Stuck in a career rut, thinking about primary teaching. Any primary school teachers here willing to give me a detailed pros/cons?

I agree with the other points but also you may not be aware that there is a massive surplus of primary teachers at the moment and next to no jobs. I know of a number of newly qualified primary teachers who have had to get jobs in other fields. Keep an eye on my job scotland to see how many openings there are coming up. Good luck to you!

I quit after two years, teaching secondary music. I was doing about 55hrs per week. The pay itself is decent, but only if you do the contract hours. I was getting less than minimum for the hours I worked. Fuck that noise.

It's not only about pay (though that is v.important) - it's about workload. Administrative workload for teachers is HUGE. There isn't a teacher anywhere who doesn't take work home with them and spend hours unpaid every week & weekend. In 2006 the BBC reported on a survey about unpaid work and teachers were top of the table, with an average of 11 unpaid hours per week. (for those who were interested, bottom of the list were hairdressers, with 0.5 hours) - and it's only gotten worse since then.

Everybody either knows a teacher, or knows someone who knows one, so see if you can buy them a coffee and ask them about what it's like. It might not change your mind, but at least you'll be fully informed!

Not a teacher myself, but my sister in law is a primary school teacher, she's taught everything from P1 - P6 and this is what I've gleaned so far;

Pros:

• Summer holidays

• Making an impact in kids lives

• Being able to help kids while they're on the school grounds feel better if their home situation isn't the best

• Kids can be pretty damn funny

Cons:

• More and more parents these days are not willing to take responsibility for their child learning outside of the classroom. More parents deem that an 'only school' thing where teachers are the only ones responsible for teaching their children, and when they're not in school, the parents want absolutely nothing to do with it. They wont enforce completing homework or researching or sitting down and helping their kid. I hasten to point out this is not a blanket statement, but when you come across a few of these kids and their parents in your class, it can really be a pain.

• To add to that, schools cannot or will not punish children these days for fear of reprisals from parents. I'm going to be as vague as I can about this but my SIL has a child in her class who evidently requires a special needs school. All this child does all day is scream. This is a P6 class. He will just stare and scream and hit his head off things. The class cannot do certain activities because this one child does not like that activity. This child has actively hit my SIL and slammed a door on her, resulting in huge bruising on her leg, and the school will not do shit about it because the parents refuse to believe their child has any special needs, and threaten to sue the school if they keep bringing it up to them. So the higher ups just shrug their shoulders and my SIL just has to... Put up with it.

• Schools can be VERY cliquey places. If you think things like bullying and gossiping are limited to the kids in the playground, think again.

• Kids are getting into 'worse' things younger and younger these days. SIL has had to remove knives, drugs, pornography, and all manner of things from children from P3 up. This is NOT a school in a 'bad' area. It's not a posh school either, it's just a normal school.

• Even though you do get weeks and weeks off on full pay, a lot of that time is spent lesson planning, decorating classrooms, marking, and all other manner of stuff that the general public doesn't really consider and so you're constantly blasted with 'YoU gEt 6 wEeKs OfF pAiD aNd i'M pAyInG yOuR wAgEs!!!'.

All in all - and this is just what I've gathered from my SIL - primary teaching can be a very rewarding job. You're helping mould little people into functional members of society and it takes a really special kind of person to be able to do that. However, the constant red tape barriers and encounters with people who really shouldn't be parents is really, really challenging, especially when YOU'RE on the receiving end of their pointed finger whenever their little cherub is being an arsehole.

Very hard to land a job after probationary year. That’s a massive issue that you shouldn’t ignore! 

My partner is a primary teacher and the amount of unpaid extra hours she works is literally unbelievable. We worked it out and she's on less than the living wage with everything accounted for so the pay isn't even good. The admin is crazy and debilitating. There's less and less time to spend crafting your lessons unless you're willing to put in wild hours at home given the social-work side and submitting reports to CAMHS etc.

