Pro's and con's of being a secondary school teacher?

JohnSmith765

I am thinking of doing teaching in secondary school in Ireland and I am just wondering what are the pro's and con's of doing so? I am also wondering what is the job availability and the pay like?

Inspector Coptoor

Job availability isn't great. It's gone very competitive.
Pay is now brutal for new entrants.
The PGDE is now a 2 year course at a cost of €10,000.

More paperwork, more cuts ahead.

It's a great job, I really enjoy it.
You work really hard when you're in school. The holidays are good. You can do a log with them.

I'm lucky qualified back in 2007 so my pay is on the old scale & I get allowances etc but there's no really job security for new entrants anymore, not for a number of years, and there's a lot of luck and being in the right place at the right time involved.

Fuinseog

JohnSmith765 wrote: »

I am thinking of doing teaching in secondary school in Ireland and I am just wondering what are the pro's and con's of doing so? I am also wondering what is the job availability and the pay like?

pros

it is a job with variety

you might may a difference to someone

it can be enjoyable work

if you belong to the less than 6% new teachers who get full time position you have long holidays

if you are good at sport you are almost guaranteed a job


cons

you may fight yourself operating as a therapist, social worker, surrogate parent with very little training in these fields

it is not a secure job with long holidays

you may be verbally abused on a daily basis and told that it is part of the job

you might have a violently disruptive pupil and get told by management that
it is part of his or her condition

the pay is being reduced all the time

teachers are looked down upon

it may take a decade before you are on full hours, earning decent pay

short term contracts

happywithlife

Fuinseog wrote: »

pros

it is a job with variety

you might may a difference to someone

it can be enjoyable work

if you belong to the less than 6% new teachers who get full time position you have long holidays

if you are good at sport you are almost guaranteed a job


cons

you may fight yourself operating as a therapist, social worker, surrogate parent with very little training in these fields

it is not a secure job with long holidays

you may be verbally abused on a daily basis and told that it is part of the job

you might have a violently disruptive pupil and get told by management that
it is part of his or her condition

the pay is being reduced all the time

teachers are looked down upon

it may take a decade before you are on full hours, earning decent pay

short term contracts

totally agree with all of the above
but in spite of all the cons when you see the kids sitting in front of you 'just getting it' or like manna from heaven, sharing your passion for your subject it is the best job in the world and nothing can beat that feeling

spurious

By the same token there are cases all over the country of assaults on teachers, some involving weapons, damage to teachers' property, unbelievable verbal abuse, disrespect, threatening behaviour and bad language (and that includes from parents, not just students) along with simultaneously being accused of being the cause of (and expected to be the solution to) all of society's ills.

It wears you down after a while and some days, if I'm honest, and I met my 17 year old self again, I would advise them against it.

It's certainly not the same job I went into almost 30 years ago.

byhookorbycrook

The big question is ,what subjects would you teach?This will be a very important consideration, as some subjects are easier to find jobs in(but not as much any more.)Can you survive on the pay for say ten hours a weeks for a few years?

happywithlife

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

The big question is ,what subjects would you teach?This will be a very important consideration, as some subjects are easier to find jobs in(but not as much any more.)Can you survive on the pay for say ten hours a weeks for a few years?[/QUOTE]


my subject had a lot of 4-6 hr jobs advertised this past summer - one of which i was lucky enough to bag for myself

and i have to rear a family on that .... my friends don't even realise i now supplement my pay with social welfare its that low

rodgered

I am currently teaching secondary in the UK and I love the job more than I ever expected. But the UK very different from home obviously.

darlett

rodgered wrote: »

I am currently teaching secondary in the UK and I love the job more than I ever expected. But the UK very different from home obviously.

Good to hear positive feedback on teaching over there.
What are the job opportunities for teaching in the UK compared to here? Ive an English cousin who works as an English teacher in England (for maybe seven years) and she's usually had work but its taken her several years to secure a permanent position in her school of choice.

rodgered

I am working in London in an Ofsted rated 'Outstanding School' and secured a permanent contract straight out of my PGCE. Thing with here is, there is a chance for a lot more progression. Without going into the fine detail you can move up the ladder with in a year or two through different titles. You can move up in the year team, move up in your department, go into teacher training or staff development, become global links co-ordinators etc and all these result in an increase in scale including your natural rise in the scale.

My only problem with working over here is the silly targets and paper work. Every child has a target, your children's workbooks are subject to marking audits, the school has open door policy, and many more things but at the end of the day I am working in a job I enjoy with a clear chance of promotion and development. Better than being at home sending out 60 cvs to try and get substitute work.

Fuinseog

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

The big question is ,what subjects would you teach?This will be a very important consideration, as some subjects are easier to find jobs in(but not as much any more.)Can you survive on the pay for say ten hours a weeks for a few years?

true, you really need to have two subjects. when choosing Arts subjects you really have to think what you can get out of them. I wanted to do archaeology and soc and poc but what could i teach at a secondary school?in the past people who did computers or engineeering might get away with teaching maths but those days are over.

Fuinseog

rodgered wrote: »

I am working in London in an Ofsted rated 'Outstanding School' and secured a permanent contract straight out of my PGCE. Thing with here is, there is a chance for a lot more progression. Without going into the fine detail you can move up the ladder with in a year or two through different titles. You can move up in the year team, move up in your department, go into teacher training or staff development, become global links co-ordinators etc and all these result in an increase in scale including your natural rise in the scale.

My only problem with working over here is the silly targets and paper work. Every child has a target, your children's workbooks are subject to marking audits, the school has open door policy, and many more things but at the end of the day I am working in a job I enjoy with a clear chance of promotion and development. Better than being at home sending out 60 cvs to try and get substitute work.

if I was in my early twenties I would definitely go to England for a few years.

rodgered

Fuinseog wrote: »

if I was in my early twenties I would definitely go to England for a few years.

Thats exactly it, the plan is two build up a nice CV here, head of travelling for a while and then come back but realistically there will still be no jobs at home. Sad thing is if there was any chance of a decent job at home I would be on the boat tomorrow.

Fuinseog

rodgered wrote: »

Thats exactly it, the plan is two build up a nice CV here, head of travelling for a while and then come back but realistically there will still be no jobs at home. Sad thing is if there was any chance of a decent job at home I would be on the boat tomorrow.

things are set to get worse in this country for new teachers for the next few years but maybe five years down the line things will start to look up again.

of course if you to study Chinese at college you would be sorted.