help!change in career direction...teaching?

[dee_liteful]

I am thinking of a major career change. obviously still doing my craft, but i would like to give up my day job and get into teaching. does anyone think this is a good idea or am i mad?! I know a few people that are training and enjoying it, but one that gave up as it was too much for her.
I also think teaching something i enjoy would be good for me.

your comments would help in my crisis point!!!

thanks dee x

www.zukiestyle.co.uk

[nattynetty]

Hi Dee

Hmmm so many questions, what age group? what subject? which route would you take? etc etc

Apart from talking to your friends who are training/teachers a good place to start is www.canteach.gov.uk which has loads of really useful info on the routes in and qualifications needed. Lots of schools have a 'recruitment' evening for people looking for a career change into teaching so it could be worth contacting them to see if anything is coming up. I had a friend who was really interested in teaching Chemistry (his degree subject) in a secondary school so I arranged for him to shadow the teachers for a day, admittedly I was working as a careers adviser in the school at the time so was pretty easy to organise but the teachers were really up for it and he really enjoyed his day. He got to speak to teachers who took different routes into it and also looked at the assignments a new teacher had had to do to qualify.....believe me he was under no illusion after he left as to how hard and time-consuming the training was going to be. He was pretty keen but has put it on the back-burner now as his fiance got pregnant and they couldn't afford him to drop down his wages.

If you could arrange to go into a school for a few days it'll really help you see whether it could be for you or not, plus if you do apply those few days will help your application.

As for whether you're mad or not.....there are quite a few teachers and ex-teachers on here who I'm sure will let you know the answer to that one

Edited to add, sorry about the long post but I kinda miss the old careers job sometimes

[sweet]

Go for it. I know alot of people older than me that wished they had changed their career when they had a chance too.

I looked into teaching psychology at one point, it is so varied, and can be exciting. You would have to decide what age you want to work with. I looked at getting a job teaching at college & university level because you dont have to have a teachers degree straight away, you can work towards it once in the job, the downside of teaching at this level is that you would need a degree yourself.

There are alot of avenues out there, some depend on what qualifications you have yourself. My friend is doing a PGCE at university and she has to be there 9 am till 5pm, so its a long day. something to bear in my mind, esp if you have other responsibilities etc.

All uni's and colleges hold open days that you can attend and find out about different courses. If you've missed the open days (which you probably havn't ) then there will be someone you can go in and talk too for advice on anything from financial issues to timetabling!

I had a link to teaching somewhere, I will find it, bcoz I found it quite useful.

ooh another link I have is

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Explore_types_of_jobs/Types_of_Job/p!eipaL?state=showalpha&letter=T

it will take you to the teacher section, then you can choose which area you fancy going it to, it will give you info on training, pay etc etc!

s.x

[dee_liteful]

thankyou both for your advice, its so nice that people know what theyre talkin about on this site

I m quite interested in teaching the little ones, nursery or pre-school maybe? i dont know if secondary would be worth the gamble...teens can be so mean! I do hold a degree, but not sure i'd want to teach uni as it wasnt that long ago i left myself.

As i am writing this i am on my split shift at the bar i work, and so far it has been the worst day ever especially as its my first day back after a week off! i started at 7am, where i had to get rid of 8 men at 9.15am who had been out alnite, kicking up a fuss and wondering why i wouldnt serve them!!!and i go back at 7pm after finishing at 3.30pm. tonight i will finish at 4am, only to be back at midday tomorrow for a 13hr shift. surely little cherubs are better than arrogant drunks?!! One can only hope....

so thankyou, i am really hoping i can do something i will get more out of. On monday i will do some deep research into it.

dee x

[Bumble Bee]

Teaching is challenging, though rewarding at the same time. You feel really chuffed when they've achieved.
Maria

[craftyfoxni]

all i can add is that a friend who has worked with me for 17 years and in the same place for 21 years (from leaving school) packed it all in after easter last year and is now in training to be a primary school teacher and has never felt better, and one of the things he did was to assist out in the local school where his two boys go with things like supervising lunch and helping out with the football and rugby teams and taking a active role in the PTA and this seemed to help him make up his mind and would also help him get his POCVA checks done and experience on his CV hope this helps

