Advice please - I don't like my job anymore

Bananaleaf · 04-12-2014 6:11pm #1

Hi there

I'm looking for advice. I'm a teacher. But I just don't enjoy my job anymore.

I like the teaching side to it. The classroom time. But, to be honest, I just can't cope anymore with all of the extra work and the cuts to education etc... making my job harder and harder as the days go by.

Teaching has completely taken over my life.

To be honest, I started writing this post an hr ago, full of detail about the why and how that has me here, but I just deleted it, because it doesn't really matter WHY I hate teaching anymore. I just do.

I need to leave the profession. Not for the kids who deserve better tbh, but for me. I deserve better. I have given my 20s and half my 30's to that career and it has done nothing but age me, stress me and I still don't have the contract or the income for a mortgage.

I'm looking for advice on how to get through the months until I can find a new job. I mean mentally. I am a good teacher, I know that. I do a lot for my students and don't worry, until I leave them I will continue to put in the effort for them. I always put the time and effort into my classes. But that's just it - there's nothing left for me afterwards and I just can't cope anymore.

Some nights I'm too tired to wash myself from correcting, planning, staying late at meetings etc.. implementing new initiatives....

Far too much is expected of us. Far too much.

This is all a bit of a rant I realise. Any responses welcome and hope I haven't offended

happywithlife · 04-12-2014 6:26pm

There are other threads similar to this. I guess you've read them.
I guess where you go from here depends on your qualifications if you want to use your undergraduate for example. Or do you want a complete change? Maybe speaking to a recruitment agency might help?

porsche boy · 04-12-2014 6:33pm

I was in a situation like you a few years back and I had a revelation. I could either do what I wanted to do in this life or wait for the next life... so I left my good paying retail job (yawnfest) and I'm a very happy but sometimes cold and greasy mechanic. It may be a menial job in comparison to yours but now I'm happy going to work, use my skills after work too and with my retail management and sales experience I'm now co-running the garage where I work.
Further more I'm off this week on holidays and I miss it.

Bananaleaf · 04-12-2014 6:38pm

happywithlife wrote: »

There are other threads similar to this. I guess you've read them.
I guess where you go from here depends on your qualifications if you want to use your undergraduate for example. Or do you want a complete change? Maybe speaking to a recruitment agency might help?

Actually, I hadn't read the others. Having looked through some since your post, at least I'm not alone, but I don't feel any better

porsche boy wrote: »

I was in a situation like you a few years back and I had a revelation. I could either do what I wanted to do in this life or wait for the next life... so I left my good paying retail job (yawnfest) and I'm a very happy but sometimes cold and greasy mechanic. It may be a menial job in comparison to yours but now I'm happy going to work, use my skills after work too and with my retail management and sales experience I'm now co-running the garage where I work.
Further more I'm off this week on holidays and I miss it.

Well done you - I admire that you did that. I will have to leave I know that, I just don't really know what it is I will do instead, that's all. I'm too old to requalify so I don't really know. Will have to look into my options.

Heydeldel · 04-12-2014 6:51pm

Hi Bannaleaf,

I'm having the opposite problem - killing myself trying to get into teaching! But I went to see an career guidence counsellor a few weeks back. I was feeling really useless - my confidence was shot from the last round of job rejections.

Going to see the counsellor was the best thing I've done in ages. He highlighted all the skills I have, made me really think about what I was good at, enjoyed doing etc. It gave me a renewed sense of worth. He also pointed out some career paths I previously thought myself unquailified for.

It might be worth going to see a career g. professional?

japester · 04-12-2014 9:55pm

Hi Bananaleaf, I estimate that you're only in your mid-thirties from what you've said so that is very young indeed and you could easily retrain into a different area. I know many people from various different backgrounds who retrained into the computing area when the recession struck and are now working in the industry successfully. If you have any interest/aptitude for this type of career then, as you already have a degree, you could possibly do a HDip conversion course over 2 years part-time or 1-year fulltime perhaps?

