O a scale of 1-10, how much do you hate your job?

[Orang Utan]

I love my job - the pay is good, the benefits are excellent and the people are best ever. I was worried that it was becoming unchallenging and routine but a lot of changes have happened, new technological developments and the like, and I'm finally using my mind again, so that worry is no more - it's nice to have a challenge. The only drawing back is long and sometimes unsociable hours - I have to work a 12 hour shift on Xmas day this year!

 

[hiccup]

I hate my job. I'm no good at it, I've got far too much work to do, no creative outlet, my boss is a mentalist and there are no prospects within the company whatsoever.

But I only have to do it three days a week. Which helps.

 

[Relahni]

I love my job.

The jobs I have hated, I have usually fucked off in minutes/hours tbh.

 

[han]

han, my school is one of those nice schools, by and large. and i still hate it (largely cos it isn't really the kids that get me down - it's what teaching has become).

Hmmm - it does sound like you should consider a career change if it's what teaching's become that's doing your head in. You're not alone in feeling this, are you, if that's any consolation....

Would you consider finding some temp work of some kind, or something related to education that would benefit from your teaching experience, but that gives you the time and space in the evenings to do some classes and retrain?

You think? Most teachers I know are on around/under 30k which I think is shit for the hours and what they do. They deserve much more IMHO.

After seeing the hours, the problems and the wages teachers get; I know I couldn't do it.

I have to agree with that - like nurses, teachers are grossly underpaid for the hours/workload that they have. I think the starting salary should be 30k and go up to say 35 after a couple of years.

I know for a fact that I couldn't do it - but I admire anyone who can.

 

[zenie]

I don't think 22 grand for a teacher in London working a 70-hour-week (and lots in those supposedly amazingly long holidays) is that good. It would be good pay if the hours were more like normal office hours.

Are you sure they only earn 22k??

 

[Yetman]

I've fell into a career I dont enjoy, but do ok in. I hardly do any work and get paid quite well for it, but now I've moved to another dept I've got to do lots more work for the same cash. I'm just a lazy bastard really - I'd like to get into a job where I can use my art skills but its hard to find the time to build up a decent portfolio when I'm already in this job and besides, how do you just switch careers?

Fair play to ya though Spangles, I could never do what you do, you change lives mate

 

[Relahni]

Hmmm - it does sound like you should consider a career change if it's what teaching's become that's doing your head in. You're not alone in feeling this, are you, if that's any consolation....

Would you consider finding some temp work of some kind, or something related to education that would benefit from your teaching experience, but that gives you the time and space in the evenings to do some classes and retrain?



I have to agree with that - like nurses, teachers are grossly underpaid for the hours/workload that they have. I think the starting salary should be 30k and go up to say 35 after a couple of years.I know for a fact that I couldn't do it - but I admire anyone who can.

I disagree with this.

Going way back to when Relahni was at school.
Some teachers were not fit to pick up £10 a year, let alone £30k.

 

[scifisam]

Are you sure they only earn 22k??

Not forever; that's the starting salary in Outer London. Outside London and the fringe, the starting salary's 19k, which is probably not too bad in some places.

 

[ICB]

0/10, don't hate it at all.

These are pretty accurate for me:

"I look forward to going to work, most of the time. I reckon I'm pretty lucky. The work is engaging and my colleagues are good people."

Occasionally it can be frustrating, irritating, tiresome, etc. but on the whole it's pretty good.

 

[han]

I disagree with this.

Going way back to when Relahni was at school.
Some teachers were not fit to pick up £10 a year, let alone £30k.

I'm talking about secondary - and I'm also talking about how teaching is now - not how it was 15 odd years ago!

It's completely different now - not only is there the teaching, there's the crowd control and all the paperwork/hoops to jump through/ofsted horrors etc.

It sounds like primary is a bit less horrific, but not much....

I think teachers these days deserve every penny they earn. Of course there are good and bad teachers everywhere - but these days you simply cannot get away with not putting the hours in So it's alot harder than it used to be.

I remember my A-level English teacher leaving at 4pm on the dot to go and get sozzled in front of the telly!

 

[Relahni]

I'm talking about secondary - and I'm also talking about how teaching is now - not how it was 15 odd years ago!

It's completely different now - not only is there the teaching, there's the crowd control and all the paperwork/hoops to jump through/ofsted horrors etc.

It sounds like primary is a bit less horrific, but not much....

I think teachers these days deserve every penny they earn. Of course there are good and bad teachers everywhere - but these days you simply cannot get away with not putting the hours in So it's alot harder than it used to be.

