The workforce in education has seen a decline in the recent past, where the number of teachers decreased by 1.3% from 210,900 in 2015 to 208,200 in 2016. Is teaching as popular as it was before? Is it the right career choice for you?
Roles
There are different roles you are going to consider when it comes to teaching: teaching assistant, special needs teacher, secondary teacher, primary teacher, teaching laboratory technician, the list goes on. It is very important to invest time and effort in researching and deciding the age range you would like to teach. Different roles have different qualifications, and this is why you need to know the route you want to take before taking the role.
State or Private?
Private and state schools are very different, and you will need to make your choice before you apply for the role. Private schools will claim that their education is better, although the pressure of performing well also increases when in a private school.
Researching
Interviews will give you the chance of working out whether a given school is the right option or not, but there are other ways to research the school. There are sites such as Mumsnet where parents share their thoughts about the school. The interview might be amazing, but if the parents keep complaining about the teachers, the head, and bullying, then it might not be the right place for you to work in. if possible, chat with teachers when you go for the interview. You will be able to know they feel. Are the teachers happy? Are they approachable? Are they fed up? This will give you a rough idea of how it feels to work in that school and what you can expect when you decide to work there. Always trust your gut about how you are feeling about the school and whether it is the right place to work.
The Reality of Teaching
Teaching looks great on paper: you start at 9 am and finish at 3 pm, and also have 6 long weeks of summer holiday. In reality things are a little different. You will spend a lot of time preparing a lesson plan. You will spend a lot of time marking homework. When you are at school, you will have lessons back to back, and you might not have enough time to rest between them. Teaching is just like any other profession; there is stress. Your days are going to be long, and you have to deal with different children who can be very demanding, they will keep asking you questions, and children keep throwing their behaviour your way. When you are having a bad day, you cannot show it, the only option is hiding it and marching on. You cannot easily escape when you have 30 pairs of eyes looking at you. But the good thing is it can be very rewarding because you will feel like you are making a lot of difference in the lives of the children, and this gives you purpose. The work will be challenging, but the sense of achievement you get in the evening will be worth it. You should know what you are getting into, though. Be prepared.
The most important thing is researching the career you are interested in before you decide to take it or not. There are many different places you can get more information that will help you make the decision. Teaching offers different roles, which is why you need to look at them and choose the one you think suits your skills. A furloughed nanny, for example, may be in a good position to think about a teaching role.
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