for those applying to hibernia?

kiwikid

First of all are there many people wanting to do this?
Why are you interested in applying to qualify as a teacher when there is a huge oversupply and the hefty costs involved?

Genuinely curious.

seriouslysweet

This year there are 14 people applying for every place. My aunt is doing the interviews and it is so hard to get in. I'm assuming people do it as they want to teach! Jobs are hard to get but most at this stage surely realise they'll be going abroad for a while.

kiwikid

wow thats a lot of demand for a fully saturated sector. And with absolutely no notion of jobs in the future - lets face it as a returning qualified teacher won't you just end up joining the pool of domestically trained teachers who have qualified while you were away.

At 10k roughly its also expensive but at least you have the option to work.

I wonder will demand for places in teacher training degrees and PGCE day courses drop at all do you think?

dory

The very same could be said for a lot of jobs. There are no jobs anywhere. Many people hate offices and like working with people and teaching offers them that opportnity - and no statistics will put them off.

However, I feel a few more pay cuts will lower the demand for those courses (not that I want a pay cut!)

kiwikid

you are right on the pay cuts. for all the negativity teaching is a well paid job after tax right now.

Tigerandahalf

Well, let's look at it. New entrants with the new pay cuts and all the current taxes plus the pension levies mean that a teacher would be lucky to come out with €450 a week. Pay your rent/food etc out of that and there will be very little left.
Draw the dole..€190 pw plus medical card plus free travel pass plus all the other extras that come with it.
Plus there are are minimal job opportunities out there in Ireland for teachers at the moment. I don't think the situation will get any better for the next 10 years. People say there will be more pupils in schools, but there won't be extra teachers to match this.
A lot of people out there think teaching is this cushy number...decent pay, great holidays etc etc. It is and it isn't. If you are good at the job and enjoy teaching the conditions were good but not any more for new entrants.
Also since teachers are PAYE there is no escape route from all the taxes, levies etc. You can't hide your income and put it in the Cayman islands.
I got into teaching partly for the conditions but mainly because I enjoy the job. However, as I have found there are many barriers before you get that secure perm post....intense competition to enter courses, a very hard course in itself, and then of course the endless search for any job. Even the jobs with 5/6 hours pw, hundreds of people are applying for them.

UnLuckyAgain

For me, teaching has always been my dream (even writing it reeks of cliché! :rolleyes:), there's no other vocation that I would want to be a part of.

Yes, there may be paycuts and a dearth of promising job opportunities, but teaching is what makes me happy.

Tigerandahalf

unluckyagain, fair enough if you think the job is a vocation, but you can't 'vocate' too much if you can't get a job. I don't know if you are out long/in a job, but the job situation is dire. Take all the cuts for new entrants and it's hard to keep the good side out. There is a flood of teachers qualified in Ireland at the moment. Many people will spend the next 4/5 years hoping they can pick up some bit of work..spending their entire summers worrying if something will come up. Lots of people obviously still want to get into teaching but I don't think many of them are aware of just how much cuts the conditions have taken over the last while.

UnLuckyAgain

You're absolutely right, I can't contest that! Are you a teacher at present, or aiming to be one?

The cuts are definitely disheartening and degrading to the profession of teaching, but like I said before, for me teaching is my passion, teaching is for me. But I fully understand that employment opportunities are few and far between

afkasurfjunkie

i've a permanent job so am pretty lucky. this is my 7th year of teaching with an honours degree allowance. chicked my pay today which contains the new budget cuts. im on e550 a week.
i dread to think what newly qualified teachers will be earning in their first years teaching, taking into consideration they will be starting on point one of the increment scale. i started on point 2 i think. there are also rumours about that the qualification allowances will be done away with.
i wont even go into detail about the sham of an idea that is the fas wpp scheme in schools!
thankfully it was 10 years ago when i did the leaving cert and things were a bit different but if i was in leaving cert today i would reconsider teaching as a career.

kiwikid

afkasurfjunkie - you have accounted really what i was getting at, whatever about those in-situ the mindset of people entering may be delusional or that the vocation or love of the job should make up for coming out with next to nothing for the pleasure of the job.
I fear the "dream job" will turn into a nightmare for many who won't be satisfied with subbing or staying on the dole and will therefore have to uproot themselves and perhaps their family in order to provide for them in teaching.

ThePiedPiper

I've been accepted to Hibernia and will be starting this year. I'm fully aware of the current over-supply of teachers and the fact that in 2 years time, I'll find it difficult to find that first job and will of course be starting on a lower salary than people have been for the last number of years.
However, despite this, I'm looking forward to the challenges ahead for a number of reasons.

1. Work/life balance. I've been in the private sector for 8 years and 20 days holidays in a year simply depresses me, especially because of the fact my wife is a teacher and in 4 years we'll have 2 kids in school. I do not want to spend the next 20 years like this.

2. I've become disillusioned with my own profession and need to get out of it.

3. I have no aspirations to be rich. I want to work in a job that is rewarding and am prepared to be on moderate wages for the first few years.

4. I have a lot to offer as a teacher.

5. There will be jobs on offer in the next 5 years. Older teachers will retire. It may be more difficult to get the jobs on offer but there will be jobs.

6. I am more interested in how satisfied I will be with my life in 5, 10 and 15 years time than in the challenging 2-3 years ahead of me in qualifying and finding a teaching post. I know that ultimately I will be a lot happier with my life.

Tigerandahalf

One can't argue with you on that. If you're aware of what's ahead, fair play.