Changing career from Nursing to teaching

[Nurseleaver82]

I am at a crossroads, i have been in the NHS for 23yrs, i started as HCA and then competed my RN training. I was left burnt out and quite traumatised following the pandemic (as were many of my colleagues at the time- with many friends leaving the NHS shorlty after) I am in a non clinical role, but due to current changes i am being pushed into a clinical redeployment. All avenues to avoid this within the NHS have been explored and its v much do the clinical or go. I am therefore looking at a fresh start and thinking about moving into Education. Has anyone else changed careers from Nursing to teaching in the East of England? How did it go? Are you happier? I suspect the workload is no better xx²

If you have a look at the Mature Study and Retraining board you may well find some similar experiences:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/mature_students

What would you want to teach? The workload in term time is immense and training is pretty hardcore. Some subjects and year groups are harder than others. Also depends on your school. But when I taught secondary science, a typical day would be 7.30-5 at school, commute each end, then several hours at home in the evenings and school commitments (open mornings, sport trips, tutor trips) at least every third weekend.

Im not sure, im looking at primary, due to the number of schools in my area. I know i would have to go further for my training year x

Out of the pot and into the fire...

Even primary teaching is horrendous right now. For me, it wasn't the workload. It was the amount of needs in each class and no support. Despite well over a decade of experience, the last few years became unmanageable. No matter how much you give, there just isn't the funding or support to do a good job.

If you struggle to work five 13 hour shifts, it will be exactly the same in teaching. I was a burnt out, traumatised teacher after 19 years and left for a lower-paid job.

I'm a nurse and I moved from the NHS (clinical) to teach nursing at a university. It seemed fine at the start (3-4 years before COVID happened) and then it went downhill quite quickly. The workloads grew to the point where I would be working most evenings & some weekends. The needs & expectations of the students increased dramatically & this increased the workload. This coincided with the funding crisis within universities & redundancies became a normal feature on a yearly cycle. I have recently moved back to the NHS and find it less stressful than the teaching.
Have you considered having some career coaching from the NHS Leadership Academy? It's free and can be really helpful for finding new roles to explore.
Good luck @Nurseleaver82

Primary teaching is horrendous at the moment, stay away. There is a huge amount of needs in mainstream schools and little/no support, support staff are few and far between and behaviour is appalling. If you struggle with nursing, you will struggle with teaching too. I’d look for a less stressful role.

I am a Headteacher and over the years I have recruited a number of former NHS professionals who have gained QTS and have gone on to have successful careers.

One testimonial is a former nurse who worked for the NHS for 15 years and wanted a career change, did their PGCE and got QTS and became a teacher in 2007. By 2018, after 11 years in education they had been appointed their first headship - and earning double what they would have earnt in the NHS…

Workload pressures would be very different - work will tend to follow you home more in education and you are restricted as to when you can holiday…

Out of the frying pan and into the fire!

Teachers don't get any overtime pay. I know someone who left teaching first another job. The new job is still high pressure and sometimes there are longer hours but she can get Time Off in Lieu or overtime pay.

Out of the frying pan into the fire OP. Teaching is so much admin especially at primary level.

I’m a secondary school teacher. Yesterday, I worked (some hours in school, some at home) for fourteen hours, give or take the time taken to get to and from work and the two half hour breaks I took for lunch and evening meal.

I’m part time…