Orange ponders...
Sep. 22nd, 2009 04:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sarah_orangeMy brain has spent the past few days persuading me I should become a Maths teacher.
How odd.
I've even started looking at PCGEs and SKEs.
Odder still
Doubt it will happen - kids see right through me and I'm not sure I can wield the appropriate level of authority.
Plus it'd be a fairly hefty pay cut at first. Not that pay is that important above a certain level in a job that gives you job satisfaction.
Hmm
How odd.
I've even started looking at PCGEs and SKEs.
Odder still
Doubt it will happen - kids see right through me and I'm not sure I can wield the appropriate level of authority.
Plus it'd be a fairly hefty pay cut at first. Not that pay is that important above a certain level in a job that gives you job satisfaction.
Hmm
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2009-09-22 03:56 pm (UTC)wanting to be a maths teacher is just a phaze and you'll
grow out of it and do something sensible.
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Date: 2009-09-22 04:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-22 04:02 pm (UTC)You could always go back to uni to do something else?
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Date: 2009-09-22 04:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-22 05:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-22 09:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-22 10:32 pm (UTC)Also, did you get my email about the wedding? :)
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Date: 2009-09-22 11:20 pm (UTC)I did get your mail about the wedding, and I was going to RSVP in the affirmative - but was going to send it by post...
OK. I will come to your wedding. Mwah.
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Date: 2009-09-22 04:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-22 04:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-22 04:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-22 04:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-22 04:13 pm (UTC)Sometimes the heads of department having a fondness for drinking water that is highly inflammable (i.e vodka) at work due to special medical problems (alcoholism) doesn't help (acquaintance in Leicester who am informed now works at a school with a non alcoholic head of department apparently).
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Date: 2009-09-22 04:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-22 05:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-22 05:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-22 04:14 pm (UTC)Awesome!
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Date: 2009-09-22 04:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-22 04:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-22 06:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-22 04:33 pm (UTC)I'd say go for it if you think you'd enjoy it, although be prepared to surrender all of your free time!
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Date: 2009-09-22 05:14 pm (UTC)- Money's not that bad. You get a training bursary (something like 9K) plus student loan for your PGCE year. NQTs outside of London start on about 21 grand, and that rises every year. I've just taken a payrise to 24k, this being my third year teaching, and next September that will go up to 26.4k. When you reach what's called threshold after six years teaching, you pass onto the Upper Pay Scale where you can get up to 35k.
There are responsibility bonuses for Teaching and Learning duties (such as Head of Department, or Numeracy Co-ordinator), and these range from an extra 2k to 12k depending on the post and the size of the school.
My take on the money? It's reasonable, but as a well-qualified graduate I could be earning a lot more. As you say, though, job satisfaction really makes a massive difference - I actually enjoy most of my working day.
- What's your degree in? I only ask because after so many years working with databases, you might also be qualified to teach Business or ICT - think there are more jobs in Maths though.
-Think carefully about the age range - I love secondary but you might find you prefer primary. Teenagers can be stroppy but they can also be incredibly funny and sweet and they're at an age where they're really starting to think about the world around them. Little ones are a bit less stroppy (although they can be worse, particularly in rough areas), but they're more needy, and you'd have to teach all 12 primary subjects. And no I can't name them.
Short and sweet version: I LOVE it but it's FUCKIN' HARD WORK.
Your best bet, if you're really keen, is to spend some time in a local school. See if you think you could deal with it. I'm fairly certain our Head would let you come in for a few days, though of course we're in Cheshire.
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Date: 2009-09-22 06:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-23 11:28 am (UTC):P
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Date: 2009-09-23 05:28 pm (UTC)Hmmm...
Date: 2009-09-22 06:58 pm (UTC)I'm a "good" rated teacher and enjoy some of it but DONT find it at all satisfying. There's always more to be done or another change in the syllabus or 'new' management telling you how to teach.
The pay is flatly insulting for the amount of work and strain it puts in your life.
REALLY really try it first. You might love the idea of it but not the everyday treadmill that is 5 lessons of 20+ kids in classes.
I'm offski asap!
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Date: 2009-09-22 07:25 pm (UTC)It just doesn't make sense. If there's a job which pays *enough* (and that's very subjective) and it's one you enjoy, that's always going to be better than one that pays more but you hate. That's the reason I do the job that I do - I'm not a teacher, more a software development mentor. I work for a university as a software development team leader, but my team is students and new graduates. I could earn more elsewhere but I seriously doubt I'd enjoy it as much.
I wouldn't be too concerned about the authority, I think it's something that comes with experience and confidence.
Possibly the best thing to do is to try before you buy. Local colleges often do PCGE courses as part time / evening classes. You can often pick up a bit of adult teaching at the same college, especially if you've got something valuable that you can teach (like maths, or IT, for instance). I know a couple of people who've got PGCHEs (higher education only) this way and I believe that it's a relatively simple affair to convert these to a full PGCE (I think you have to do a few extra credits and several months of supervised teaching).
Blimey. I was only going to say a few words!
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Date: 2009-09-22 10:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-22 08:30 pm (UTC)As for the money - considering there are proposals for cuts and freezes, I'm not saying anything. It does take six years to get to threshold, and there is no guarantee of that.
I know this probably sounds really negative, but to be honest I think teaching is sometimes seen as this wonderful job, but its denigrated a lot by people who wouldn't do it(although they think they could) and the amount of time it takes of your private life is sometimes beyond a joke. Plus there's the factor of being on holiday when most people are at work, which is both boring and lonely.
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Date: 2009-09-22 09:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-22 10:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-23 11:32 am (UTC)