examination officer/career advice

[ifihavetoo]

hello everyone,
i have been out of work for the last 5 years whilst i look after my little dcs. my previous roles have always been admin based, so to stay im my comfort zone ive been looking for that type of work. Being a single mum im really trying to find work that gives me a good work/life balance, like school hours, job share or working at a school to get the holidays.
Anyhow, ive seen a job for an examinations officer, it sounds stressful and a lot of responsibilty, which sounds appealing but also not!!! the reason im mostly interested is that its good pay and i get the school holidays, has anyone got experience of this role? can you advise if it is as hard and stressful as it sounds!
if anyone has any other career suggestions too your input would be much appreciated.
Thank you x

Hi
I worked as an exam invigilator at a local secondary school, during the months of May and June. This involved working very closely with the exam officer. From what I have seen, you have to be EXTREMELY organised. You are responsible for the exam timetabling of a whole year group at a time; as well as managing the team of invigilators. I couldn't do the job, but if you are precise, quick, able to speak in front of 100's of kids without forgetting your words, then the job may be for you. Obviosuly there will be much more to the role than I have mentioned, but from my experience, organisation is key. Excellent IT skills are a must as well as the ability to communivate with teachers and teaching assistants, as they are all an integral part of the exam process. Also, the exam officer I was under, was in for a certain number of days each holiday; I am guessing she will be in when the results are out on the 23rd too.

Best of luck!

thank you soo much for your reply, your information has helped me to realise that i would only be going for the role as the term time work appeals to me more than the actual job and if i was going to undertake a role which is so pivitol the role should be my priority....back to the career lucky dip

Also it will involve quite a bit of work over the summer holidays when the exam results are released.

Very stressful - can be one of the most stressful in the school. There are other good admin jobs in schools that are less stressful

Is it in school or university? I am an exams officer in a university, but I have relatively little to do with the actual running of the examinations - the role is more about advising and applying the academic regulations and keeping the academics on track. You need to be extremely well organised for the role. I can't comment how similar this is to a school-based role though.

Good to see that you have thought about it.

Just to add to what BlitzenandMikey said they won't just be in on the 23rd, they will be in for a few days before that collating the paperwork and sorting it out not only for the pupils but for the SLT and and staff that are in on the 23rd.