But don't stress out at all either way - take time to decide what it is you want to do careerwise - something will come along eventually for sure, just hang tight :-)

acequion · 04-12-2014 10:14pm

This is the kind of thing that needs to get published in a national newspaper but that's exactly what they won't publish,for fear people might realise what a dog's life teaching can really be.

My heart goes out to you Bananaleaf and I completely sympathise as you are so right that far too much is expected of us.You asked for advice on how to get through the months before you can get out. Well my advice is to cut down big time on the amount of work you're doing outside the classroom. Not having time to wash yourself because you're so exhausted is very SERIOUS.

Where you can really cut down immediately is on corrections. There is no need to be taking up loads of stuff from non exam classes. Prioritise corrections for your exam classes and correct the non exam classes' homework in class. I often spread the copies around the class and get them to mark each other's out of ten. As for all the prep,how brilliant do your classes have to be? While it's good to mix things up and plan something really interesting and creative occasionally,most of the time classes are quite routine. You've been teaching for a good while so you're probably well on top of your subjects.

As for all the fancy new initiatives,I'd take them with a pinch of salt. We all have to do the late meetings,but I certainly wouldn't be expending too much brain power and energy there if I were you. You really have to put down boundaries,say no when necessary and establish a timetable of work for yourself which is manageable.

I,too was once a little like you. Always killing myself but I started to get sense when they started with all the pay cuts. So now I plan in advance how I work,what nights I'll do a few hours at the books and what nights the bag stays shut and in school. I have no problem with the word no.Granted I'm permanent,but even so I did reach a stage where my health was in danger.

You sound like you're at that stage now Bananaleaf. So it is absolutely vital to put yourself first and look after yourself.

FixedDynamic · 04-12-2014 10:25pm

I'm in the same boat and happened to stumble upon your thread.

In the past year I've become more and more dissatisfied with my job. The other day I was correcting one of my student's essays and it made me consider things from a different perspective. If I'm honest, I'm struggling to see the value anymore in our education system when you consider society as a whole. The cuts and overtime aren't helping matters either.

I think I need a break from teaching to reevaluate my life's direction.

Good luck to you too OP.

cactusgal · 05-12-2014 8:46pm

Heydeldel wrote: »

Hi Bannaleaf,

I'm having the opposite problem - killing myself trying to get into teaching! But I went to see an career guidence counsellor a few weeks back. I was feeling really useless - my confidence was shot from the last round of job rejections.

Going to see the counsellor was the best thing I've done in ages. He highlighted all the skills I have, made me really think about what I was good at, enjoyed doing etc. It gave me a renewed sense of worth. He also pointed out some career paths I previously thought myself unquailified for.

It might be worth going to see a career g. professional?

Hi Heydeldel,

Would you be able to PM me the details of your career counsellor?

Thanks!!

ustazjoseph · 07-12-2014 12:08pm

Hi . I think your approaching burnout!. its a serious condition. The guidance counselor suggestion is good. Skills and qualifications used in teaching do transfer. Working out your career priorities is the big one. Other jobs have more paperwork with less people time.
In the meantime look at self protection, as said , marking correcting is of limited value. Good feedback counts for a lot. Cuts , changes , new plans policies , schemes and dreams will come and go. Ive been through various regimes of the UK national curriculum , the delightful clarity and consistency of ncva, Fetac and qqi, vecs amalgating and becoming etbs. All troublesome and all not actually hugely relevant to the core - you a class a time.
If the actual contact is ok mind yourself for that. Im very enthuastic about going for a monthly "supervision" counsellors and social workers do it . At the end of the day , regardless of what job your in you will have totake care of you. diet , exercise , relaxation, me time , boundaries etc.
One life only - we have to make the best of it. good luck - i know how rotten this feeling is !

RORY O CONNOR · 18-12-2014 8:06pm

Only you can decide what is best for you. Its up to you to fix it. If you don't like your job change jobs. Best not to rush it-sit down and decide what you would like to do then figure out how to go about doing it. Consider approaching a life coach. PM me-I can recommend a good one.

