Teaching at second level

id0ntkn0w

Hi,
I posted the other day about training to be a science teacher (chemistry and something else....maybe biology?). As no one replied I thought I'd expand a little and hopefully someone might be able to give me a bit of guidance.

firstly, I understand there are no jobs for teachers...have friends that teach at primary level and they are always telling me how bad the situation is. But my situation is a little different. I am in my mid 30's and already run a successful business. What I am looking for is not a full time job but something to add to my earning...thinking ahead...no pension for the self-employed
I am really interested in chemistry and learning and helping others. For someone in my situation, who is unlikely to qualify before 2022, and who does not need to rely on teaching entirely....is teaching sciences a reasonable option? For example, when people say..."little hours"..realistically what does that mean for a science teacher? Perhaps it might suit my situaiton just fine? I'm not sure
How does it fair in comparison to other subjects...Any and all advise welcome )

RealJohn

I think you're barking up the wrong tree if you're already running a business and are planning to teach part time too.

mirrorwall14

If you are talking little hours at second level I will use someone I know as an example for you

She is timetabled (CID'd) for 4.5hrs. She is also on the new payscales. This means she gets 4.5/22 of her point on the payscale which works out €6785 a year or €565 a month total. The worst part of it however is that those hours are spread across 4 workdays (she requested that, otherwise it would have been 5 days) with generally two class periods a day. On a Thursday I happen to know that those classes are first thing in the morning and second last class meaning hanging around all day. She gets by on casual substation and work in the evenings.

My understanding is that her pension will also be pro rata which means to get one years worth of pension she will need to do almost 5 years of work and as her pension will be based on career average will not be much more than her current annual pay unless things change rapidly for her.

Honestly I think you would be absolutely bonkers to join teaching just for the pension, paying 10k+ for a qualification and not having the ability to reach full years of service due to your age it would be financially crazy IMO. Pensions are based on 40 years of service ASFAIK and if you are in your mid 30's already you will never reach that length of service even if you do get a full time job

id0ntkn0w

Hi,
Thanks for your reply. Very insightful. Perhaps my post is confusing though. I've no interest in the pension. My interest is in learning a new skill, challenging myself and (hopefully) adding another 100/200 euros to my weekly earnings. I meant to say, when you dont have a pension...you need to earn a little more every week, to secure a comfortable future.
I'm really grateful for your example, you can never have too much information ) Many thanks!
When you factor in petrol costs etc...4.5 hours a week is pretty hard. I hope things improve for her (and for teachers in general) in the coming years.

id0ntkn0w

RealJohn wrote: »

I think you're barking up the wrong tree if you're already running a business and are planning to teach part time too.

Perhaps I am...time will tell

rainbowtrout

You say it will be at least 2022 before you would qualify. Does that mean you would have to do a degree and then the PME???

Ignoring the degree for a second as it's not clear if you have one, the PME will cost you €12000 in fees and there will be other costs involved over the course of the two years. Committing to a 2 year course will affect your business unless you have someone to run it, or work from home and your business is online.


Assuming you did the course and secured work (not easy) for 11 hours a week (half hours) in teaching, you would most likely be timetabled across 5 days, and there is no guarantee that those classes would be blocked for your convenience. Like the example of the teacher on 4.5 hours, you can spend large parts of the day hanging around if you have classes at the start and the end of the day. Science classes involve prep of chemicals, cleaning up the lab afterwards. Photocopying handouts, correcting work etc all take up time. You wouldn't just be committing 11 hours a week. As a teacher you are required to provide a certain number supervision and substitution classes for free each week. You may get roped into extra curricular activities, you will have commitments to parent teacher meetings and staff meetings after school hours during the year.

It's not really the type of job that people do to make a few extra quid on the side.

Honestly, I would say if you are looking to earn some extra money to save for retirement you would be better off picking up some part time hours in a shop or factory where you work set hours and walk out the door when you are finished.

doc_17

If you're looking for a few extra euro a week then teach yourself the Maths syllabus and give a few grinds.

Corkgirl18

As some of the others have said you may want to work part time and be on little hours but those little hours could stretch across all 5 days.
There are very very little chemistry jobs out there. Physics teachers are slightly more in demand.
There were a lot of job advertisements this year for biology teachers but there seem to be a lot of qualified biology teachers around. Just for some perspective, 34000 students sat LC biology this year and less than 7000 sat Chemistry so obviously the demand will be much lower.
Any interest in maths? As someone else mentioned maybe you should look down the tutoring or further education route? You'd have more freedom with hours then.