You're impacting young lives so if you think that would balance it out then give it a go, or at least see if you can visit since schools. That being said, my partner wanted to teach from the age of 5- it was a dream job for her but she's now considering leaving which is genuinely heart-wrenching to witness.

Echo what other have said about jobs at Primary level. The additional kick in the balls is that anything you do get is only a year contract and you have to repeat the process the next time. Permanent contracts are like hens teeth. It's brutal.

Depends where you live. My wife teaches rurally and loves it. Pay is totally decent. Starts at 8.30am and is at home for half 4. That gives her an hour for paper work after the kids go home at 3.25pm.

On Friday they finish at 2pm, the idea being that teachers can have 3 extra hours for admin, but the school is empty by 3pm.

I guess, from this thread, inner-city teaching is different? Either that or perhaps some teachers haven't worked elsewhere where you have to work 9-5 every day.

The biggest hassle by far is the parents, but there's strict guidance on what you can and can't engage with them on and if you've got a decent head teacher then the rules are your friend.

I'm a teacher.

First - do you like and enjoy spending time with kids ? You mention progression but do you like kids ? Sounds obvious but that's essential cos they are NEEDY ! You get one coming up to you every ten seconds. You have to have the patience of a saint ! And the job v much depends on which school you end up in as they differ so radically from each other so much so that your neighbouring school may as well be a totally different world. Your friend in next door's school could have a completely opposite experience to you.

The technicalities are easy enough. Teaching is the easy part. The challenges are navigating relationships with other staff, parents and outside agencies. You also live in a world now where people complain A LOT and it's gone from kids being given into bother for bad behaviour to teachers being reprimanded for not keeping them in line. It's v much turned on its head.

However, I adore my job. I switched from finance to teaching fourteen years ago and I love it. I have a really great department though, a great and supportive headteacher who backs her staff all day first and foremost, and I pick my battles and I do not sweat the small stuff (which has been a learning curve for me. Low level disruption doesn't bother me now - you choose your battles).

If you love kids, find them hilarious and enjoy their wee personalities, you'll love it and that will come across and make it not a job but a vocation. If you're doing it as a life raft to escape something else, then consider if it's right.

What I would say is to do some shadowing at a local school, offer to help with an after school thing (you'll need a pvg first though), put on a sports club etc. put yourself out there and get experience. In a week, you'll know if it's for you !

On another note, as a man, you'll get a job no bother in a primary school. There is a dearth of male primary teachers and with so many yp and children coming from single mum families, this is something that's really valued. Good luck ! Keep us posted !

If you can secure a permanent contract it’s a good job. Lots of moans - but that’s the same in every career. BUT there are almost literally zero jobs. All supply / temporary. While they still pump 1000+ new people into the system every year. It is absolutely scandalous tbh. When I can be bothered I am going to submit a freedom of information request on employment stats for primary teachers - I estimate it will be 5% or less in permanent roles after three years.

It depends?

Make no mistake, the pay to workload ratio is crap. But that’s true of teachers in many places.

Positives can be that learning journey, if you can get a permanent spot the schedule is consistent and predictable. Summers off and major holidays off. If you can get in a good spot the community can be really good to.

Cons: workload ratio, administrative duties, lack of supports, pay isn’t great, long hours. Likely lower standards from when you were in school. Habit of upper levels putting an increasing amount of duties on teachers. Getting a permanent spot.

Situational: Administration of the school, bad parents, difficult students, standards. Government in charge.

American here . . . I started teaching Fifth Grade reading anD science (10 - 12 yrs) when I was 50. It was hands down the best work I have ever done. It was the most important work I've ever done. It's life changing. It was also the hardest work I have ever done. Long Hours, losing sleep over someone else's kid, always going into your pocket, paper work, so much really outside of "teaching." But damn man, when that "Light Bulb" comes on for a kiddo whose been struggling w/ a skill or concept?? Ain't nothing like it.

Although it comes apparent quickly that most education systems are built on the unpaid overtime of teachers.

Pro Tip: Lot of parent communications. Join. Your. Union.

My only regret about teaching is not getting to it sooner . . .