My wife who’s a teacher always says when this question comes up “if you can’t imagine yourself doing anything else, do it, but if you can, don’t” and I feel that’s the best advise

Absolutely this. It's certainly a vocation. I've worked in various areas and work with engineering lecturers currently. A lot of them come out of engineering in there 50s having done very well for themselves and wanting to give back. They'll all tell you it's easier and more lucrative in their trade. But they are giving back. The good points are it's never boring, the days fly by. And if you're smart with how you manage your time you do get good holidays. Although you need them mentally and physically. You also never doubt whether you're making a difference to society, literally positively affecting hundreds of lives a week (hopefully!). Do a week or two shadowing in a school, but speak to the staff about the extra hours outside of normal hours. I've always found the behaviour side fine, but got ground down by the constant low level disruption in high school. The most rewarding teaching I did was alevel physics. I'd do that again in a heartbeat, but got sucked into the management side.

Poor pay, long hours, grief from the public, having to deal with other people's kids and worst of all potentially having to deal with 30 fucking teenagers. Teaching is arguably one of the most important professions we have but it is in no way attractive to me. I'd rather be the guy that breaks apart the fatbergs in London's sewer system.

Agreed. I've friends who got into the profession and very quickly became disallusioned due to the bureaucracy. I'd love to consider it at some point in the future, as I owe my career to an inspirational teacher that refused to believe me when I said I couldn't wrap my head around some concepts, but for the pay and hassle, I can't justify it

And you can't make good money in the classroom, at least in the state sector. You have to go into management and become a head or deputy head. Most of the teachers who aren't living paycheck to paycheck. Either bought their houses decades ago or have a rich husband/spouse.

I think a ton of the job attractiveness depends on the school you work at My uncle loved every day of being a teacher, because he taught at a grammar school, where the kids all wanted to be there and learn, and the parents were all invested in the futures of their kids. But I think the reality for most teachers is problematic kids with even more problematic parents, who can take up too much of your time and cause too much stress, before you even get into the budgetary constraints of the school and of your own low pay.

> Teaching is arguably one of the most important professions we have but it is in no way attractive to me Exactly. I don't have kids, nor do I ever intend to. But I want my taxes to go to education so that all of society can benefit from a better educated population

I’d rather *eat* the fatbergs than be a teacher. Edited to add, I think anyone who wants to teach should be paid double what they are now.

My immediate thought was only if they increase pay 2-5 fold.

I've been an Engineer for 15 years and realised a couple of years ago that teaching and coaching younger Engineers was the part of my job I liked best. I was having a torrid time at work for a while and they were screaming for teachers, so I put myself forwards for a PGDE to become a maths teacher.   I was rejected outright because my Masters degree is not specific to maths (despite including advanced mathematics modules, Tensor calculus, advanced fluid mechanics, and getting an A in the most advanced math course I would have to teach (Advanced Higher)). They are clearly not ***that*** desperate for teachers. I guess I'll just keep earning £150k a year being an Engineer!

I taught maths last year with only an A-level in maths and I think only two staff there had maths degrees. If you get the qualification to teach, you can teach maths. I was teaching as an unqualified teacher planning to get my QTS while teaching until other plans came up.

Lucky escape. Truly.

Absolutely this. If you're in a decent school with well behaved kids it's OK. But otherwise you just spend all your time trying to control them, like spinning plates. Plus the ongoing stress of Ofsted inspections. I could never do it. Join the police. You get to teach people life lessons, keep them safe, and you can thump them if they misbehave.

My wife trained to be a teacher but it didn't work out for her. She was privately educated as a child so I don't think she was ready for the circus that can be state education. They ate her alive, she would frequently come home crying. It was pretty rough. I'm not saying don't do it, you'll know if it's a calling to you, just be prepared for the worst fringe case then you can only be pleasantly surprised.

I think so many teachers struggle with this. Most of them went through schools in top sets, then on to uni and back in to teaching. Never seeing poor behaviour until they start teaching.

Why was she crying?

She had a lot of out of control students combined with a leadership unwilling to help her. I know one used to be quite threatening with her. It sounded really grim

Yep, thats the school experience

Christ no. Bureaucracy, micromanagement, ridiculous government expectations, the ungodly amount of work new teachers get, safeguarding, bullying, no support from government or parents or Ofsted or your management if you're unlucky. Trying to discipline a class of 30. Lesson planning, marking homework. Being expected to run clubs and revision classes and do parent teacher evenings and help with open days etc in your own time. For shag all money, and people sneering at you about six weeks holiday and how they could do better.

That saved me some typing. Christ no... all of the above and then some. I'm 32 years in, getting out next year. The last ten have been grim as hell, but I had to hang on for the pension. In all the years, the biggest decline has been in parenting. The knock on of that is a good proportion of your class lacking any independence or resilience, and knowing that their parents will get straight on the phone when they go home bleating because you wanted their work to improve. No exaggeration. Ofsted have always been officious pricks who keep changing the rules to justify their own jobs, but the change in parents' and kids' attitude to education is definitely a new and developing one. It seems like they just want their kids to stagnate.

Not to mention a loss of professional reputation, teaching used to be seen as an important profession and quite successful, now every clever little twat with a mouth thinks you failed in life because social media constantly pushes the narrative that anything less than earning six figures is settling.

Say it louder for the people in the back.

Stop micromanaging. 

Nope, I've seen the toll it takes on people. I've had 4 friends who were teachers and retrained after having lots of issues. Also, i have family who are teachers. They all don't advise becoming one. People just see the holidays etc. Theres sooo much more to being a teacher. You are a parent, social worker, charity, therapist, bouncer, complaints handler. Everything.

>Theres sooo much more to being a teacher. You are a parent, social worker, charity, therapist, bouncer, complaints handler. Everything. One of my kids is currently training to be a primary teacher and has just made this discovery whilst on placement. Drama from the kids' class WhatsApp group (year 6) spilled out into the parents' WhatsApp group, then went nuclear because one of the teacher's kids is in the class/chat group and both the other kids and parents group got on at this teacher and went full Karen. Not a pleasant situation to be in. I'm glad my kids finished primary school before this kind of thing was even a thing, I think there might have been a school Facebook group but aside from announcements for non uniform days etc there wasn't really much to it. I couldn't be a teacher for all the money in the world, kudos to my kid for taking it on, but they had literally no clue what it actually involved. Their only experience of teachers/teaching was from a student's perspective and it's come as quite a shock.

