better than that I'm afraid. I'm nearly 20 years in and have finally made my peace with it - it's not sustainable until 67+ though and not easy to get out of.

Look at the retention data. It's something like 50% of teachers quit the profession within five years. That should tell you a lot.

I did 12 years. Signed off sick for 6 months in my final year, anxiety and depression. Suicidal thoughts.

I'm now a stay at home mum, but will need to go back to work once my youngest gets some free child care hours. Having tried and failed to leave teaching in the past (all those transferrable skills? No-one gives a shit. I couldn't get a job.) I expect I will end up working in a supermarket. I have a first class degree from a Russell Group uni. I wish I had done anything else. My working life is fucked.

It’s not entirely bad but I REALLY wish I had done something else instead. For the moment I’m trapped by having to pay a mortgage.

I’m a HLTA in primary school. EVERY teacher at my school is trying to get out. They love teaching but that’s the tip of the iceberg.

Yes - it's shit and I can't wait to retire but the goalposts keep getting moved further and further away.
I teach in Scotland where there supposedly isn't as much paperwork and other stuff as in England but it's still awful here.
Our LA has a no exclusions policy (unless it's for something very serious) so my colleagues are being ground down and demoralised on a daily basis by having to put up with constant abuse and bad behaviour, when not can be done about it.

There have been plenty of threads on this question before, OP; you might find it helpful to have a bit of a trawl through the staffroom topic and have a read.