Blue_ the School Teacher - dilemma

This is a long one, so only read if you can be bothered or bored!! But I am after peoples thoughts - what would you do in my situation?


Ok, so I am at the point where I am considering a total career change, I have mentioned becoming a teacher before and had kinda put it to bed a bit ... but I had another spurt of enthusiasm/interest/curiosity today ... so with a slightly different slant I did some more enquiring

So the decision is to teach primary. I have no teaching experience, but that doesn't matter. I have two routes open to me, do teacher training. 1yr (9 months) ?4,000 bursary, but ?3,150 tuition fess, so essentially unpaid/unfunded. So I need to 'keep' myself for a year with no income.

Or you can spend your first year as an unqualified teacher. i.e. you go directly to the classroom and start teaching, but have another teacher there to hold your hand for the first year. Equally qualified at the end, but you get paid ?14.5k ...

So which avenue to choose there is a no-brainer is is

Right, now for the dilemma.

I am prepared to take the financial hit of only earning ?14.5k for the first year.

But after becoming qualified the starting salary is ?20k. And it doesn't really get much better than that (no wonder the bu66ers are on strike ) ... the ceiling for a teacher is ?29.5k. So I assume that means that even if you have been there 10yrs you would be lucky to be on ?29.5k ...

Now I earn quite a bit more than that NOW ... (ok, not NOW now as I have quit my job, but getting another job the same but different, that is the sort of pay I?d command again).

Basically at ?20k I'd be talking roughly a 50% pay cut ... now that is quite a hit isn't it!! So is this obviously a non-starter then?

Not as such no -

I am not going to go into my financial situation too much, but I could indeed survive on ?20k year if I really wanted/had to ... but I am sure you can appreciate, my standard of living to which I have become accustomed would obviously be reduced - I also would like to move forward, not backwards in life ...

So is it really all worth it?

One thing that crossed my mind ...

Is there still really a North - South divide?

My rationale being that if I could half my cost of living, I could still have the same standard of living as I do down here ...

I am not sure that is the case now though is it?? And I'd want to move somewhere coz it was a bit cheaper, just as it is up-norf, not coz it was a drug induced warzone or summin!!

It's a real shame that I feel priced out of doing this ...

Any thoughts?

[dizzyblonde]

Originally Posted by Blue_SV650S

Or you can spend your first year as an unqualified teacher. i.e. you go directly to the classroom and start teaching, but have another teacher there to hold your hand for the first year. Equally qualified at the end, but you get paid ?14.5k ...?

How does this work? I didn't know you could take this route, could you explain this a little further, whats the catch, apart from having some one hold your hand. Do you have to have been on a course for a certain time before they let you in the classroom, or is it as simple as putting you straight to the lions and gaining experience, and on day release etc get trained...only asking because I have toyed with the idea in the past, and had no idea you could go this route

Originally Posted by dizzyblonde

How does this work? I didn't know you could take this route, could you explain this a little further, whats the catch, apart from having some one hold your hand. Do you have to have been on a course for a certain time before they let you in the classroom, or is it as simple as putting you straight to the lions and gaining experience, and on day release etc get trained...only asking because I have toyed with the idea in the past, and had no idea you could go this route

Yep, straight into the pit!!

The person I spoke to didn't say there was any external training required. Its 'on the job' type training. He didn't explicitly say, but I think you get someone come along at the end to see how you are getting on to give you your qualification.

Remember, I don't know any more than I picked up from a phone conversation, if you are truly interested about the exact detail, then give them a ring direct http://www.tda.gov.uk/

Move to Scotland! Our pay and conditions is WAY better than those in England! Top of pay scale, which you get to after about 6 / 7 years is 33K. If you do extra work, and get yourself a masters degree you can become a chartered teacher, and the pay can go up to around 39K!

Originally Posted by Beaniebike

Move to Scotland! Our pay and conditions is WAY better than those in England! Top of pay scale, which you get to after about 6 / 7 years is 33K. If you do extra work, and get yourself a masters degree you can become a chartered teacher, and the pay can go up to around 39K!

Cool, how much is say a 3 bed detached with a garage in a nice area in Scotland? (or give me a name of a nice area/place and I can look on right move myself ). I suppose one mans nice is another mans s-hole, and visa-versa, but you know, a fairly affluent area ...

From my few visits I have done, it is truly lovely up there

Just a shame they don't like the English

p.s. For the ~?39k, is that any masters degree, or does it have to be one in teaching!?!

dizzy, read this, this is the route I'd be taking:-

http://www.tda.gov.uk/Recruit/thetra...based/gtp.aspx

Look at the Pension arrangements carefully, could still be one of the few good deals left.......worth real $$$ Notes.....yer just have to wait for 'em!

Holidays? I dunno what industry you are in, but from what the Teachers say it is the only industry I have ever heard of that is not chock full of folk willing and able to do as little as humanly possible, and some work very hard at doing b#gger all!...........and so whilst I am sure their are teachers who work 27 hours a day, including the holidays - somehow I doubt this is compulsory.......and longggggggg paid holidays are worth serious money. Last year I was on holiday 4/5 months, but no fooker paid me ....but then again I earnt a bit more than a Teacher.........

Job security could be worth something - but IMO depends on the individual, for me the thought of doing the same job for 20 odd years is something I would accept less money to avoid!

Teaching stuff to kids? It's not as if the 5 times table changes much every year or a great deal has happened recently in the Crimean War .....and you can make a big difference to a kid's life.....albeit probably only to about 1 a year

I think more money comes from taking on managerial responsibility........albeit I get the impression that the money is not commensurate with the extra grief.

Originally Posted by Wayluya

...

I had a pretty good pension where I was ... I also had 30 days leave (+public holidays) and worked flexi, so technically, not only could I come and go almost at will (assuming I made the time up) ... but if I put in slightly longer days 4 days in the week, I could take every Friday off

At the end of the day, money is an important part of life ... I don't mind trading a bit of pay for the change, but you gotta agree, ~50% with little hope of ever getting much more is a massive hit and not something that can be ignored!!

I've basically got to accept that I'd spend the rest of my life 'struggling' with/for money ... ... I really like the idea of teaching, but I am not sure I want that ...

BTW I am in no way 'rich' now .. but I am also far from 'struggling'. Bearing in mind I don't want the latest Ferrari on the market so not in that league, I think nicely 'comfortable' is the term used ...

Originally Posted by Blue_SV650S

I don't mind trading a bit of pay for the change, but you gotta agree, 50% with little hope of ever getting much more is a massive hit!!

Yeah, I understand where you are coming from - I thought about doing the Teacher thing years ago........the old "giving something back" / "a job that meant something" stuff.......but I am glad I didn't both $$$ wise and because by now I would have felt like I was trapped and simply wasting my time.....

I think the teaching thing attracts those who like and value security and structure.....and I am sure many of them are also attracted by the actual teaching......I can see how it would make a good first job, that would later be hard to give up.......

And that 50% is just now! - they are due for a cycle of "falling behind" again - outside teaching / a structureD job (career?) if someone is capable of earning well, their is no limit.......

Originally Posted by Wayluya

...

Yep, so I go from a position of being financially comfortable (not rich, not extravagant lifestyle, just comfortable) to being on the bread line ...

Also, the longer I stay out of the 'professional' game, the harder it'd be to get back in again too ... so indeed it is a life changing decision with little chance of going back ...

I hope everyone can see why I am struggling to make this decision ... my (financial) head says NO my heart says give it a go ...

At the end of the day I could be dead tomorrow ... so should I really worry about the money/prospects bit?!?!