In terms of getting through the next six months simply decide you shall get through the next six months. Life is too short to spend it being unhappy but only you can change this!

katydid · 19-12-2014 11:10pm

acequion wrote: »

This is the kind of thing that needs to get published in a national newspaper but that's exactly what they won't publish,for fear people might realise what a dog's life teaching can really be.

My heart goes out to you Bananaleaf and I completely sympathise as you are so right that far too much is expected of us.You asked for advice on how to get through the months before you can get out. Well my advice is to cut down big time on the amount of work you're doing outside the classroom. Not having time to wash yourself because you're so exhausted is very SERIOUS.

Where you can really cut down immediately is on corrections. There is no need to be taking up loads of stuff from non exam classes. Prioritise corrections for your exam classes and correct the non exam classes' homework in class. I often spread the copies around the class and get them to mark each other's out of ten. As for all the prep,how brilliant do your classes have to be? While it's good to mix things up and plan something really interesting and creative occasionally,most of the time classes are quite routine. You've been teaching for a good while so you're probably well on top of your subjects.

As for all the fancy new initiatives,I'd take them with a pinch of salt. We all have to do the late meetings,but I certainly wouldn't be expending too much brain power and energy there if I were you. You really have to put down boundaries,say no when necessary and establish a timetable of work for yourself which is manageable.

I,too was once a little like you. Always killing myself but I started to get sense when they started with all the pay cuts. So now I plan in advance how I work,what nights I'll do a few hours at the books and what nights the bag stays shut and in school. I have no problem with the word no.Granted I'm permanent,but even so I did reach a stage where my health was in danger.

You sound like you're at that stage now Bananaleaf. So it is absolutely vital to put yourself first and look after yourself.

I agree with you one hundred percent. It's a sad thing to say, but I have got to the point where I do what I have to do, but I don't go out of my way to go the extra mile anymore. I can't, because if I did, I would be unable to function. I have developed systems to streamline my marking, and cut down on it where possible. And, while I will certainly give as much time as I need to any students who asks for help, I do NOTHING extra in work, in terms of participating in extra-curricular activities. They want me to do an hour's detention every week - fine - but that's where it stops. Most of my colleagues take the same attitude.

In discussions with colleagues, I find a lot of the kind of pessimism and despair the OP shows, and it's very sad. There are people that don't enjoy teaching in the first place, and then there are those who love it - I firmly believe that if a person still has that love of teaching, they can get over what seems to be an insurmountable hurdle.

Of course, stepping away from it is another option, and might be the right thing for some people. But I would like to think that the OP would take your advice and give it a chance. Even for the rest of this academic year, while perhaps also looking elsewhere. Sometimes the knowledge that you do have an "escape route" puts your situation in a different perspective.

Tom Dunne · 22-12-2014 10:07am

I think it's a sad indictment on the teaching profession in Ireland if good people like you are being forced into a situation like that. But, as others have said, your mental/physical health is what is important and no job should do this to you.

While I cannot offer any advice on what to do between now and the end of the academic year, I can suggest going to the likes of www.irishjobs.ie and searching for jobs in the education area. You will find a good number of jobs in the area of training that may be of interest to you. This should give you some hope that the skills you have are transferable and are useful to companies.

secondrowgal · 22-12-2014 10:54am

It saddens me to see anyone in any profession so disillusioned, but I suppose more especially a teacher as this will come through to the students, not through any fault of your own, but just as a consequence.

Definitely go and see a career guidance professional, and if possible, more than one!

Also, a quick and easy self-help tool is to write down each and every job/profession you ever wanted or would ever want - no matter whether or not they are realistic, available, if you have or could get the qualification, etc., doesn't matter. Just write them all down. Give yourself a time limit, for instance write down as many as you can in one/two minutes (use a timer/alarm) - keep writing, don't stop, even if you are writing gibberish!! This frees up the unconscious and you might be surprised about what comes out.