I remember my A-level English teacher leaving at 4pm on the dot to go and get sozzled in front of the telly!

Well, I am sure there are teachers out there that deserve all the money they get, but am equally as sure taht there are just as many teachers who don't.

From the stories I have heard, some are not fit to be walking the streets without wearing a straight jacket - let alone teach children.

My girlf's mates partner got sacked by a lunatic head teacher - who by all accounts would have been more at home in a padded cell. And not sure if I go for this time thing.

Ernie and Flimsier used to post more than anyone on these boards and they were teachers. Successful ones as well. How did they manage it?

 

[g force]

2.....3 when the boss is being a dick or a client asks the impossible. I consider myself very lucky.

 

[Orang Utan]

I know lots of teachers and they are all wonderful people - Relahni, you are prejudiced against them for some reason

 

[zenie]

I know lots of teachers and they are all wonderful people - Relahni, you are prejudiced against them for some reason

Yer, but would you want them teaching your kids??

 

[Orang Utan]

Yer, but would you want them teaching your kids??

I believe both of them are probably very good teachers.

 

[zenie]

I believe both of them are probably very good teachers.

Ha is that an answer?

 

[foamy]

Yer, but would you want them teaching your kids??

oi! come here missy and i'll teach you a thing or two!

 

[chriswill]

I fucking LOVE my job.




Thats all....

 

[Orang Utan]

Ha is that an answer?

Yes, I would be happy with them teaching my kids if I had them, esp if they had an interest in history

 

[Relahni]

I know lots of teachers and they are all wonderful people - Relahni, you are prejudiced against them for some reason

prejudice? bollocks.

Yes, I think teachers have a tough job.
I also think that there are some shite teachers.

There will be some wonderful teachers out there of course - but there will be some at the other end of the scale too.

I can think of quite a few that are not exactly "wonderful" people. Paedophiles/bullies and fuck witted alcoholics immediately spring to mind.

 

[Orang Utan]

prejudice? bollocks.

Yes, I think teachers have a tough job.
I also think that there are some shite teachers.

There will be some wonderful teachers out there of course - but there will be some at the other end of the scale too.

I can think of quite a few that are not exactly "wonderful" people. Paedophiles/bullies and fuck witted alcoholics immediately spring to mind.

Yes, but you definitely have an axe to grind!

 

[zenie]

I can think of quite a few that are not exactly "wonderful" people. Paedophiles/bullies and fuck witted alcoholics immediately spring to mind.

Yer thats what I was thinking.

There's certainly a few people who I know that are teachers who I'd hate the thought of teaching my kids if I had them.

 

[scifisam]

prejudice? bollocks.

Yes, I think teachers have a tough job.
I also think that there are some shite teachers.

There will be some wonderful teachers out there of course - but there will be some at the other end of the scale too.

I can think of quite a few that are not exactly "wonderful" people. Paedophiles/bullies and fuck witted alcoholics immediately spring to mind.

If you know any teachers that are paedophiles, you'd be doing the kids a favour by reporting them.

Otherwise, the presence of a tiny minority of poor teachers, who probably won't stay in the job anyway, doesn't indicate to me that all teachers are crap and deserve no pay.

Otherwise, all office workers should be paid nothing too, because there are some crap office workers too

 

[spanglechick]

Hmmm - it does sound like you should consider a career change if it's what teaching's become that's doing your head in. You're not alone in feeling this, are you, if that's any consolation....

Would you consider finding some temp work of some kind, or something related to education that would benefit from your teaching experience, but that gives you the time and space in the evenings to do some classes and retrain?

.

I've gone back to teaching because the alternative was bankruptcy.

If i didn't have to pay much for travel, i could maybe get by on £25k. (I earn more as a teacher cos i'm mucho experienced).

Thing is, temp work isn't going to pay that - and other jobs are really hard to find. When i left teaching the first time, i applied for literally hundreds of jobs - the only interview i got was where i ended up working - running a cinema for 17k. Recruiters don't see our skills as transferrable.

Now i'm in a worse position because my cv is all over the place - teaching, teaching, cinema, travelling, acting school, acting, workshop leading, supply teaching, teaching... and then whatever field i'm applying for. I imagine it's going to take a massive amount of lateral thinking to see me in a role where what they're expecting is "someone who's been doing the exact thing but at a more junior level".

I recently applied for a job with tfl. organising their programme of workshops going into schools preaching the messages of safety and citizenship. I had every single item on the person spec in spades. Even the "desireable" list. Every part of the spec was addressed with heaps of relevant experience. And i didn't even get shortlisted. Gutted was not the word.