[nattynetty]

Hehehe if you're used to talking to drunks you're probably very well matched to talking to a bunch of 6 year olds

If you haven't already come across it the graduate teacher training website has a search facility http://www.gttr.ac.uk/cgi-bin/hsrun.hse/General/gttr_search/gttr_search.hjx;start=gttr_search.HsForm.run
where you can find out exactly what training is available locally to you. It has the PGCE courses at uni as well as the schools and training providers that offer the work-based routes. The website I gave you on my first post will have info about the differences between PGCE, SCITT, GTP etc including funding differences.

If you have any questions give me a shout, I'd be more than happy to help.

[dee_liteful]

thanks again everyone, i have requested a prospectus from university of leicester, so hopefully that will start the ball rolling! Bit worried though, think will need to re-take my maths and science though as only got d's in them, but hopefully my arty farty degree will help!!!

I have definetly decided to go for primary level, as i can remember that been some of my happiest school days!

[swirlyarts]

I'm an ex teacher and I would say be prepared to work very very hard at your job! I did it before I became pregnant with Anya and I did enjoy aspects of it but other aspects weren't as good. I fully intended to go back to it when Anya was about 8 months old (she's 4 now) but the number of people applying for jobs in my area was 120 people to 1 job - and as I wasn't that fussy about going back I didn't bother!! I taught Reception and Year 1 children so if you need to ask any questions then just shout!
When my younger daughter is at school I'm thinking about offering to go in and help one morning a week - I enjoy working with the children but hate all the extra stuff that goes with being a teacher.
I like Natty Netty's advice about going in and talking to the headteacher about some 'work experience' before deciding - they will probably bite your hand off and it will give you a good insight into teaching.

[dee_liteful]

thanks swirley

well i have started the ball rolling! i have been asked to call one of the schools which is a training school in my area, so am hoping to get a wk off soon and go then. Scary thought!!!

I have also looked into re-taking my maths and science gcse as i only got a d and apparently i need a c in those subjects. So i wouldnt be able to start my pgce until nxt year anyway.

But i want to start now!!!!

cheers guys

[Focus on Life]

Aw I wish you all the very, very best with it Dee. I dont have a teaching background but I did manage 20 staff in my old job and I'm an NLP Practitioner & therapist in my part time and I find the biggest thrill is helping people open their eyes to what theyre capable of, spot the things theyre good at and start shining, often doing things they were tentative to try or had convinced themselves they couldnt do before they ever even tried! Massive self esteem rush for everyone involved!

Wherever your dream ends up taking you, the most important thing is YOU'RE FOLLOWING IT, and that's the right path all the way

Good Luck
Shaz x

[creativeclare]

Only just spotted this otherwise would have replied earlier!

I did exactly what you are thinking of doing when I was 30. A PGCE is very, very gruelling and absolutely draining. It was difficult financially as I gave up a reasonable full time job but when I found out I`d passed my course it was such an acheivement!!

I`m a secondary music teacher but I`m teaching Child Development two days a week at the moment as the part time opportunities in music are few. I have to say that the behaviour and attitude of pupils is the thing I most hate about my job but in primary I imagine that might not be such an issue (I`m talking about chair throwing, physical abuse towards teachers, theft from teachers etc not just chatty kids who won`t listen)

I`d never go back full time but two days is great. I missed working with youngsters in my three years off (even with the flying chairs!)

Don`t worry about maths & sci most institutions will allow you to take and entrance exam if you don`t have these subjects. I repeatedly failed to get a C in maths at school so took an entrance exam and passed.

The Open University offer a PGCE which is supposed to be very good.

Whilst I might not exactly be really enthusiastic about being a teacher, strangely, when I wasn`t working with kids I really missed it !! I`m so glad I did my PGCE and I don`t regret it at all.


Go for it!


All the best to you!