TA to Teacher??

[ConfusedTA]

Hi all I am new here but have just been having a quick scan through some threads to see if I can find one relevant to my dilemma.
So, quick background story, since I was 14 (I'm now 36) I wanted to be an early years teacher. Long story short I messed up college due to home issues. I then had my first child at 20 and was lucky enough to stay home, doing little jobs here and there but nothing fulfilling. Hubby talked my into doing an access course and then I did a degree in early childhood.
I am now almost 2 years into a TA job at a pre-school. I love the children, really I do but I just feel like pay day every month is so disappointing that maybe I need to either take a step up to teacher or find something else entirely. I currently help with planning at the moment, have the responsibility for a number of our pshe curriculums and 8 key children, one of which has significant needs that I have to plan activities for intervention and keep record of it. I love it but just feel disheartened every pay day. I never thought money would be an issue as long as I loved it but it really is :(

So my question is how big is the leap from TA to teacher? I spend most evenings doing paperwork/obs currently and struggle to switch off. I am guessing the leap is huge and I have massive respect for everyone doing it, especially at the moment but has anyone taken the step up and regretted it? Obviously the pay is better (I'm currently on a TA1 salary) but is it worth it?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
x

I haven't personally, but I've worked with several TAs over the years who have done, and none of them have regretted it.
YEs, your PGCE year or whatever other training route you go down year will be hard work, as will your NQT year, but it sounds like you are already used to doing paperwork out of hours not sure why as your pay certainly doesn't reflect that you should be.
The paucity of pay for TAs is awful. I mean, you are never going to get rich as a teacher, but the pay is a massive jump from what a TA earns, to the extent that if you decide the workload is too much two or three years in, you could go part time and be no worse off.

Thank you. Honestly I don't like being in this situation as I am not driven by money or 'things' but it is taking its toll and on paydays now I just feel so disheartened! I absolutely love the children and knew when going into it that I was never going to be rich with my chosen career haha but I just feel like I work all day every day and then on evenings for actually not very much money at all. We also don't have ppa time either other than an hour on a random day if the preschool is quiet.
I will look into my options I think as I was juggling uni, family and placements for 3 years so hopefully I'm not too out of touch with that and although I am sure it would be more intense than my degree with the hours needed at placements and uni it might be worth it.
I hadn't even thought about being part time and being no worse off! So thank you also for pointing that out.
X

You're welcome.
I think you should go for it.

Remember, you aren't talking about the difference in pay for just 4 or 5 years, you are talking about another 30 years. That's a LOT of money you would benefit from. Plus of course 30 yrs of increased pension payments makes your retirement more comfortable.

It sounds like you are already doing quite a lot towards the workload anyway, so I think you should do it.
See if your current school will support your through one of the schemes where you qualify whilst you work (sorry, I am out of touch with the names of the different routes now).

I'm halfway through my pgce year after working as a TA for years. It's been hard, it's still hard and it will be hard until June... One thing I've noticed though, is that as a TA I had a lot more time with children to go over things again, to ask about how they were, to chase something up at break etc etc, as a student teacher (before this lockdown) the day was so packed that I didn't really have time to really talk with children. My last 6weeks of placement were completely online. I'm not sure the pay will be 'worth it' for me in the short-term either, I used to work in my children's school, so had no childcare costs and my salary was so low there was no tax to pay. If and when I get a NQT post I will have to pay wraparound care for them, plus tax, plus whatever the student loans deductions are, but long term its going to make a big difference (if I can get a post!). I'm only sorry I didn't do it years ago.

I am currently doing a schools direct Primary PGCE after previously working as a TA. I love it! I find the workload manageable and I feel confident in the role as a trainee teacher because of my experience. Like you say, I also had other responsibilities as a TA too.

I would go for it!

I was TA for about 10 years before I qualified to teach. I trained through SCITT and it was ideal for me as I was already used to planning and teaching groups/PPA cover. I found that the student maintenance loan was about equal to my wage for the year as a TA so I left work and did SCITT full time. I've now been qualified for about 5 years and do not regret it at all.

Thanks so much everyone for your replies. I am currently enquiring about a school direct route in a local specialist school (an area I would love to teach in) so I’ve taken the first step. I do however need to redo my science GCSE but I am sure it will all work out whichever way is best. Feels like the seed has been planted now. Thank you for your words of encouragement xx