career advice

averagejoesgym

Hello, looking for some advice.

Here goes:

I have a degree in chemistry
After graduating I worked for 2 years in a qc lab for a pharmaceutical company.
I then left my job as I believed I wanted to be a science teacher and began studying a PME (formally a hdip but now a 2 year masters course)

I am now just beginning the second year of the course and have now come to the conclusion that teaching is not for me and unfortunately it was a mistake to do this course.

I would be happy to return to a job in a qc lab but I am concerned I have really damaged my cv and my prospects of getting a qc lab job with what will be a 20 month gap in my CV when I finish the course.
I believe if I dropped out of the course now it would look even worse on my cv.

Basically I'm looking for some reassurance that I will not find it too difficult to get a job in a qc lab upon finishing the course.

Thank you for reading.

averagejoesgym

*bump

Would there be any sense in me dropping out of the course now?

Thank you for any advice

GalwayGrrrrrl

If I was in your situation I would start looking for a QC job but don't quit your teaching course yet. If you find a QC job, stop your course at that point. If it takes you the rest of the academic year to find a QC job at least you will have a qualification to show for your hard work. Even if you don't go on to be a teacher it will look good if you want to do lecturing etc in the future relating to the QC work.

averagejoesgym

xfactorfan23 wrote: »

If I was in your situation I would start looking for a QC job but don't quit your teaching course yet. If you find a QC job, stop your course at that point. If it takes you the rest of the academic year to find a QC job at least you will have a qualification to show for your hard work. Even if you don't go on to be a teacher it will look good if you want to do lecturing etc in the future relating to the QC work.

Thank you for the advice, that is a good idea.

looksee

I suggest you finish your course, as you say, an abandoned course does not look great on a cv. The other thing is, have you considered that perhaps you got a qc job because you were fresh out of college and were cheap. I don't know if it is still the case, especially in pharma rather than food, but qc jobs were never well paid as the firms preferred to use younger, cheaper staff; whether there is any future depends on whether this situation has improved or not.

averagejoesgym

looksee wrote: »

I suggest you finish your course, as you say, an abandoned course does not look great on a cv. The other thing is, have you considered that perhaps you got a qc job because you were fresh out of college and were cheap. I don't know if it is still the case, especially in pharma rather than food, but qc jobs were never well paid as the firms preferred to use younger, cheaper staff; whether there is any future depends on whether this situation has improved or not.

Thanks for the advice. I do feel it will look better on my cv if I finish this course.

yes that's something I have been thinking about. wages are low in qc analyst jobs. but I feel there is room for advancement in the job which would hopefully lead to a better wage.

darlett

averagejoesgym wrote: »

Hello, looking for some advice.

Here goes:

I have a degree in chemistry
After graduating I worked for 2 years in a qc lab for a pharmaceutical company.
I then left my job as I believed I wanted to be a science teacher and began studying a PME (formally a hdip but now a 2 year masters course)

I am now just beginning the second year of the course and have now come to the conclusion that teaching is not for me and unfortunately it was a mistake to do this course.

I would be happy to return to a job in a qc lab but I am concerned I have really damaged my cv and my prospects of getting a qc lab job with what will be a 20 month gap in my CV when I finish the course.
I believe if I dropped out of the course now it would look even worse on my cv.

Basically I'm looking for some reassurance that I will not find it too difficult to get a job in a qc lab upon finishing the course.

Thank you for reading.

Hi there,

you remind me of me. :P

I got my science degree, worked in industry about 2 years and got out. Worked construction for a year til it collapsed! Travelled for about 18 months, got a non-teaching role in a secondary school which I did for a few years. Did my PDE, (as it was then), lived abroad another year, and since my return in January this year began teaching. I'm still not sure about teaching, sometimes I love it, other times its the opposite as I lack disciplining skills for trickier groups (which can make life properly unpleasant). N ow I as near the end of maternity cover in December I find myself looking back to science industry.

I'm capable. But the narrative of my CV is a bit of a nightmare to sell! So by comparison you should be able to swim it with a 2 year break.

I would echo the sentiment in general of the others about trying to finish the course, when its half done. Its nice to complete things and its good to leave the door open as an option for later if you want to try it again.

But I would put up a major asterisk on this. And its this. When you complete your PME you are qualified as a Newly Qualified Teacher and are registered with this as a condition. To remove this you need to attend 10 induction classes (A pain as its just repeating info from your course but straightforward). More awkward potentially is if you intend to move back to industry after you complete the course is that you need to complete 300 classroom hours within 3 years or your registration with the teaching council will relapse. I assume this is not irreversible but not actually sure what you need to do to jig it back into life, either way its just an extra fly in the ointment to be aware of. 300 hours is 15 weeks of teaching at (a fairly hefty for a beginner) 20 hours per week, so it needn't take forever especially if you know a school that help you. Just an extra factor to consider, as often NQTs can be fortunate to get much more than a 10+ hour contract.

Question if I can. Is it Hibernia College? I know from personal experience an added bonus of them is they make you pay in advance. :rolleyes:

An chance of postponing your 2nd year, even a year or two. Maybe you might change back again?