I want to go part time

[sunshine75]

Went back to work full time 18 months ago when dd was 12 months. I loved my job so although it was hard it wasn't too horrendous.

Anyway, with redundancy looming I found a new (safer) job which I've been doing for 3 weeks now. I hate it and feel anxious, stressed and tearful. I'm a teacher by the way!!

Anyway, I'll have to stick it full time until next summer but would love to drop a couple of days if I can. We can't really afford it and would be totally skint but I'd love to be able to take dd to preschool and have a day off with her.

Am I mad to contempltate this? It would mean no holidays or nice wine - but surely we could get over this.

Has anyone taken a big pay cut and thought it was for the best? Dropping 2 days would mean about £900 a month less for our family - and that's quite a significant amount.

3 weeks in is no time at all to make a long term judgement really.

Teaching is notoriously stressful, and if you've switched from another career, you may well find it far tougher than you thought for a while. (I did the same thing, and I was in a pretty cut throat profession prior to teaching!)

I would give yourself at least a term to get to grips with your new job before worrying about going part time. Also, if it turns out to be the job itself you don't like, or find too stressful, then tbh, dropping two days will just mean the same stress for a lot less money. I think you either love teaching, and therefore put up with the toughness of it, or it must be the worst job in the world to do. I couldn't do it if I didn't enjoy it.

I've just moved schools, I've been teaching for 12 years. I used to love my job but am finding a new tougher school a real grind!!

I feel sooooo battered that I just want to win the lottery and run away!!

As you loved your previous job, it's clearly not teaching which is the problem, but the particular post you're in now. I would try to analyse exactly what it is that's making you unhappy. Is it management style/ethos/behaviour policy/staff dynamics...?
Then try hard to move to another teaching job, gaining as much knowledge as possible beforehand about your next school. I certainly wouldn't go part time in this job and end up with less money and the same feelings of dislike.

My income has gone up and down like a yoyo! You do adapt. Personally I would not have traded my time with my children for any full time job if I could have survived doing less. You have to stick the job out until the summer but presumably if you dropped to fewer days and found it too difficult financially you could so supply work to top up your income. You could also take on a direct selling role if you wanted to do something different on the days you're not working. Check out www.chocolate-world.co.uk for some information. You are not a fool at all!

Best wishes
Kay