When you're done, go back over them and you should see a pattern that will help you to understand what you really WANT to do, then you can go forewarned into a guidance session and hopefully take that first step to a whole new career and a happier and healthier you!

Best of luck and Happy Christmas!

yetihead · 29-12-2014 8:09pm

I'm too old to requalify so I don't really know. Will have to look into my options.[/QUOTE]

I know the OP posted some time ago, and things may have moved on but for what it's worth . . .
I'm mid forties and have just retrained/totally changed direction so you are not too old to requalify. The key is motivation. If you can find a way to retrain in an area that you are interested in you will be motivated enough to see it through.
The previous advice is good - a guidance counsellor will be able to look on you and highlight your skills and areas to consider. Do not despair - you are clearly a clever, principled and dedicated person so you will find another path. In the meantime focus on yourself to ensure you get throught he coming months. Retraining will undoubtedly be a challenge but because of the light at the end of the tunnel it will provide you will manage.
You are not alone and there is a way out! In the short term look after yourself first (and apologise to no one for doing so) and give your self time to plan your next move.

Hunter gatherer · 05-01-2015 1:02am

Some really good advice already given. Nice to see all of the support. It is a very tough profession as you well know (having worked in it for the majority of your working career) If it isn't for you anymore, take time out (it doesn't have to be forever, you can always return) But do take time out before you burn out.

berger89 · 05-01-2015 1:05am

Bananaleaf wrote: »

Hi there

I'm looking for advice. I'm a teacher. But I just don't enjoy my job anymore.

I like the teaching side to it. The classroom time. But, to be honest, I just can't cope anymore with all of the extra work and the cuts to education etc... making my job harder and harder as the days go by.

Teaching has completely taken over my life.

To be honest, I started writing this post an hr ago, full of detail about the why and how that has me here, but I just deleted it, because it doesn't really matter WHY I hate teaching anymore. I just do.

I need to leave the profession. Not for the kids who deserve better tbh, but for me. I deserve better. I have given my 20s and half my 30's to that career and it has done nothing but age me, stress me and I still don't have the contract or the income for a mortgage.

I'm looking for advice on how to get through the months until I can find a new job. I mean mentally. I am a good teacher, I know that. I do a lot for my students and don't worry, until I leave them I will continue to put in the effort for them. I always put the time and effort into my classes. But that's just it - there's nothing left for me afterwards and I just can't cope anymore.

Some nights I'm too tired to wash myself from correcting, planning, staying late at meetings etc.. implementing new initiatives....

Far too much is expected of us. Far too much.

This is all a bit of a rant I realise. Any responses welcome and hope I haven't offended

Sorry to hear that. I hope you don't feel it was all for nothing.
First off, think of all the kids you've helped over the years!

But I think that since you like teaching in general, and helping people; have you ever thought about TEFL? You get to travel and teach. That way, you are technically taking a break but not removing yourself from teaching altogether.

Now, you say you're in your 30's. Do you feel you've missed out on things over the years?

Bananaleaf · 05-01-2015 1:15am

Hi all

OP here.

Apologies for the massive delay in replying.

Thank you all for the support. I kind of expected to be lambasted if I'm honest!

Things were a little bit better since my original post (Maybe I'm jinxing myself ahead of tomorrow) but still, I know that I need to go. For example - find an email in my work inbox this evening welcoming us all back to 2015 and informing us of a staff day due to take place some time this year on a SATURDAY!!!!!!!!

I have decided to look into going abroad for a while. I'm in the early stages of looking into it. I'm thinking Dubai maybe. Maybe it's a pipe dream, but I'm thinking a few years over there, earn enough for a decent deposit on a small mortgage if not the whole mortgage itself and then I can come back, keep up the teaching, but on reduced hrs so that I'm not burned out all the time as I won't need the money as bad if I've a roof over my head paid for.