There's another job in the guardian at the moment - clerical/admin thing. I fit the person spec and it's only a small pay cut - but i don't know if i've got the heart to spend so many hours applying when the chances are so slim.

The only kind of job my cv is fit for is teaching. I feel utterly trapped. Utterly powerless.





regarding ern and flims. flims is senior management. he teaches maybe 5 lessons a week - something like that. management is a less time intensive job, afaics.
ern is a head of dept. history, iirc. history isn't a labour intensive subject. not all subjects are created equal. and if you are HoD, you set the workload - to a certain extent.

 

[Strumpet]

Aaww spangles....sorry you're so miserable
It makes life so much harder if you're not happy in your job eh.

Yikes at reading this thread though I'm thinking of going back into working in a school after a good few years of being out of it all but Although....I'm not a teacher, I'm a nursery nurse so, no paperwork or lesson planning etc. Still, if it's all about stress and pressure and paperwork and long, long hours n shit do I want to go into all that and work alongside these poor buggers!?
Makes me sad to read the unhappiness in here and that teaching has become about everything else but the kids, by the look of it.

 

[Orang Utan]

Don't you do any paperwork, Strumps? My 18 month old nephew goes to nursery and gets a detailed report EVERY day!

 

[han]

Now i'm in a worse position because my cv is all over the place - teaching, teaching, cinema, travelling, acting school, acting, workshop leading, supply teaching, teaching... and then whatever field i'm applying for. I imagine it's going to take a massive amount of lateral thinking to see me in a role where what they're expecting is "someone who's been doing the exact thing but at a more junior level".

I recently applied for a job with tfl. organising their programme of workshops going into schools preaching the messages of safety and citizenship. I had every single item on the person spec in spades. Even the "desireable" list. Every part of the spec was addressed with heaps of relevant experience. And i didn't even get shortlisted. Gutted was not the word.

There's another job in the guardian at the moment - clerical/admin thing. I fit the person spec and it's only a small pay cut - but i don't know if i've got the heart to spend so many hours applying when the chances are so slim.

So sorry that you're feeling like this

It sounds like just really bad luck with the TFL thing though. If you fulfill every criteria on the 'essential' and 'desirable' list in a job application, an interview is almost always guaranteed (as I'm sure you know!) - so you were definitely unlucky with that one. It must've been highly over-subscribed.

I think your CV sounds really interesting! And to the right employer, and the right job, your skills and experiences will fit like a glove. Have faith - I know it's hard, but a job will turn up that will have your name on it.

Have a go at applying for the admin thing. Even if it's a temporary job - it really is worth making the effort to do the application. It could give you the time/energy/space to have breather and to get your life back! You never know where these things can lead.....

It really is hard to see beyond a situation when you're in it and it's stressing you out - but believe - there's something out there for you that you can do, that isn't teaching - something that will be right for you.

Keep applying for those jobs, because you will get one sooner or later.

 

[Guineveretoo]

Han is giving good advice here. Do apply for that job. It's all practice, and I assume you have not applied for many admin jobs recently, so the practice will do you good

I know it will take time, but it will be quicker next time, because you will cut and paste from this application. Keep several cvs to hand, which emphasise/detail your skills and experience in different ways. Do one for teaching, of course, but also one for admin/clerical work, which you could usefully devise based on the job description of this job you have spotted.

If you want any specific advice or just someone to have a look at your cv for you, feel free to PM me. I used to do careers counselling for a living, you know, and I still do a fair amount, informally and formally....

 

[alef]

I'm a teacher and voted 3/10, almost 2/10. Guess I'm lucky but I believe going into teaching was the best career move I ever made! Spent years freelancing in graphics jobs, never that satisfied.

Although it can be stressful, generally I find each year of teaching easier than before (in my third year now). The pay is rather good and the vacations excellent. The downsides for me are marking (it's so dull!) and some of the senior management are frustrating, but that's true in most organisations.

It is a profession of extremes, when it's good it's great, when it's bad it's awful beyond anything else I've been through. Still, I do love doing it and expect it to get better...

 

[alef]

...And i didn't even get shortlisted. Gutted was not the word. ...

The worst thing about applying for jobs is the shock of rejection, it is absolutely brutal. What's important to keep in mind is that many job adverts are just going through the motions when someone is already being set up to get it.

"What color is my parachute?" is a slightly cheesy American book well worth reading. Has loads and loads of good advise on looking for work and spends the whole first chapter on dealing with the issue of rejection shock.