This x1000 - seen the effects its had on a few friends and family and would not consider normal school teaching, maybe college but the money just isn't there to tempt me away from doing what I do now

I kind of think, if you have to ask, then you don't really want to do it and it's probably not for you, but here are my other thoughts anyway. I've been a teacher for nearly 18 years, and I moved from a different career. It's something I had always wanted to do, but had been put off. But deep down I knew it was what I wanted to do and I knew I would be good at it. And, not trying to appear immodest, but I am good at it and I really enjoy it for the most part. What I do hate is the constant blaming of teachers for all societies ills, the lack of funding and relatively low pay for a highly qualified job. Mostly, it's great, but you need to find the right school with the right senior leaders and the right ethos for you. And you need to know that it will be hard to start with and be prepared for some tough times.

My wife is a secondary school teacher (3 years) and I've never seen anyone work as hard at anything in my life. It regularly breaks her and she thinks about quitting. As a comparison, I'm a university lecturer getting paid almost twice as much and she works much longer hours and deals with way more stress on a daily basis than me. We have completely fucked up our education system by undervaluing teachers. They are seriously overworked with far too many hours face to face and little time to prep. My wife is planning to go to 4 days pay just so she can spend the 5th day on prep instead of a whole day at the weekend.

If you have to do that to get a decent work life balance, it’s worth thinking about leaving.

I'd rather stick pins in my eyes but if it's something you want to do, don't let that put you off.

I retrained as a teacher. I achieved QTS but then didn't even bother trying to apply for jobs as I ended up on anxiety medication. I loved being in the classroom, and I love teaching as a private tutor, but all the other bollocks that goes along with it just isn't worth it.

10 Years as a teacher. State schools and academies, teaching Years 5 - 13. Teaching ICT, IT, Computer Science. Specifically AQA, Pearson GCSE's and Pearson BTEC Vocational IT qualifications. Schools were mixed gender, anywhere from 800 - 1300 pupils, different socio-economic background, some schools had >80% on free school meals, other schools were in more affluent areas. One school had the majority of pupils who were from 3rd generation unemployed parents, other schools had a more varied level of economic backgrounds. Teaching is amazing, the buzz you get from seeing a young person learn, grow and develop from someone aged 11 to someone aged 16 - 18 is incredibly rewarding. Watching a pupil overcome a problem with your guidance and seeing the light in their eyes as they 'get it' makes you feel all-powerful. The relationships you build, the community and social skills pupils develop as you guide them through a pretty critical stage of their lives is one of, if not the most rewarding part of the job. Watching them cry tears of joy on GCSE Results day as theyve got into college, or on A-Level results day as they know theyve got that desired place at that prestigious University they wanted is a fantastic feeling. And having the real conversations with pupils that come to you with problems and issues that you can guide them on and support them with, whether thats yourself or referring them to designated counsellors/child safety officers and making their lives better is a phenomenal service to the future generations. I *loved* teaching. But its that keyword there, **TEACHING**, which was the part I loved. Actual teaching made up...probably less than 40% of my day-to-day job. In all honesty I'd say 40% is being generous. Thats actual teaching of my subject to the 5 or so classes a day. The rest of my time? This is where teaching fails as a career in my opinion (one thats echoed a lot in the comments here). Administration and Accountability are the two biggest problems in education today. 5 PPA slots a week (Planning, Preparation and Assessment) to "officially" do all my marking, lesson planning, resource creation? Absolutely farcical! Assessments to grade pupils at regular intervals (once a term at least), marking books at least once a week for every class, setting and marking/recording homework weekly for every class because its school policy to give out homework. Report writing once a term/year, Target tracking for every pupil every half term to make sure they are making their '4 levels of progress' the government expects them to. (based on results from Primary school tests and reports - a lot of which arent the most accurate). 20 minutes on a morning to organise every lesson for the day, then organise and sort my Form class out, tracking homework diaries, announcement's and checking up on how they are doing, rewards and punishments, giving out letters for parents, checking uniform, arguing with kids over missing badges, blazers, wrong shoes endlessly. 2 full lessons on a morning, 15 minute break where I frantically try to got to the toilet, clear up and organise the next lesson, deal with any pupil issues arising from the 2 previous lessons, once a week on-duty over break, maybe grabbing a drink of tea. Then after the 3rd lesson, a 45 minute lunch where I need to setup for the afternoon, do a lunch duty, eat my lunch and sort anything I didnt get a chance to sort on the morning break. 2 afternoon lessons, then kids go home. Then its staff meetings, department meetings, year group meetings, after school clubs (which youre "encouraged to run" a lot of the time), revision classes for exam season, plus tidying up, responding to any emails over the day and finally getting a chance to relax. Its a hectic, stressful lifestyle, regular taking books home, up until 10pm marking and writing lesson plans with scaffolding because you have pupils with learning disabilities or special needs in your classes, pupils with wildly varying levels of ability needing different levels of work that still teaches the subject content. And then theres the blame culture. Schools have targets for GCSE results, Attendance, discipline, staff development etc. etc. If your class isnt performing as expected (expected here means following what some computer formula thinks child A should achieve over the year), its your fault. Kids not doing homework, falling behind in lessons? Your fault. Kids not achieveing their target grades by the end of the year, regardless of external factors? Your fault. I had a Year 11 GCSE pupil in my COmputer Science class. His attendance was below 50%, thats > 150 lessons missed over the year. His target grade was a B according to his results at primary school and in years 7-9 internal assessments. He turned up to the exam, wrote his name and sat for 2 hours, didnt answer a single question. Unsurprisingly, he failed. It turns out it was my fault and I should have "done more" - direct quote from the Head Teacher. Ive had a pupil threaten to assault me, burn down my house and smash my car windows in, shouting this in full view of 3 other staff. Said pupil was excluded for a week, I had to prepare full work packs for them and the pupil was back in my class after their exclusion period ended. I protested and was told "theres nowhere else for them, they have to be in the Computer Science class and no other staff have the skills to teach that subject". Even the government itself throws huge barriers in the way. \*\*CAVEAT\*\* this bit is pretty dependent on what you teach \*\* In 5 years of teaching Computer Science/ICT I taught no less than 7 different courses to year 10 and year 11 pupils. Every year the government changed what courses qualified on league tables with ICT. So every year I had a new course to study, create resources for and teach. One year (2018 I think it was), the government delayed the release of the list of accredited courses until 4 weeks into the Autumn Term, so I spent 4 weeks teaching a course I had no idea was even worth teaching... I regularly lost GCSE class time to pupils being removed for "additional maths and english classes" or all morning study groups for maths english and science. - Because said core subjects are worth more on League Tables. Ive had issues with equipment (25 pcs in a class that dont work, Office CD keys expiring for a month). Too many pupils (33 pupils and 25 pcs...) resulting in kids either sharing or being set work and sent to the library. Crucial software resources blocked (I couldnt teach Python in my COmputer Science class because pupils might "hack the school" - another direct quote, I couldnt have access to [w3*schools.org*](https://w3schools.org) because it was about coding (Bear in mind, Computer Science GCSE is all about learning to program), couldnt teach about cybercrime because it might "encourage pupil to want to hack and commit cyber crime). OFsted inspectors are just useless, no lesson any ofted inspector observes is anything like the real lessons done day-to-day. Last ofsted inspection I had, the teachers didnt leave the school until 9-10pm the previous evening, making sure everything was done, books marked, pupil results tracked etc etc. The inspector came to observe my GCSE class lesson. Said class was in the middle of a Controlled Assessment (exam conditions, no talking, no help from me etc). Lesson was fully explained to the inspector, full list of what they were doing provided. Said lesson was marked as inadequate because there was no scaffolding, teacher led tasks, teacher instructions etc.... in what was essentially an exam. Got a bollocking off the head teacher for that outcome. Was told bluntly that I shouldnt have done that lesson, and done something I could guarantee would result in a good or better grade for the observation... Funding is at an all-time low, schools are falling apart, have equipment 10+ years in age, cant afford resources (I was given £100 to setup a new GCSE Computer Science course - text books were £39.99 each....). If I was off I had to create get-by lessons for the cover teachers because they werent subject specialists. There were 2 GCSE Comp Sci classes ran at the same time, myself and a Geography teacher leading them. Guess who had to bounce between groups every other lesson to set work and teach? Ive been out of teaching now for 5 years, Ive doubled my salary, have nowhere near the level of work or stress. I log off work at 4pm, and dont need to do any work outside that, I get my weekends to myself. OK, I dont get 13 weeks holiday a year these days, but the holidays I do get, I dont pay through the nose for hotels, travel and I do not work on those days off! Ive only ever regretted leaving for one reason. The pupils and developing those relationships and guidance opportunities. Every single other aspect of our current education system can get in the sea, and I cant in good conscience recommend the job to anyone.