I do like teaching. I don't really want to leave the job. I do think I am good at it and it doesn't bore me. It's the hrs, the paperwork, the policies, the extra hrs, the everything that's getting to me. If I can reduce my hrs obviously I will still have to do the extra, but won't be spreading myself as thinly if I'm only on a 12hr contract.

As I said, I'm only in the early stages of thinking this through so it might all be complete lunacy

Hunter gatherer · 05-01-2015 1:18am

Doesn't sound like lunacy to me. Schools in the Middle East may very well love to have an experienced teacher like you. Sounds like you like teaching, just not all of the additional paperwork and red tape that comes with it. You are at least trying to find a happier balance that is right for you.

katydid · 05-01-2015 11:04am

Bananaleaf wrote: »

Hi all

OP here.

Apologies for the massive delay in replying.

Thank you all for the support. I kind of expected to be lambasted if I'm honest!

Things were a little bit better since my original post (Maybe I'm jinxing myself ahead of tomorrow) but still, I know that I need to go. For example - find an email in my work inbox this evening welcoming us all back to 2015 and informing us of a staff day due to take place some time this year on a SATURDAY!!!!!!!!

You, as a staff, CAN say no to a staff day on a Saturday...

Anyway, going abroad might be a good idea. If anything, it will give you a bit of perspective and different experiences. I worked in Germany and the UK, and they were interesting experiences. To be honest, the UK experience made me appreciate Irish schools all the more; but that was twenty years ago.

Hunter gatherer · 05-01-2015 1:06pm

Out of interest, are you thinking of applying directly to schools abroad or using some form of agency like Sabis?

Bananaleaf · 05-01-2015 10:22pm

Hi there.

Yes my intention is to decline my 'invitation' to the Saturday thing. However I worry that if everyone else is up for it I will be too afraid to be the one person to stand up and say no, to be totally honest.

I think I will contact an agency, but my first port of call are the threads in the working abroad forum here. From what I understand I have to act fast as interviews start pretty soon.

katydid · 05-01-2015 10:33pm

Bananaleaf wrote: »

Hi there.

Yes my intention is to decline my 'invitation' to the Saturday thing. However I worry that if everyone else is up for it I will be too afraid to be the one person to stand up and say no, to be totally honest.

I think I will contact an agency, but my first port of call are the threads in the working abroad forum here. From what I understand I have to act fast as interviews start pretty soon.

Well, it should be discussed at a staff meeting; if a majority go for it, there's not a lot you can do. But management can't simply decide it without consulting staff.

Good luck with looking for a job abroad. If it works out, it'll be an adventure. And if you want to come back here when things pick up, your experience abroad will be an advantage to you.

acequion · 07-01-2015 1:17am

Delighted to find you in better form Bananaleaf. I also agree that going abroad is a very good idea. I spent over ten years abroad, in Belgium,France and Spain and there's no doubt that it's very enriching. However,because I came back late, I now find that I will have to work full time until at least 62/63 in order to have some sort of decent pension and that's on top of trying to buy back ten years of what is called "notional service".I'm lucky in that my mortgage is fairly small.

So,I would caution you to keep an eye to the future. I fully get that you are burnt out and need a complete break,but what I'm saying is that in order to be able to afford any kind of pension when you get back,you'll probably find that you'll have to go back to full time teaching. There is a perception out there that public servants have great pensions,but unless you put in the years and the service,the pension isn't worth talking about. And there really is no point in dedicating your life to a hard job like teaching unless it can provide you with a basic livelihood in your twilight years.

Like you,I too love teaching and being with my classes,but I totally hate all the mind numbing shyte that now goes with it. Let's hope that at some point things will calm down. Best of luck!

Mathrew · 07-01-2015 3:25am

You could choose/apply other jobs other than a teacher, choose what you want and enjoy it, or you could take a vacation for a while.

