Need to retrain tired of being broke / hate my job

[bella7687]

Hi guys, Im so desperate here... I am currently working as a physics and mathematics teacher, but I hate my job, I hate working with kids, the level of stress and effort and planning to teach kids who dont appreciate my efforts at all is exhausting. Going to work actually gives me anxiety, the thought of the kids acting up and me not being able to control them actually freaks me out. Anyway I have an engineering degree and masters (never worked with it), retrained and did PGCE, mainly because for some reason I couldnt get a job in engineering, and couldnt go without a job, plus the huge amount of money they paid me to become a teacher. Anyway Im tired of being broke, barely getting by on 2K a month, I am a single mother of two kids, and I need to earn more money because I am just about getting by. Im considering accounting or actuary.. anything please advice.

Sorry for typos currently feeling desperate as I plan my lessons for tomorrow.

Be careful. There are very many jobs paying far less than £2k a month. I earn significantly less than half my former salary because I just can’t get anything that pays reasonably after leaving teaching. So much so that I’m considering going back for all the wrong reasons - who could afford to do otherwise?

I guessed it would be teaching. I like a lot on these threads as haven't actually you d something else and get The Fear when I think overturning to teaching.

Yes your right like many others teaching is soul destroying atleast for me anyway. I'm highly numerate with all the hype about stem degrees surely there must be something else I can do, I'm so desperate to leave, I know I'm a.crap teacher, my classroom management is poor, i just can't take it anymore.

Don’t mean to be horrible but I am very surprised you can’t get a job in engineering considering you have a degree and a masters!

There is a massive shortage of engineers in the UK. Ones with masters are like gold dust!

Yes greendale17 you are completely right, i really don't understand why I have never managed to get an engineering role bot evening entry level, i did a masters to update my skills as my undergrad was done eight years ago, but still unfortunately I was unable to get a role just like many of the people I studied with.

Gosh my autocorrect was on overdrive :( Not sure I can face retyping my post.

Good luck OP.

How much are you earning, £30k?

The vast majority of jobs pay well under £30K and if you are looking to change direction you'll probably earn quite a bit less to start with.

Accountant trainee here, 3 years in and only earning £25k, it’s not a get rich fast career and you need to take a lot of exams. I couldn’t cope with them if I had kids.

What about becoming a maths/physics tutor or working in a crammer college?

Or move into 6th Form or Further Education? I am sure you would find that there would be less behaviour issues.

Or dare I suggest independent schools, if behavioural issues are your biggest concern?

I currently earn 31k, it's not an awful salary I guess, but as a single mum I have no hope of getting a mortgage or owning a home. Also to earn more I will need to process in teaching i.e take more responsibilities such as head of department but i hate teaching

2017redblue I was applying not getting interviews I have no idea why, i guess I dont really gave work experience in the field and wad competing with people who did. I can code in Python a little bit but im quite rusty I

To pick up on what a PP mentioned, would a change of school make any difference? I'd definitely look into FE colleges etc first before I went into something different -would the pressures be the same? (I'm in Scotland, so our education system is totally different)

This might sound like an obvious suggestion but you could set up a physics and maths tutoring service. The pay is far better. Depending on your region, it's £25-40ph, no staff meetings, no marking, no issues with class control as you work one-to-one in most situations. Your pupils are keener because they want good grades in your subject.
The downside is that most tutoring is done outside school hours, so in family hours. But you can usually fit in a couple of after school sessions without it impacting much on family life. And if you contact the local home school networks and work with A levl and BA students hwo are struggling, who have more flexible hours, then you could easily end up with the same or greater income for half the hours and none of the stress.

Bella, is it not true that the more you progress, the less you have to teach? As head of department don't you have more planning and admin work and fewer contact hours - or am I out of touch?

31K is a decent salary. I left teaching a decade ago, in fact education altogether and to be honest, right now at the age of 46, I regret not doing something related at least. The jobs I have been doing since, have been extremely low paid and I am getting older. So, for you, I would look to either change school, look at college tutoring, specialise in something e.g. special needs , primary, tutoring, take further responsibility which may reduce your teaching load. Or is it education you wan to get out of completely? Mentoring? Learning Support? Teaching Assistant? Trainer for companies? You will have loads of transferable skills. Think before you act.. you are being paid well compared to many jobs and with moving up the pay spine, have the opportunity to progress further.

What about charities such as Citizens Advice? The pay won't be a patch on what you are on now, but you will have the ability to impart knowledge to others.

I want out of education I cant stand working with kids, I want to work with adults, not children who I need to convince that physics and maths are important

I would get out now then. Start looking for jobs where you can transfer your skills. Teaching is far too draining to be unhappy in.

Functional skills maths tutor ? The adults you teach will want to be there. They will need the maths for courses and jobs they want to do.

I really don't want to open a can of social worms here, but have you looke dinto a job at a high achieving school? A super-selective grammar or academic independent? You'd find the attitudes are very different. The pupils will love your lessons and your subject and bombard you with energetic attention and interest.
Still stressful, long hours, lots of planning etc. But it might be a good short-term solution while you explore what you'd rather do.