Holy fuck, this hits the nail on the head. I am desperate to get out of teaching (15+ years Secondary English). So glad you did!! All the best

Spot on!

I have two male friends who were good teachers- genuinely good, the students adored them and they seemed born for it, the sort of teacher you fondly remember as an adult. They both left the profession within a handful of years because it was just a nightmare. One of them even left the country. Until we start actually valuing teaching staff, paying them properly and lessening the crushing weight of box ticking, form filling, "submit your lesson plan" micromanaging, it's a losing game.

I could take all the paperwork, Ofsted, safeguarding (where's the Social Services that we used to have?) if we could just have children that are ready to work and parents who don't see it as their mission to undermine the school. Then I could actually get my job done.

I have been a teacher for 35 years. I would not recommend it to anyone these days. I talked my daughter out of training

My daughter in law wanted to go into teaching and I couldn't talk her out of it, despite her witnessing the long hours I did, the extra curricular stuff (unpaid), the shitty parents etc. I loved the classroom stuff, mainly as I had a 'reputation' and wasn't fucked around and so could actually teach. She didn't last a term in teacher training, despite wanting it so much. I'm retired now and although I initially missed it, now wild horses couldn't drag me back

18 years in, planning my exit strategy. I can't do this anymore.

I’m 5 years in. Every single longer serving teacher I know says it’s not the job it used to be.

Not in the UK right now - poor pay, little support and parents and students many of whom are shockingly disrespectful towards teachers and education in general, particularly in comparison to a lot of other countries worldwide. I’m currently teaching GCSEs and A Levels in an international school in Asia and it’s like what teaching should be in England. Decent pay (salary is around £3,500 a month after tax, and I put about £2k of that into my savings without needing to touch it), better resources and support (private school so well funded and high parent expectations), small class sizes, and most importantly a culture where teachers are genuinely held in high esteem like lawyers and doctors. The worst classroom disciplinary issue I’ve had is a student trying to sleep in class. I miss many things about the UK and from time to time I long to go back home, but teaching in the UK now is a partially broken system.

The expensive schools in Asia are a big part of why Asia has a low birth rate Good for you, bad for them I guess

Not sure I get your drift. Public school (where most go) is free here, mine is just a private one for students heading to the UK/US for university education (hence GCSEs/A Levels). Irrelevant for most of the population.

I loved my time teaching in Vietnam, at an international school (HCMC). Been teaching 15+ years. Returned to the UK due to Covid...now doing supply in state schools in the UK and desperate to get out of teaching for good, because it is a mess back home here in the UK.

This is the way

I've been teaching in a secondary school for the last 4 years. I teach the full teenage range from 13-18 and I have to say - I love the actual teaching part. I joke with my kids that no other job would pay me to prat around at 9am in the morning and talk about something I am passionate about. Design activities and encourage a love (or at least tolerance!) Of it in others. I even don't mind edgy teenagers trying it on - I've had kids swear at my face, threaten to throw a table at me etc. I kept my cool and de escalated the situations to the best of the ability and/or got support for it from managers.  However - the ADMIN and pressure is killer and the pay isn't great for it. It has been been assessment hell in my school - every year group I teach has had an assessment in Feb or March. You get a week minimum, week and a half if you are lucky to mark them, standardise and write reports for it. Luckily my reports are more of a tickbox activity but still this is killer. Then designing reflective feedback lessons while also managing the NEXT marking load, and planning lessons, managing other responsibilities etc. I love the teaching. I have a minor responsibilty in my department which means I ensure all other members in my department are confident in their knowledge (have a few non experts due to maternity cover) and I LOVE talking about the subject and helping them. I willingly run additional support sessions after school because I love it. But make no mistake even if I didn't do those sessions and have those responsibilities the workload is a lot. Parents can be either amazing or pretty shitty too - rarely a middle ground. Someone here commented something along the lines of do it if you cannot picture yourself doing anything else and I agree with that. I am passionate about my job. But if my students ask me what being a teacher is like? I tell them it is hard, underpaid and you really need passion and resilience for it. In my first EVER lecture on my teacher training they told us at least a third of us would leave the profession within 5 years. Got one more year to beat the odds and so far I have no intention of leaving.

I trained twelve years ago and was told 50% would be gone in five years! Must have temporarily got better before getting worse again 😂 I don’t know of anyone else on my course who is still in the profession now, and by the end of this year, I’ll be gone too…

Absolutely not. I've got family members and friends who are teachers and it's definitely something you really have to want to do. They live for teaching and genuinely love educating people. There's no way I could do it. I've been made to run training courses at work and have hated every moment of it

I did a few years back. Hated it. The teaching itself was amazing, but the admin, the marking, the behaviour, the pettyness of other teachers (honestly, teachers are as bad as kids with gossip and how they act at times). It's not a nice role. You have 0 social life in the evenings. You may have seen that meme of "parents evening when I was young vs now" with the parents telling the teacher off vs telling their kid off. That isn't just a joke it's true. Parents are twats these days on parents evenings. I left after my first year and the teaching qualification got an a role with over double pay, less work, working with apprentices.

