IHN, so hopefully youve actually experienced real work, in a factory or office, not just left school , gone to uni and then decisded its a lark and want to be a teacher as do a lot of the muppets out there, going into teaching you need experience of real life, and work, you need personality, and a good demenour, you need to be organised and like kids proffesionally, depending on the school you need to put up with idiots and petty minded little kids(the staff) and dont forget that you dont leave all the kids in the playground they become teachers.

Most schools advertise for science but physics teachers are in very short supply, out school wont let someone retire he just comes in part time to teach a level. You wouldnt just teach physics but you cant train to just teach physics you train as a science teacher. Every year the crop of PGCE students placements are practically fought over to get the physics specialists.

I teach all sciences at KS3 some science at GCSE but mostly just biology and just A level biology, at my last school I just taught science. The teachers at you place must have had there head in the sand or just wanted to teach only physics.

Project – I’m 34, so have had, indeed currently have, a ‘proper’ job. Now I fancy teaching 😉

The most important thing in life is how much free time you get. If I had my time over I’d go for a profession that gave me that. It’s more important than swags of money.

If you’re currently being paid £40k to £60k, you could work part-time and make more money than being a teacher. The free time is all in the holidays, there’s very little free time on evenings and weekends.

epicyclo hits nail on head.

time is priceless. 3 score and ten on the earth, it would be nice to spend as much of it as possible doing what you want.

Hence why Im a freelancer. I choose my hours, my clients, the amount I work. Means I can spend more time throwing Finzi The Bear around the room with my 2 yr old son, like what Ive been doing most of this afternoon 🙂

Yes, time not money.

Stoner
epicyclo hits nail on head.

time is priceless. 3 score and ten on the earth, it would be nice to spend as much of it as possible doing what you want.

I’ve been my own boss and worked my own hours for the last 25 years 😀 If I had to start again and pick a profession, I’d do teaching, because in the period I had a job I felt trapped (even though I liked my job).

Free time is all!

Hey, I’m a secondary school Geography teacher- you HAVE to want to teach, I figured out the other day that I work about 25 hours a week, on top of the ‘expected’ 8-3 day. I love my job, and can’t imagine doing anything else, but there were other people who trained at the same time as I did and who did it because they thought it was easy, and liked the idea of long holidays….. they didn’t last…..

As a physics teacher, any high performing school would want you. Most high performing schools have a percentage of students who do triple science GCSE, so need physics teachers. I work at the best school (80% 5A*-C) in the large town where I teach and we want physics teachers.

The best thing to do would be to get some experience in school, take some holiday and go into a school for a week or two, it’ll give you a realistic idea of what to expect.

fns’ other half

“The best thing to do would be to get some experience in school, take some holiday and go into a school for a week or two, it’ll give you a realistic idea of what to expect.”

This was compulsory for getting on the course I did. As for hours I work from 7.30-4.30 most days a couple of hours at weekends… and I consider myself pretty slack.

IHN, so best of luck with your career change, just avoid the kids in the staff room,

Very funny project, and how right you are!

freeandsingle – so you teach colouring in then? 😉

I should be starting a PGCE in August to go and teach the same. 😀

After years of being a hoodlum and general man of leisure I decided (in my early 30s) I needed a career, finished the geography degree I started when I was much younger and started to train as a geography teacher. What a horrible, horrendous job. Going into the same classroom day after day, to teach the same lessons to 4 different classes of the same year, some who are absolute ****, then go home and have to spend several hours preparing for the next day, couldn’t drop it soon enough. Then went and did a masters and now work in planning, with adults, and I finish at 4 everyday if I want and do not have to think about work at all until the next day.

Those who can, teach, at least that way I will never have to ever again!!!!

Worked as an Engineer for 12 yrs then did Diploma in Education (Australia). Now have been working as a Maths teacher for 7 years. I would strongly recommend that you find a school to go to for a week and try it out. You have to want to do it otherwise the kids will see through you in about 30 secs! I had a student teacher that I had to supervise…Student came in late to the class and sat at the back with me…Comment: “Sir, this guy’s s..t!” – pretty hard to keep a straight face as student teacher was s..t! Students are brutally honest.
Kids will make and ruin your day – BUT if you are that sort of person, it’s the best job and the money is irrelevant – after all, there is always too much month left at the end of the money!

I’ve just been accepted onto a PGCE for next year. I started thinking about changing jobs a couple of years ago and settled on teaching after talking to a lot of teachers, spending time in a couple of different schools etc. I certainly don’t think it is going to be an easy life.

In response to the original post I know the schools where I live (Essex) are desperate for science teachers and are recruiting people from Canada, America, the Philippines etc to teach here.

There are quite a few different routes you could take into teaching such as SCITT’s, GTP, PGCE’s all with various cost and time implications. As a mature student wanting to teach Physics you would basically have your pick of routes in and schools to work in.

Cheers all. Getting some work experience at a local school sounds like an excellent idea, I’ll look into it (a friend’s a teacher so hopefully may be able to help).

I’d love to do it. Was going to do a 4 year primary education degree and pgce at Uni then decided to serve an apprenticeship instead. Enjoy what I do now. But my wife packed deloitte and touche in to become a teacher a few years back, but doubt we could afford to do it again, as 4 years for me to get a degree and pgce would be a struggle

Go for it IHN

My wife is now in her 4th year of teaching. She finds it hard work. As much as I take the mick out of her for all her holidays, its true they do work hard. She tends to get in school early, about 7:30am, does all her preparation then, rather than bring work home at night.

I think she gets very frustrated with the bureaucracy, government interference and also the constant wave of new delivery teaching methods – only because it seems that every time they’re starting to make something work – the goalposts get changed again.

But, even though it is difficult – its clear that she does get immense fulfillment – something I can only dream of!

I was thinking about it muchly a couple of years ago, particularly interested in primary education as I feel it’s sad and detrimental for kids to be educated in an environment where there are no males. My daughters school has zero male teachers with just the head being a male. However my partner is a stay at home mum for the moment and there’s no way I can afford to give up my job, so kinda stuck really.

Sitting here in a class full of year 6 11 year olds during their golden time.
doss time but I am out voted here. I could mark or prepare but too many distractions.
Try primary.Generally the kids are less hassle and they want to learn. The mums are younger too!!

IHN- where are you?? Could see about some experience if your local to me (or my parents who both teach)…..

Smee- my PGCE was sponsored by Crayola 🙂

Had a truely wonderful moment today… 11year old who can’t read or write told me exactly how waterfalls are made,when I attempted to teach him this about 3 weeks ago now. Its the best of jobs and the worst of jobs really….