[mum201]

Hi all,
I have DS, who is a year old. When I had him, the idea was that I would go back to my corporate role in 6 months. DH and I visited every daycare in the area and couldn't agree on one and finally figured out the problem was not the specific daycares, but both of us not wanting him in daycare at all. Plus we realised that both parents being out of the home for 12 hrs a day just wasn't going to work for us - so I packed in my job, and am a sahm.


Now that I am thinking about it, I don't think my previous life is ever going to mesh well with being a mummy so I am going to have to retrain and do something more appropriate. I have done a bit of undergrad study before for fun and enjoyed it so am now thinking about going down that path again. At first I was thinking Accounting and doing bookkeeping from home or for a local business, and whilst this seems to be a sensible option, I would find it painful and I wouldn't love it.

Then I thought about teaching. I used to teach kids martial arts and was good at it. I am patient, am great with little kids, and want to do something that makes a difference in the world - and I feel this fits the bill. It's also a skill that is transportable. Plus, it fits in perfectly with having a child. So, enough of my long winded post. Do you enjoy being a primary teacher?

[naomi_j86]

I love teaching and having my own class.

I do not love casual teaching.

Some people are lucky and get a job straight away, but there is also the very real possibility that you could end up going a few weeks with no work, and if you are just casual, ALL holiday periods are unpaid.

[Soprano-Cat]

I love teaching and having my own class.

I do not love casual teaching.

Some people are lucky and get a job straight away, but there is also the very real possibility that you could end up going a few weeks with no work, and if you are just casual, ALL holiday periods are unpaid.

3 years without a job before ANZAC day, and only 2-3 casual days before then.

The teaching is fine. The getting a job is the crap bit.

[carlakoala]

Teaching is a wonderful career for all the reasons you mentioned.
It can also be exhausting, especially in the junior grades when you are on your feet nearly all day, constantly on the go...multitasking galore. There is physical preparation of resources and paperwork preparation at home, assessments, portfolios, reports, committee meetings, staff meetings, professional development research, arranging incursion, excursions, special event days, displays...just some of the aspects of working year. In other words it is not a 9am - 3pm job and whilst the holidays are generous some of those days are used to set up the room and prepare lots of resources for the term.
I have two young school age boys who also go to the same school I work at - it's a bonus in some ways (no need for outside care arrangements) and not in others. I often have to take them early to school with me so I can set up for the day and then they are there after school as I try to clean up.
When we get home they need prompting with their homework, I listen to their home reading, cook dinner and prompt the whole bedtime routine.
Some days I thrive on the business of it all and sometimes I fall asleep on the couch my 8pm.
The above views/ways are just my own and of course not common to all teachers.

Best of luck with any career choice you make.

[cattivo lupo]

I wouldn't recommend primary teaching simply because there aren't enough jobs. There are those who get lucky, or are in the right place at the right time, then there are the rest of us. Casual teaching sucks and can really mess with your self esteem - you don't get called for a few weeks and start wondering if you messed up. You don't belong anywhere and feel kind of second class. And you also get the pleasure of watching other teachers who don't care, and do the job badly and b**ch about how much they hate it who do the bare minimum. And that isn't everyone of course, but I've seen them and its frustrating.

And it doesn't depend on doing brilliantly at uni, grade point average of 3.4, and still no permanency here .

I'd love my own class, and I actually really enjoy the actual teaching bit, and I'm good at it, but I'm fed up with the instability of casual work. Look on the Facebook TeachNSW site, there are heaps of us in the same boat.

[gina70]

Next year will be my 5th year as a teacher. You want honesty so here it is: (tired so using dot points)

* hated the 4 years of study, expensive (even with hecs) and time consuming
*first year out I hated it, long long hours and very stressful
*2nd year out a bit better, but still wasn't sure I was going to stick it out
*3rd year could only get small contracts and relief work, okay, but not good for the budget
*4th year: totally in love with teaching! But in saying that my kids are older and I devoted a lot of time and energy to my class.

I am still on contract and I probably won't get a permanent job for a few years yet as they are very rare. I mostly work 9 hour days, my students are on my mind a lot, the weekends involve work but also preparing for the working week, like ironing etc. As I am too tired at night to do much.

I absolutely love my job/vocation and have already started planning what I will teach next year, researching and working out my classroom layout. Like most teachers, I do spend a few thousand of my own money each year as well.

You do not teach for the money!

[BabyZ]

Does anyone know if it's also hard to secure a secondary teaching role in NSW?

[carlakoala]

I forgot to mention that I am one of the very lucky ones who is a permanent teacher. I am very grateful for it each year. As so many others commented it's heart breaking to watch so many casual teachers unsure where or if they will have a job year to year. These are good - great teaches who put in way above and beyond effort to add to their resume in hope of standing out for selection. I can only imagine the stress of them and their family due to the uncertainness of work year to year. I've never, ever noticed there being a hint of a 'teacher shortage' in primary schools about me - I think the fine print would read 'teacher shortage of high school maths teacher in extremely remote community.'

[Penguin78]

Does anyone know if it's also hard to secure a secondary teaching role in NSW?

Depends what you are teaching. Maths and Science yes. English and history in Western Sydney. Most everything else is hard.


OP , as someone who went from corporate to teaching, the work hours are a lot more manageable as a teacher. Sure it's not 9-3, but less then corporate that's for sure

[librablonde]

My friend is a high school teacher and has been a on contracts at the same school, fulltime for 4+ years. Only now has he finally be offered a permanent role. It's really been very hard on his family being financially unstable all those years. He loves teaching the teens, hates the politics of how the school is run and the instability of contract roles.