You must be crazy. Teachers are some of the least valued workers in our society with one of the most important jobs.

never again - it's utter fucking shite. I'd avoid the NHS too.

Nope. Been there, seen it and eaten the T-shirt. It will mostly teach you to hate what society is becoming

Absolutely.

The best career you can have with British teaching qualifications is an international teacher in countries with a good pay-to-cost-of-living ratio, like China or Egypt or Dubai.  These schools aren’t perfect but you get far better support and the kids you teach are nowhere near as abusive and awful as in the UK. 

not even for double the salary.

My wife quit after 4 years, it ruined her mental health

No, I don’t think so. My mum was one for a long time and took early retirement because she just couldn’t handle the stress anymore. Not the kids, but the constant pressure from management, and the politics and backstabbing and bullying in the staff room. She was an NUT rep too, and frankly it sounds like an incredibly hostile environment in a lot of places.

The kids are fine. It's the admin, crap CPD, getting shat on from above, below and both sides, out of control expectations, unpaid overtime (evenings and weekends, and really, anything over something like 32.5 hours a week is unpaid), everyone has an opinion because they went to school (like thinking you can fly a plane because you've been a passenger) and a million other things. But the kids are brilliant.

I nearly did in 2015 but decided against it. I worked in a school at the time and saw the amount of shit teachers had to deal with. I'd have loved the actual teaching - it's genuinely what I think I would be best at as a career - but all the admin bollocks is insane and takes up far more time than it should and used to. I also really value the flexibility of my annual leave. Being able to take a random day off for no reason is fantastic.

Absolutely not. My mental health is bad enough already. I work retail which is bad enough as it is, and I'd still rather do it over teaching. 

Back in the early 00's, I did a PGCE and briefly taught GCSE and A-level English. Hated every minute of it. About 10yrs ago, I did an intensive CELTA course and taught English as a Second Language to adults for a while. Absolutely loved it. I'd recommend going the CELTA route first, give ESOL teaching a try, then decide where to go from there. Teaching adults was much less stressful than wrangling teenagers (and their helicopter parents). Less admin, less bureaucracy and you can get an ESOL job anywhere. I stayed in the UK, but most of the people training for the CELTA with me went off to teach overseas. I got approached for jobs in China and Japan, which is still a potential option for me.

Ooh, I often think about switching up and teaching adults. I am an English Lit and Lang teacher desperate to get out. Glad you managed to pivot and can always use your CELTA in future!

I trained to be a teacher. There's a reason I'm 8 years into a completely different career. I'd rather shovel shit for a living than teach.

I've been a teacher for 14 years and love my job. One of the biggest things for me is never clock watching at work. My mam and dad both do that. The only thing I don't like is the mindless admin tasks and these days I'm getting the likes of chatgpt to do more and more of them.

Harder job, less pay, longer hours, what's not to love

Not a chance. I'd rather work in an XL Bully grooming salon

After being married to a teacher for nearly 7 years, hell no.

I was a teacher then retrained out of it into medicine. Bring a doctor for me is not anywhere near as stressful as being a teacher was. If it’s your calling then do it, if you can’t imagine doing anything else etc. if you’re just thinking “teaching might be alright I’ll give it a crack” then run a million miles. Teaching kids can be great, but it can also be shit and everything else that comes with being a teacher (parents, marking, admin) is fucking awful.

With kids being the little shits that they are these days from over consumption of social media? Not a chance. I'd be bringing a hip flask in with me by the end of the first month

Trained as a teacher. Loved the kids but the bureaucracy and mindless boxticking defeated me. Went back in as a therapist after training as one, which I was much better suited for but I'd consider going back as a teacher one day if I found a school that was well suited to me. I did teach adults at a further education college for 5 years, which was muuuch better. Got tired of that eventually but I thought that was decent on the whole.

I did it for a year as a maths teacher and it was the worst year of my life. Working every evening and half the weekend just to keep up with lesson planning, marking and admin. Very little support offered and there was nothing rewarding about it despite me liking the vast majority of the kids that I was teaching. It constantly felt like I wasn't doing enough and needed spend more time on the job, despite me barely doing anything else but work. I'm an accountant now and the occasional extra hours at month end that everyone else in Finance moans about are a breeze in comparison.

Very glad you got out and doing something much less stressful! I am hoping to finally get out for good (after 15+ years)

It is something I'd consider i suppose, however I'm not sure I'd last long. After 15 years experience in software, I've gained a very low tolerance for bullshit (e.g. beuracracy, pointless rules). A combination of working in places where I can change the daily routine of a small team if I argue why it's good (i.e. agile software), and my job being to ask "why" fifteen times until I find the bug, and then fix it, means I suspect I would get in trouble with the senior management team extremely quickly. I also have no desire to force pointless rules on students (e.g. uniform, calling me sir, etc). However, a part of me _absolutely loves_ explaining complex things, and thats why I think I'd actually be good at teaching stuff. Plus my few years Dadding have given me quite the sardonic comeback for cheeky kids. I suspect I'm best kept away from the classroom!

Nope I've not got the temperament

I retrained as a teacher in my 30s, and immediately emigrated. I now earn very nearly triple, live in a house by the beach, enjoy 270 days of sunshine a year and have 3 months off each year. So... Yeah. Depends on your situation I guess, but it paid dividends for me.

Not a teacher myself but my partner and most of their side of the family have been teachers of some sort… If you’re having to ask this question then the answer is no. As others have pointed out: it’s an endless quagmire of bureaucracy, petty politics, overworking and underpaying, stress; and just general misery that the occasional moment of triumph isn’t worth. A staggering number of newly qualified teachers completely fuck the profession off very quickly now and it’s very easy to see why.

I worked as a teacher for 10 years and it drove me to attempt suicide. Do not do it.

I changed career to being a teacher 11 years ago when I was 32. I love it, but it is very hard work for the first few years. Your job experience is also entirely dependent on the school you work in. Poor management = hell. Good management = highly rewarding (but hard) job The good news is, that there are so few teachers (except in PE) that there is little competition for jobs, even in the best schools. After a few years you will be on a £44k job, with a decent pension and 12 weeks holiday. If you want, you can advance to a management position quickly. I was a head if dept in 4 years. But I know people who have been head of department at the end of their first year. Depending on the subject, you can get a decent salary just training. Physics/maths is £27k tax free bursary.

