Should I wait till next year?

doobyscool

Ok, so I'm currently living and working abroad. I'm out of college a year and working in education. All of my work experience to date (minus part time jobs as a teenager) have been in the educational/childcare area but I have no qualifications in this area and my degree is in arts.

I have applied to do a PME (teacher training in Ireland) and a PCGE (teacher training in England) next year. I would prefer to return home but the PME is two years and I would not receive financial help. And I think ultimately I would be less qualified due to my subjects. So I really had my heart set on the PCGE and I've been offered an interview. The thing is I'm not nearly as prepared as I ought to be. I don't know enough about the English system, I haven't done my skills tests and most importantly I haven't the necessary school observation.

I didn't realise the observation was so important or I would have tried to arrange something sooner. Now I've sort of backed myself into a corner where I would have to ask work for a week off to do the observation and then, due to flights etc. another full week off for the interview. And then there might be two more interviews! It's going to cost a lot of money I'm not sure I have and I'm going to be ****ing over my work and my parents are going to be so angry at me for not having sussed it out properly and done my observation before hand. Then I'll have to do my skills tests, one of which looks so hard I think I'll need months to prepare, and I'll have to take more time off work to go to sit it!

My problem is I don't know what the best move it. Right now I'm thinking about not attending any interviews etc. and just reapplying next year. That would give me time to get the experience I'm missing and pass the tests under less stress and maybe save some money. But I don't know if I'm just freaking out and "quitting". And where would I even get a job? I really want to be at home. I have a boyfriend there who would be perfectly happy to move to the UK with me but can't for two years (due to study). I would love to get a job related to childcare or education but they all want qualifications. I really don't want to go on the dole. I would be happy to work in a shop/cafe etc but it's not like there's a lot of those jobs about either! And I know if I took a job like that my parents would think I was wasting my life. They are retiring and worry so much about me financially. They want me to have a "good" job and I know they mean well but it's quite frankly suffocating me. I'm a constant disappointment and I can't ask them for advice ever because if I don't follow it to the letter I'm ungrateful and stubborn.

My boyfriend is the only person I have to talk to about this. He is excellent support and makes me feel loved in a way my parents don't. Sometimes it almost feels unconditional! But he is so far away and his advice isn't always the most practical.

Ok. I realise this is very rambling and sort of conflates my current career issues with my parent issues but really the hardest part of deciding what to do is picking the one that'll making my parents hate me less. If it hadn't been for the fact that the interview letter got sent home I think I would have told them I didn't receive any offers, because that way it would just be a case of "ah well, try again next year". I'm very confused. Thanks to anyone who has managed to read all of this.

thefeatheredcat

I think you should take your parents out of the equation, so to make a better decision. Forget for a minute how they may react to you not having done the observation and skills test. Do you feel you would be able to show your abilities and whatever else at the interview to qualify for the PCGE? Do you feel you would be prepared enough for it, or do you feel like you would be wasting people's time, or feel you don't measure up to other candidates that you might be left feeling deflated or lose confidence in yourself and your abilities?

If you feel like you are going to be under prepared, and aren't going to be representing yourself in the way you would otherwise feel worthy of yourself, or stressed /under pressure in the run up that might effect your work, then consider deferring it for next year.

Everything with work and flights.... those are minor inconveniences, perhaps you can look at what holiday hours you have, and talk with your managers and see what can be worked out? Could you take a leave of absence or something similar to that, to focus on attaining the necessities that you need?

The most important thing is what do you want to do? Never mind what your parents might think, or feel, or react, what do you want to do?

Boombastic

Re the observation is this mandatory before you start the pgce? I don't think it is, unless it's a new thing with them.
Your experience in the educational sector system will stand to you. The skills test you can arrange within a few days and complete easily enough. You can do it in Newry in the centre they do driving theory test (Pearson's)

If your boyfriend is here and you want to travel over and back weekly or so, get a job somewhere that's near an airport with cheap flights eg bristol or somewhere

I think you are freaking out, go for the interview, see what happens

LegacyUser

At the moment you are dealing with a lot of things but you are not the only one.

1. I would start to read up on the English school system, know about ofstead ect.
See if you could get some school observation even for 2 days and be prepared to put time into the skills test and take time off work for the PCGE interviews.
Start to write down all the experience you have to date and see how it could match the questions they may ask you for the PCGE interview?
Ask other boards.ie members for any questions/advice ect they could give re the PCGE interviews ect. Feedback in this regard could help you prepare better for this.

2. Your boyfriend may tell you to do x/y but the reality is that you have to take some responsibility for your own life at this stage. Yes it could be easy to move back to Ireland to be near your boyfriend but what would you do here for money or your future career?
How would you feel if you moved back to Ireland, your relationship ended and meanwhile your back living with your parents due to lack of funds, are on the dole or getting a few hours of work a week?

3. The reality is that if you want to work in education you need qualifications. I know someone who went to England and did the PCGE. They now have a permanent job in the Uk. Yes they would like to be back in Ireland but they are getting great experience and enjoy living in the Uk for the moment.

4. In regards to your parents you need to remember that in there day once you got a degree you got a good job which you did till you reached retirement age/got married.
Your parents want you to be working towards a qualification that will give you a good job. If they are at retirement age they will want to see you with a good job sooner rather than later. Also from a financial point of view they may not be in a position to support you for another few years until you get a decent job.

Yes it would be easy to say that you are not ready for the interviews, tests ect and it will cost you money to do these but unless your willing to push yourself now you will be no further on in 12 months time.

Boombastic

Tbh, I think your are over estimating the skills test, they are basic literacy and numeracy tests. If you can read and basic sums, I'm not sure what other time needs to be dedicated to them, apart from doing them. If you fail them, you can resit them the next day, without penalty

doobyscool

Thanks guys.
Your repsonses help me to straighten things out in my head. I'm still not 100% sure what I'm going to do or how to sort it all out but I am calmer about it and it does all seem slightly more manageable.