Fed up of work not paying

[Vivalavid]

I am so fed up of work not paying. I'm a teaching assistant and I've really had enough. I'm literally broke with not a penny to my name and 5 days until payday. I am feeling depressed and angry and I noticed I get frustrated and irritated at work a few days before payday as well. Does anyone else feel like this? I'm sick and tired of never having the money to do anything.

Ah £1,600. You won’t beat that that unless you teach.

I tried teacher training and quit, it was a reality check I didn't like my experience at all

Thing is, there are TA's and there are TA's.

I can only speak from a secondary school perspective and sadly the good TA's were vastly outnumbered by the bad TA's whose main aim seemed to be not being in the classroom.

It is a very underappreciated job but I don't think it should command a high salary. At the end of the day, they walk out of school and can forget about it until they walk in the next day 🤷🏻‍♀️

That doesn't sound so terrible compared to many TA's. I only earn a few hundred more as an ECT after deductions. Still not great though.

Well in that case you'll have to decide what's more important to you. A well paid job or working with children? Unless you become a teacher you'll have limited opportunities to increase your salary working with children.

Sorry if I've missed it, but can you clarify if you are working term time only for child care reasons?

The only way I see to make schools learn is us all to walk out and see how they cope, because they really won't.

I’m a Sci tech in secondary and I feel the same way, I get paid the same. The only reason I do it so I can have the time off with my kids but once the youngest is in Year 8 2 more years to go. I’ll be looking for a new job. Only reason I can do it is my DH pays the majority of the bills.

My contract is term time only, also I don't have children.

They really would cope, because they would have to.
Not denying it wouldn't be easy though 😬

Not with some of the kids you have in schools now, most teachers wouldn't last 5 seconds.

depends on your outgoings.

Yes, I understand that as a TA you are only paid to work term time, that's the nature of the job. Like a previous poster, I was wondering if you'd chosen a term time job as you had to work round child care obligations. But that's not the case.

You would immediately earn more if you worked year round. It seems a bit self defeating to choose to work a low paid job that doesn't allow you to work year round and therefore earn a full-time salary, and then complain it's too hard, and the pay is crap.

I think the only thing you can do is get another job.
You don’t need evenings or weekends necessarily.
Or a job in the holidays ? Round here people are desperate for holiday care.
I get you’re tired but sometimes you have to ?
Maybe see if your local hospital has anything in the paeds dept ?
I know you don’t want shifts but they are better paid and the chance of bank shifts.

But teachers are taught behaviour management, TA's aren't 🤷🏻‍♀️
Maybe the teachers you work with aren't great 😬

I don't think it's justified to pay us poorly though. Also I know a lot of people in the same boat, just leaving to earn more could cause you to not enjoy yourself. Hence why the Unions campaign. I know for a fact that most people in this job are doing it for the holidays, we need some sort of incentive.

So, you only want to work term time, but don’t have children.
You don’t want to work lates or weekends.
You don’t want to work with people.
You want to work with kids, but don’t want to train to be a teacher.
You sound very fussy. You don’t earn a bad wage. You could find something else to earn some extra if you want to…….you just don’t want to.

You can rage against the system all you like but it's not going to change. If you want to earn more you'll need to change what you do. Either change jobs or take on a second job.

If their taught behaviour management then maybe schools should explain why its always TA's been passed the difficult children. Also TA's are also taught behaviour management. There a few that are not good.

so you earn roughly £19600 a year for 39 weeks work? Yet if you worked 52wks that’ll be around £25/26k.

I've done my share of weekends and lates. I won't deny I'm fussy. It's not I didn't want to train, I found it too demanding. How do you know I'm not looking? I am as it happens I just haven't found anything.

Is the £1600 before or after tax, OP?

I earn 25K

After, I do breakfast club an warp around to top it up, that's why it looks high.

You are y doing us TAs any favours saying things like this. Lots of jobs are exhausting and other people still only get standard holiday.

I agree we aren’t paid enough for the responsibility that we often have when we’re at work (my experience is primary) but the fact is that it’s a part time job, even if you work full time hours in term time.

If you need to earn in the holidays, try holiday clubs or respite care through the council or special schools.