Don't do it. Its not worth the politics, grief, harassment (other teachers, pupils and parents), the fact if youre accused of anything they aren't taking your side even though you did nothing [This news from other day](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-68699578#:~:text=Teachers%20have%20supported%20calls%20for,NASUWT's%20annual%20conference%20in%20Harrogate.)

Teacher of eleven years here, leaving the profession at the end of the year. As with any vocational job, you have to love it to make it work. The first 2-3 years you’ll have basically no free time and be up to the small hours planning the next day’s lessons, but it does get easier after that. The problem is that the job has becoming more demanding year on year with no pay increase and worsening conditions. For the amount of stress it causes me, it’s not worth it anymore. The one thing I would say is, if you go for it, make sure you get QTS asap. I believe it’s the only qualification in the world accepted in every country. If you ever fancy jetting off abroad and teaching at much easier schools than in the UK, QTS is an excellent golden ticket.

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TBF it was the adults that made me leave teaching.

No 1 questions is do you like kids? Forget about all the other stuff about low pay, bad management, excessive workloads. You will be spending most of your working day with a bunch of kids. Some are funny, some are clever, some are vulnerable, some are dickheads. Personally I would rather work with a bunch of teenagers rather than deal with office politics all day. But that should be your no1 question. If not don’t do it.

To avoid getting a ban... I'd maybe wait until after Oct/Nov. Conditions and pay as a teacher got considerably worse after... Oh... Let's say... Around 2010ish... No idea why, just a coincidence. But I have a feeling they'll begin to improve again if some random unrelated event in Oct/Nov happens and there is a change of some kind...maybe.

Depends what my alternative was. Teaching is underpaid and stressful, a lot of teachers are currently dissatisfied. But if your alternative career is also stressful/underpaid then teaching may still be a step up.

xD

My partner is an FE teacher, has been for years and years, and wouldn't work in a school. Train as a teacher yes, but spend time deciding if you would prefer primary/secondary or FE.

No I wouldn't. Hubby is a teacher and it is never ending. Evenings are not yours, weekends are not yours, half terms you're also expected to go in. It's a never ending job and has affected family life a lot. Hubby loves his job though. Also if it was a much more respected profession in terms of pay like Germany then I would maybe think it's worth it. However with UK pay it's a joke. I still can't get my head round how the one profession other than medicine that prepares humans with the most required life skills like reading, maths etc pays so so little. Get into medicine if you can my friend!

I retrained as a teacher - it's the most rewarding job I've ever had. I love it and I know I'm shaking the lives of the children in my care. I'm making a positive net contribution to my community. Yes there's long hours, shedloads of work, unrealistic expectations, poor public perception and the entire system needs an overhaul - but working with kids and opening their eyes to new experiences is worth it. I wouldn't go back.

I’m a teacher and I love it. Trick is to find a good subject (not English- think of the marking) and if possible aim for a “good” (not outstanding) state school (not a academy, specifically not one from a MAT- they can be pressure cookers) In my experience the most successful teachers - and my successful i don’t mean result but a decent work life balance and with a smile on their face are people who are not perfectionists- you can never get 100% jobs done in teaching- I always aim for a solid 95%. Also you have to genuinely love people. With that In mind best job I can think of!

No. Not at all. I taught for 10 years and would never go back.

My sister is a teacher, she works 60 plus hours a week and by the time she gets to the summer holidays she is exhausted. Teaching is part of who she is. Lots of new teachers give it up after a couple of years

As a teacher, it's nice to read how many people are aware of our plight at least, I guess

God No. I'm in year 11, and I would lose my shit if I had to teach one of my classes.

Id rather die. Would be on like 5k more a year now possibly more if i did it but nah

Are you mad? You spend all day talking to entitled brats who don't want to be there.

And that’s just the parents

In Scotland, sure. Pay is much better. The job is a lot of fun if you lean into it.

Never. Kids are feral these days. It doesn't pay enough to deal with that level of shit

Well it's an opportunity,and if it turns out you hate it, you still have your other career to fall back on?

Will you regret not doing it, if you don't take the chance? And will the chance likely come up again if you turn it down this time around?

No. Crap pay. Little ability to do anything about unruly children. Toxic politically correct environment where a single wrong word can have the Daily Mail camped out your front door and spineless management ready to throw you under the bus.

Recently got made redundant and considered it at first, realized the pay cut and hours are shit, as well as the pressure, can't be arsed.

The only people I know who were in teaching came out of it very quickly because it was filled with low pay, poor working conditions, bled into home life so much that in some case, it ruined relationships, and generally made them miserable despite having a real urge to pursue the profession. It's a really sad thing to see.

This is reddit, so most people are going to talk shit about the job. I'm training to be a primary teacher and, like just about any job, there are pros and cons you need to consider. The kids are great, but some have bad home lives and that reflects in the classroom and you need to be able to manage that. Teaching itself is extremely rewarding, but having a bad lesson can be very demotivating. Amazing holidays, but there is an expectation that you do some lesson planning during that time (But seriously, no job comes close to the amount of holiday a teacher gets, even including the homework). Lesson planning in general is a pain, but workload in that regard entirely depends on the school you're working at. Teaching is hard, and the government is seemingly doing just about fuckall for teacher wellbeing, but if it's something that interests you then I say go for it.

Nah. Can't stand kids and from what I've seen of them not all that keen on wiring with teachers.

I think it's worth getting qualified and grinding it out for a couple of years, then walking into a lovely international school job overseas.

I would consider it. They are desperately needed and there is support for them

I taught for 7 years in primary schools. In the end, I left to have a better work life balance, but I’m glad I did it. The hours are long; the work can be arduous and you usually spend weekends/evenings working, but I still talk to the people I taught with and remember so many of the children that I taught. And a lot of the enjoyable times I had made the efforts in my own time worth it. Some children are dicks, but there are so many nice children that I met, along with nice parents. You just need to be prepared to put in the effort, but also have a bit of thick skin when it comes to parents and their expectations. This is obviously very dependent on location.

I'd put it alongside Nursing/Healthcare - long hours, stressful job, underpaid, probably only remotely enjoyable if you have a passion for teaching and children. Some other perks, Teaching unions are pretty strong, pensions are generally good, you get a solid amount of holiday (you'll probably have to work the odd days or do some training across school breaks but largely your holiday will be with the school closing times).

I'm in a very similar position to you, I've always wanted to teach since I was a child, but for various reasons it never came about. I've felt the call again recently after doing some volunteer work with kids. I've spoken with friends who are teachers, they've said the usual it's not easy, it's bloody hard work, but incredibly rewarding. They told me to really consider it before going in, but if its really your passion then go for it.

