Taken a Wrong Turn

LegacyUser

I'm 26 and recently decided to go back to college and do teaching. My undergraduate degree is law but wasn't drawn to life as a solicitor or barrister so I decided to take a break after college and see what else I could do. I decided to apply for primary teaching (the postgraduate diploma) and got the course. I started it a few months ago and I have to admit that, the more I see of it, the less I think I'm suited to it. I feel like I've taken a bit of a wrong turn and I'm worried that I may have to stick with this route as I want to get a job and be financially independent.

I'm starting to realise that secondary may have been a better option for me but that would take another 5 years to complete as I do not have a degree which is acceptable by the Teaching Council. I also don't have the financial means to fund this at the moment.

Has anyone else had a similar experience? I have just a few months left of the course so am unsure about whether to stick it out or not. Would I be cutting myself off from opportunites by getting the qualification? Is it worth the time if I don't want to teach kids?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

annoyedgal

I remember when I was doing my primary teacher training a lecturer advised us that teaching when your heart is not in it is the most soul destroying thing you could do. Sounds heavy I know but it's a very emotionally intensive job and can be very rewarding as well as incredibly draining. If you are completely sure it's not for you then don't take a job in primary. You could finish the course to boost your .cv and work part time and do an arts degree by night or with open university. You only have one life and it's too short not to follow your dream of the career that you want especially when it's an attainable dream. Best of luck and hope things work out for you.

tony81

Stick the course, no point packing it in with only a few months to go. No idea how it works, but if you did a level 8 conversion course in addition to your teaching h.dip would it allow you to teach second level?

Raspberries

I believe that education is never a burden, even if it's something that you've decided you're not particularly interested in or suited to. Doing the course itself will stand to you. I did the postgrad course too and some people in my course decided it wasn't for them and 'retired' from the teaching profession after tp3. :pac:

Fair play for doing the course and getting this far, I would suggest that you finish it because it would be such a waste to pack it in after spending all that money, time and effort. You can always go back to college part-time to do secondary teaching. I think if you want to do it and that it would be for you, then go for it. Maybe try to do some observation or chat to a secondary teacher before you make any decisions?

You are still so young, there were people who were in their 40s and 50s on my course, so I think you should make the most of your time now and do what you want to do, world is your oyster and all that!

castaway_lady

Definitely finish the course. It would be a black mark on your cv not to, especially that close to the end.

RossFixxxed

Sometimes a course isn't the field you go into, but it shows potential employers that you stick to something and see it through to the end. I drifted out of IT years ago and am gradually coming back into it but the degree always stood to me as a symbol of hard work.

LegacyUser

Thanks everyone for the replies. You're right about finishing the course, I think at this stage it would look very bad if I quit plus I don't have any back up job or course at the minute. I suppose I'll just grit my teeth and get through the next few months! Kinda hard sometimes though as the work is really starting to pile on and it can be quite hard to keep my motivation up when I can't see myself working in a classroom. Hope it all works out!!