Hunter gatherer · 07-01-2015 11:57am

I agree with Acequion in that it is wise to keep an eye on the future (mortgage, pension etc) However, you must also try to enjoy your present. I still think the travelling or moving would be a good idea. From what you have written I don't think your intention is to be gone for ten years. But who knows? The world is full of opportunities. Put yourself first if you are in a position to do so.

Esho · 07-01-2015 12:25pm

Hi Bananaleaf,
I left the area of adult education just over a year ago - I was working in 2 p/t jobs with some hours here and there(after a company I had a FT position with closed). Then my main P/T job had its funding axed, and so I retrained on a Springboard course, and got a good job out of it.

I am much happier working in my current area - I was very conscientious, and spent a lot of time planning, developing materials etc. Other colleagues were able to do their prep etc and breeze in and out, without the exhaustion, and were really excellent teachers.

Looking back, I don't think my character/ work style, or whatever, was a good match with teaching. I am happier out of it.
I am a good decade older than you, so you are not too old to retrain in whatever will float your boat.

The very best of luck with it :-)

evolving_doors · 07-01-2015 1:25pm

Esho wrote: »

Hi Bananaleaf,
I left the area of adult education just over a year ago - I was working in 2 p/t jobs with some hours here and there(after a company I had a FT position with closed). Then my main P/T job had its funding axed, and so I retrained on a Springboard course, and got a good job out of it.

I am much happier working in my current area - I was very conscientious, and spent a lot of time planning, developing materials etc. Other colleagues were able to do their prep etc and breeze in and out, without the exhaustion, and were really excellent teachers.

Looking back, I don't think my character/ work style, or whatever, was a good match with teaching. I am happier out of it.
I am a good decade older than you, so you are not too old to retrain in whatever will float your boat.

The very best of luck with it :-)

cheers Esho, just wondering were there any transferable teaching skills that gave you a bit of an edge in your new field?

gaiscioch · 07-01-2015 5:07pm

Very informative thread, as is the (related) AVC thread. I went down to see a career's person today. I've a lot of research and work to do before deciding to give up my permanent post but I think the abysmal finances as outlined in the AVC thread will be the decisive factor in leaving. I don't know how any of you are managing to buy a house in a decent area of Dublin today on a teacher's salary (although I notice some of my colleagues were able to do so in the 1980s. Those days are well gone).

I still love teaching - the actual teaching part - but the relentless increase in bureaucracy of all sorts eating into free classes and after school time which I used to use for preparation have, to my mind, changed my contract of employment almost beyond recognition. I did not sign up for yellow pack English teaching conditions when I first became a teacher in Ireland.

A few years ago I would have thought people were exaggerating when they warned about the changes in working conditions but now, in 2015, I have no problem conceding they were on the money. The changes have been perniciously done bit-by-bit taking more of our free time and increasing our workload. I've also really felt the recent salary reduction via postponed increments. I remember at the outset there was a genuine sense of patriotic necessity felt among my colleagues because of the state's finances. Now, we generally feel emaciated, enervated and disillusioned. Seeing Noonan and his fellow politicians claiming "credit" for our sacrifices and celebrating economic success today while we soldier on under the penalties of old with more promised via JC "reform". Everything is relative, and I can't see myself getting used to these far inferior working conditions. Maybe if I had just come back from yellow pack status as a teacher in England, I'd have no problem.

The one thing the career's person was making clear to me is that I'd want to be sure not to fall into the "grass is greener on the other side" mode. Essentially, she recommended that I do those psychometric tests and she strongly recommended that I see a qualified life coach, one sanctioned by this group, as she could see I am conflicted. We'll see. Lots of research about potential careers to be done online now, though.

Esho · 08-01-2015 1:38pm

Armelodie wrote: »

cheers Esho, just wondering were there any transferable teaching skills that gave you a bit of an edge in your new field?

Yes, I am working for a software development company as a IT Business Analyst/Tech writer - knowing how to produce good quality end-user and training documentation (materials development), the ability to present information clearly and people skills are valued in my new role.

Advice please - I don't like my job anymore

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