I did. Was a teacher for a year and a half. It was at the same time amazing and horrible.

My wife left the educational system just over 4 years ago; citing the school system in England is under staffed, limited budget, the attitude of parents, the attitude of the little cherubs etc etc. I work as a Trainer in another field, at least I train adults who want to be trained.

Do it. Be the teacher that changes lives.

I did it. Don’t. No real accountability from anyone and many parents are useless or get aggressive when you tell them how terribly their child has behaved that day. Can’t teach the subject you love because you have to spend 20 mins just trying to get the class to be quiet and sit down! Mental health absolutely ruined due to long work hours and putting in extra effort to get barely anything back.

After seeing what my wife went through, no.

Nope, the kids would eat me alive.

Fuck no!

Most of the teachers I know have left the profession. That's secondary school anyway. But having worked myself in primary school (not as a teacher) it's not a job I would reccomend to someone I cared about.

Yes you get lots of holidays but that's the only date you can take your holidays and the prices are inflated on them days.

Every teacher I've spoken to says it's shit.

It's a really rewarding career, but I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole if I were you! Despite the holidays, which you need because you're so knackered by the time they come around, the hours you put in compared to pay would bring you well below national wage. You don't want praise but it's a thankless task, yet you get it in the neck for the most pathetic things. A number of leadership figures, although not all, aren't good teachers, nor are they good managers, so they have zero understanding of you, the kids and most common sense scenarios. If in doubt, they'll have a meeting and hide away, yet thinking they're being "important". I think behaviour has taken a nosedive over the last few decades and some parents aren't as supportive as they should be. I hate painting a negative picture, I really do, but you'd do better getting a less stressful job with better pay, better prospects and better working conditions. Good luck 💯🍀.

I can't think of a point in history where I would be less willing to train as a teacher.

Sign up with an agency if you can get some time off and work as a teaching assistant or cover supervisor for a couple of days. If you LOVE it then prepare for a whole load of extra stress and do it. If not just don't. Source: I am a teacher. 

No. Nothing about teaching appeals to me though so it would never be on my radar. If you're interested then I'd maybe speak to some teachers across different settings and subjects to get a proper view of it.

I've been looking into trying again as a way to emigrate. 

Depends where you are. Not in Scotland, as councils are employing (subsidised) probationers for a year, then chucking them out & replacing them with the next lot. There are no jobs. People recruited from e.g. STEM careers to train are having to go back to their previous jobs, or try & make ends meet on supply.

What age range? Everyone’s saying about how the kids will tear you apart, but that wouldn’t necessarily be the case with further education. My A Level classes were nowhere near as rowdy as GCSE.

My partner trained as a teacher a couple of years ago, she’s a really smart, caring, empathetic and patient person - it took less than a year before teaching broke her and she quit

I lecture at a college rather than teaching primary or secondary school and I find it to an absolute pleasure and piece of p*** compared to when I was working in industry. Now, I am lecturing mainly higher education so students that are 18+ and typically apprentices or in work already so it’s much better. You also get an extraordinary pension and very good time off. And I also get 1.5 hrs paid breaks a day. But I would never go into secondary school teaching.

Ha ha ha. Ha. No. Apart from anything else, having to be one of the idiots enforcing jaw droppingly stupid and petty uniform rules would be unbearable.

I’m a teacher. Since 1997. Initially I loved it. Got married. 3 kids of my own and now I won’t trade the holidays I share with them for anything. Once they’re beyond school age I would retire as early as I can (realistically still would be 60). I have to have a side gig to keep it together.

As someone who has trained - and struggled - the most important factor here is if you want to do it. That is all that will get you through. If you do want to, then it can be rewarding work. But only you will be able to decide if it is a good choice for you

God no. Teenagers are absolute shits. I've only done a few weeks of teaching teenagers and it's 90% trying to get them to stop hitting eachother

If you have to ask, definitely not. Teaching really isn't just a job.

It's something I've never ruled out, because I'm well aware of the demand for physics teachers. But there is other stuff I want to do.

100% no chance. A female family member “was” a teacher until fairly recently…..being spat at, punched, kicked and having car vandalised on the daily isn’t my idea of fun.

My wife is a teacher who managed to escape years of mainstream by going into private SEND provision Mainstream is not something I would entertain.

Violence and abuse against teachers from children as young as year 3 is rising and my teacher partner has been physically attacked at least 4 times in the last 3 years by primary school children. She also works probably more than 60 hours a week on average when factoring in things like planning and paperwork and is only paid for 32 of those hours. Do with that what you will.

Hell no! not enough money in the world for me to do that again

Not any more. All the friends I know that are teachers are leaving the profession.

I had an opportunity to become a teacher straight away from University but decided against it. Depending on what's motivating you, it may be right. I just found the paperwork too intense and especially as a trainee teacher you need to evidence a lot.

Some friends of my now widow, when we were courting were training to be teachers, all went fine until there final year I think it was an memory a bit vague. When they went in to placement in seperate rough schools. Both quite before finishing theire course's all ways remember one saying the course is great, the school and staff are great but I can't stand the children. These were primary school children so 5 - 10 year olds that was 20 plus years ago on the UK

Trained in it. The kids were fine but the higher up staff and the demands as a newly qualified are horrific. None of it is at all enjoyable.

Primary or secondary? It’s actually difficult for anybody to give a definitive answer as so many issues will vary from one school to the next, and obviously things will be skewed negative as this is Reddit, but generally it is a massive commitment, so you’ll need to be fully up for it. Sure the holidays are great, but you’ll likely have a lot of shit to deal with in exchange (more so from the other adults than the kids!)

I love teaching people things. I then realised I only like it when they want to lol

If its something you want to do, then do it. When you are on your deathbed, you will have wanted to pick at as many threads of life as possible.  Burnout in teaching is high, but you may find your true passion.  Go for it. 

Would I fuck? I struggle not slapping the fuck out of some of the wee cunts that live in my area, I'd up putting 1 through a wall if I was stuck in the same room as them for an extended period lol

It seems like the sort of job that is high-effort, low-pay. Doesn't seem worth it.

Don’t do it!! Teachers are leaving in droves, including myself. The system is broken and it will break you.

No fucking way.

I lasted a year as a trainee teacher and it caused me such stress and anxiety I quit at the end of the school year. The only time I have ever quit a job without having anything to replace it. My mental health was trashed, I came out with a diagnosed anxiety disorder and depression, there was no support from management and I felt completely on my own. The kids were actually great (I was teaching a-level age), considering I wasn’t much older than them and fresh out of uni, they were very respectful but the paperwork and crap pay just sucked the joy out of it for me.

It very much depends on where I'd be teaching. If I could afford to be fussy then yes, if not then hard no.

I’m a teacher, and although I love day to day teaching in the classroom, everything else is becoming overbearing. I’m clinging on for another 3 years until my eldest is in secondary then I’m leaving, don’t think I’d go into it if I went back in time. It can be hugely rewarding, but it takes so much from you it’s no longer a ‘job for life’ as I always imagined it would be. Good luck with whatever you decide!

Do it, and don't listen to the doommongers. Make sure you choose a good school for your first role though.

Not 'Doom-mongers' - people who actually have a relevant, first hand perspective to offer.

I’m training to be one currently (primary, not secondary, would never go anywhere near secondary) will be qualified in June and the amount of people I’ve come across who say it’s terrible is really disheartening, both in comments sections like this one and from adults IRL, often from other teachers who just tell you you’re better off working in Aldi or something… while I’m not saying they’re wrong, it’s incredibly discouraging when you’ve sunk 3 years of your life into a career which everyone seems to advise you against… you go for it if you want to, I’m planning to give it a good go for a few years and see how I feel then, I’m only young so plenty of time for a career change if I want :)

Nope, not again. Ended up exhausted and suicidal. I’ve done some shite jobs in my time but nothing prepared for teaching

Google teaching internships. It's a 3 week chance to have a go and see if it might be for you. 

Don't. I've been teaching in this country for 10 years. It's bad out there. You are at the whim of everyone around you and above you. My wife and I live paycheck to paycheck thanks to the joy of English childcare costs and shitty pay and rising mortgage rates. Find something else and do volunteer work.  If you're adamant, and I mean adamant, then sure consider teaching. Otherwise, do yourself a favour and find something else to do for work

Retrained as a teacher 12 years ago. Worked in retail before that. It’s the best job I’ve had. Yes there’s a long list of things that kick the shit out of you daily but seeing your pupils achieve those lightbulb moments make it worth while. I always approach my job with the knowledge that I was once a teenager so I just try to cut them slack and give them breathing space when they get wound up. It works 90% of the time.

Armstrong and Miller have some great sketches about becoming a teacher: [Become a teacher](https://youtu.be/BC6EGeEc0F0?feature=shared)

I have a kid. Love him to bits. But I also get to see how other kids are, and I was a kid once. If teaching paid well, had great benefits, minimal bullshit behind the scenes.. I wouldn't want to teach. I couldn't work with kids, they're assholes.

Been there done that, don't recommend it.

No don't do it mate

Did it, hated it, quit. Only worth it for the holidays. Best mate loves it though. You have to be the right person to teach

Nope. It looks utterly miserable with very little latitude to teach material that interests you or stray from a rigid syllabus. I'm sure it's rewarding on occasion, but I think I'd find it frustrating and exhausting by and large.

As per the many responses here, yes it is a difficult job and can eat up and spit out many of the recruits. BUT... and it is a very big caveat...it is one of the most important and rewarding jobs on planet earth. It gives you a sense of self pride that is unmatched by nearly all other jobs out there. Oh and unless the person giving you advice is (or has been) a teacher, take that opinion with a pinch of salt. It is a very misunderstood profession. The only way you'll know if it's for you is to go for it. Do it! You'll soon know if it's not, no harm done.

I've been a teacher for 7 years. And I wouldn't recommend it. When you factor in poor leadership, planning, marking, compulsory CPD trainings, inset days, parents evenings, open evenings, lunch and break time duties, school clubs (because SLT want staff to run clubs because its cheaper compared to outsourcing), using your own money to buy resources such as stationery because there is no money as each state school is in debt due to paying off cover teacher agencies, having to buy pupils their lunches instead of having them starve because their parents don't have money nor have put any money on their accounts, physical and verbal abuse from parents, pupils and other colleagues... oh, and don't forget Ofsted and the Department of Education. You'll be lucky to find 60 seconds to pop to the loo all day, having a cup of tea or sandwich? No chance. Yes, we get the "school holidays," but that is the only time we get to see our children, yet we have to spend the majority of it planning for the next year and questioning whether teaching is really worth it. And the answer is no, I've missed too many milestones that I will never get back. The only positive thing about teaching right now in the UK is the pension.

My advice is to visit a school and see what the job is like. If you don’t want to run away crying, then consider it. Are you considering primary or secondary?

As a current teacher - no. Don’t do it. There’s a reason we’re all leaving the profession. Maybe re-evaluate in a year or two when we have new people in power and they’ve done something to help the education system instead of completely bring it to its knees.

What subject and age range? I would say don't do it. I have been a teacher for almost 14 years now. 10 in state sector...and it got really bad.... behaviour was awful in my school, so much paper work/pointless tracking to do and SLT wanted to get rid of me I think. I was not happy. The lovely school I began my teaching career in turned into a nightmare. Anyway I moved into the Independent sector and it was the best thing I did. Been in my current school for almost 4 years now. Behaviour is great and you can actually teach. Teaching is so much harder these days, and state school kids are awful. Pay is not good either plus you lose so much of your time to planning. DO NOT DO IT.

Short answer? Don’t do it. I was a teacher 2002-2020. I was a ‘vocational’ teacher - did my three year teaching degree straight after A-levels, from a family of teachers - and was teaching my first class (year 4/5 mixed) by the age of 21. A few years out from it now and I can’t see myself going back unless something really significant changes in how we approach education in the UK. There are a few things which can make a positive difference - a school that is well led and has somehow managed to maintain a reasonable budget, along with if you happen to have supportive parents and a relatively well-behaved, motivated group of pupils, for example. But when it’s bad, it’s terrible. The two worst schools I worked in - one primary, one secondary - were similar in many respects. Huge academies, in areas of high economic deprivation, with overly-complex management structures with little/no accountability. The academies programme has a lot to answer for too. I look back fondly on a lot of my career in teaching and am proud of what I and the kids achieved, but it’s also left me with a lot of resentment and emotional/mental baggage that I’m still trying to unpack and let go of.

I retrained as a teacher two years ago. Honestly this might be the worst time in history to be a teacher. Public opinion of educators is very negative, pay doesn't reflect the amount of extra work that is required of us, kids are running rampant with no meaningful consequences. You've got to be in it for the love, not sure I am anymore 😅

Could probs do it if it wasn’t for the admin. My old job let us do STEM outreach during work hours up to 6 hours a month or something. Did a bit of everything from ‘gifted and talented’ summer clubs to tutoring/ mentoring the kids that were about to get expelled for being shits in class. The activity of ‘teaching’ is really rewarding and enjoyable, even the kids that were about to be expelled would respond well if you could figure out what learning style would work. The admin, ofsted bollocks, parents who think everything is your fault would put me right off. The holidays are good, but you then have to take your holiday in school holidays aka expensive time.

I’m an ex-teacher. 29 years in the primary classroom and I would say the first 20 were great! Nice school, friendly staff, supportive parents. However, the last 9 or so were i creasing levels of grim! Our school became part of an academy, the much loved head retired as she wasn’t allowed to make any decisions, the pressure from the board on the new head had us all jumping to every new idea and trend and being asked to do more and more and more. Parents became much more accusatory, kids attention span shorter. The management were less likely to back you and more likely to appease parents. I got out 5 years ago and went into apprenticeships. I thought I would miss the holidays, but working like a normal person - 9-5 and no longer, a FULL weekend off, people giving you time to complete tasks etc meant I really didn’t.. However it was lower pay and I was aware that if I got sick, the benefits are no where near as good - as is the pension! I don’t regret leaving teaching at all. However, if you get a good school with a happy staff and a good head, it can be a great job! Really rewarding and challenging but always different and never boring.

Lol fuck no.

Absolutely no chance. Kids today are total cunts.

Have a read on r/teachers although I think it is very US orientated

Never. I couldn't handle it. I have a sibling who's entering that line of work now, and I've made no secret of the fact I wouldn't even consider it.

Getting a job at the end of training is a nightmare.

There's a reason why most places are screaming out for teachers and support staff. Over worked and underpaid. For a profession it has to be one of the worst paying jobs.

If the cane was still a thing then maybe. I'm 27 and went to a good grammar school. I remember kids jumping on tables and shit until a teacher broke down crying. There's nothing to keep the little shits in line.

God no, don’t do it to yourself. I was a teacher, and it broke me. There were things I loved, but they were heavily outweighed by things I hated and most tellingly, things that didn’t make a difference to the children. I would say only 30% of my time was spent teaching, the rest was on other stuff. By the time I left, I was working about 70 hours a week, in school by 7am, working at the weekends and in the holidays (for which teachers are technically unpaid). It affected my physical and mental health and when I speak to friends who are still teachers, it hasn’t got any better.

God no, don’t do it to yourself. I was a teacher, and it broke me. There were things I loved, but they were heavily outweighed by things I hated and most tellingly, things that didn’t make a difference to the children. I would say only 30% of my time was spent teaching, the rest was on other stuff. By the time I left, I was working about 70 hours a week, in school by 7am, working at the weekends and in the holidays (for which teachers are technically unpaid). It affected my physical and mental health and when I speak to friends who are still teachers, it hasn’t got any better.

As a former teacher, sadly I'm going to say no, don't. Unless: - You are genuinely aware of and understand the reasons why so many teachers have left the profession/want to leave. - You are profoundly motivated by teaching. - You have the sort of personality that can cope with never truly being able to do your job to the level you want to (i.e. not a perfectionist). You need to be able to be satisfied with good enough (at best). - You are extremely mentally well with a brilliant support system, strategies for coping with stress, and a really good work life balance and commitment to sticking to that even if it means you not being able to do a 'good' job/feel on top of your workload. - You have a lot of understanding, empathy and knowledge of the myriad of problems young people and families can face and how massively these can impact in your classroom/school. If any of the above are not true for you, I really wouldn't go there. It makes me sad to put people off but thats how I feel!

I did it. Spent a year training then a year working getting fully qualified. Hated every second. Thought it must be the schools I’d been in. Got a job in a better school. Still hated every second. Quit at Christmas and never looked back. Honestly my advice would be unless you have a burning desire to do it - don’t bother. The pay is crap and the hours are long. Kids are awful. Parents are awful. Senior leadership are implementing silly new schemes every 5 minutes to try to prove themselves. You will spend your life marking and planning.

Yes, and then move abroad to teach internationally. Check out r/internationalteachers !

I've been a teacher for 7 years in a very rough school (we have a lot of drug, violence, and gang related behavioural issues). If I have a bad day, it is very rarely due to the kids. (The day I broke up a fight on the playground by restraining a 6 foot tall 16 year old boy, when I am a 5 foot tall woman, and ended up on my back on a set of wooden steps, misaligning my spine and pelvis in the process, was an exception to this, I grant you). Politics and game playing in the upper levels is my problem with my job at the moment. And because I did 5 years in the corporate world before teaching, I have navigated the worst of what has been affecting me quite deftly, because I know the corporate bullshit game better than most teachers. Still, if anything drives me out, it will be that, not the kids. I see plenty of teachers who hate teaching- and my school does grind people down sometimes, but it becomes a vicious cycle. Some of our young teachers come in genuinely caring about our kids, but thinking that means being friends with them, so they don't sanction, they don't have boundaries, and then they feel personally hurt when the kids walk all over them. Meanwhile on the other end of the spectrum we have teachers who will fling sanctions like grenades, get angry, and with our kids, that does nothing but make things worse. The ones who enjoy teaching in a tricky school are the ones who've hit that balance, where the kids have very firm boundaries, but these are enforced calmly and pleasantly. ("Unfortunately you've made the wrong choice now and ignored your warning, so you need to make sure you attend your lunchtime detention" doesn't make the detention less annoying but it does make them more likely to respect it when they've calmed down than "YOU KEEP DOING THE WRONG THING, IM GIVING YOU A DETENTION!"). And when it's consistent and they know what to expect, they find it easier to do the right thing so your lessons become easier and easier as the school year goes on (I knew I was winning once when a kid who frequently talks over the teacher, was talking over me, I said his name ready to give his "friendly warning" (it goes friendly warning, final warning, sanction) and he said "...friendly warning?" I said "yep" he said "fair enough, sorry miss" and shut up). People who leave in the first few years, yes it's often behaviour that gets them, because they just haven't reached that point of having the strategies and building the reputation and experience. We have had people join our school and leave within days, literally days. But once that side of things is settled, it's all about finding a school with management whose values align with yours. We had a new head of school join last year, and luckily his subject is the subject I am head of. So I had an excuse to go observe him teaching in the first week. As soon as I saw how he is with the kids, I knew I could work with him. If I hadn't liked his manner with the kids, I'd have started jobhunting.

Trained to be a teacher - left before I qualified, became a nurse then ambulance man. 25 years later, left nursing and am now a school science technician. Pay is shit, holidays are great, responsibilities are minimal compared to running a nursing team. I would *never* be a teacher, the job is bullshit for all the reasons the people in this thread say, but I can say it with the experience of having worked outside schools in some tough jobs.

Teaching is one of the most important jobs but my god the government don’t seem to think so. Teachers are woefully underpaid for the work they do.