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Teaching as a new career, lots of questions

allcatz88

Hi,
I have been thinking recently about teaching as a career move. I have been working in the food industry for the past 2 years after graduating with a chemistry degree but I am thinking about secondary teaching now. I have done some tutoring in college and junior cert science grinds which I enjoyed so I am looking into courses for next year.

So I need some help and advice. I have looked online and am considering NUI Maynooth's 2 year PME programme. Has anyone done this?
Does the full 2 years involve college and teaching or is the second year all teaching?
Do you get paid for any of the teaching that you do over the 2 years?

How much does a new teacher make? And how is the job situation at the moment?

Any advice or comments would be helpful, as I dont have any friends who are teachers!

Thanks

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Lord TSC

I did the one year course so can't comment on the two year course.

I can answer some questions, but you won't like the answers.

It's unlikely you'll get a penny for the work you do during your dip. Some people get lucky and might get some sub work, but those people seemed rare enough when I was doing it. And with the whole HR agreement, it might become even rarer still.

As for job prospects, it's pretty bleak. I'm a year now without even a sniff of sub work sadly. That's with a decent enough CV given I was lucky enough to get three months in a school a year ago. My brother finished his course in June. He's had four days sub work since September. But it strikes me that he's lucky with that, and technically speaking, it's not even sub work in his subject.

If you do get a proper job, you'll likely only be on 8-12 hours a week (this despite having to be in the school from, at minimum, 9-4), so you start off on half the "starting salary". I think that had my three months lasted a full school year, I'd have been on about 15k a year.

So yeah....not good prospects.

genieinabottle

Science teacher here with 5 years experience and still no job to call my own. At this stage i wish i decided to be something else.

Pretty.Odd.

allcatz88 wrote: »

How much does a new teacher make?

Nothing, wish I had studied something else in college, literally nothing out there for me to even apply for :mad:

byhookorbycrook

A "new" teacher will find it hard to get even a few hour work per week, as things stand at present. There are hundreds of experienced teachers who still don't have jobs. How much of a wag drop are you willing to /able to take?
I also think you can't compare grinds to the every day in the class. I'd suggest you do a week observing in a classroom to see the real picture.

Musik89

I'm doing the PDE in NUIM at the moment but it is still the one year course as the two year course starts next year so I don't know really what it'l be like.

We do 8 hours teaching a week, on Mondays and Fridays and three full weeks in January and it is all unpaid.

allcatz88

Thanks for all the replies. I must admit this wasnt what I wanted to hear.

It means I have some serious thinking to do. I would be leaving a 35k pa job to enter into something very unknown.....

Louthdrog

Unless you are willing to follow the jobs to England, it may not be wise. I just graduated from college this summer and have a full contract job over here in London, as do many people I know. Anyone I know who stayed in Ireland hasnt got anyhting worth talking about.

playedalive

When I see threads like this, it really does bring home the fact I need to strongly consider the pros and cons before doing the 2 year masters. I just graduated this week from French and Spanish and I have always thought about becoming a language teacher. I am hopefully going off to France next year to be a Language Assistant in a French Secondary School. So hopefully that might give me an idea.

RealJohn

I would say that unless you're unhappy in your current job (that unhappy as in motivating yourself to even go in is a struggle, counting down the minutes to the end of the day etc.) or you're likely to be made redundant then leaving a 35k job without another one to walk into in the current climate is madness and even moreso if you're thinking about training as a teacher. Chemistry is probably the least useful subject to have of the sciences too (speaking as a chemistry teacher) as biology is by far the most popular (but also oversubscribed because of this) and physics is probably next. Either way you'll have awful trouble getting even half hours when you qualify and you'll be depending on grinds and/or a part-time job for income until you qualify (and probably for some time after).

mick kk

I don't know if this is still an option, but I knew someone who trained in the UK a few years ago. The course was tough going and so was the teaching practice, but they were paid to do the course because there was a shortage of teachers in her subject area and in the UK they pay people to train to be teachers in subjects in which there are shortages.

This might be an option for you.

If you hope to teach in Ireland it will be a very long time before you earn €35k a year but best of luck whatever you decide to do.

jb08668

Well at least you have the courage to teach students as an tutor plus you can use your Industry experience. Later if you are doing good with teaching then better opt for a Master degree and the Phd that would help you enhancing your teaching career.

questionsgirl

:(I am an arts graduate looking into the idea of doing the Professional Masters in Education for 4 years trying to work and save money to go back to college but I really don't know if there is any point now. The fees are too big and even then the possibilities are so bleak after graduation but then why so many people still applying there must be some jobs out there. it coming to the deadline now and I really don't now what to do. absolutely any help or advice welcome.

ytareh

jb08668 wrote: »

Well at least you have the courage to teach students as an tutor plus you can use your Industry experience. Later if you are doing good with teaching then better opt for a Master degree and the Phd that would help you enhancing your teaching career.

There's little 'courage' comparison between grinds/ tutoring and actual 'combat experience' in the classroom .

As a result of the blackguards who lied their way into power, teachers not only lost allowance for Masters etc but also for Dip and Degree .So would need PhD if considering lecturing .To be honest though in my opinion lecturing probably has about as much in common with on the ground experience of secondary teaching as being an engineer .

ytareh

questionsgirl wrote: »

:(I am an arts graduate looking into the idea of doing the Professional Masters in Education for 4 years trying to work and save money to go back to college but I really don't know if there is any point now. The fees are too big and even then the possibilities are so bleak after graduation but then why so many people still applying there must be some jobs out there. it coming to the deadline now and I really don't now what to do. absolutely any help or advice welcome.

Just because people keep applying doesn't mean there are jobs ,beware !If you want stay in Ireland I really couldn't advise your course of action .Plenty of work in UK apparently but teachers lives are EVEN MORE hellish over there .Do you really want to spend 7 years in college?OK so that can be its own reward but you have to eat etc ...With your plan even if you got a teaching post you might be able to retire till you were into 70s !!Are you VERY healthy *and do you see yourself in front of 30 Bolshy teens at 72? I think a lot of potential teachers don't realise how much conditions have been slashed in last few years eg have to work at least 40 years for pension ( used be 35) etc .A starting teacher will pay more into pension than they can ever get out .All that stuff about kids being little sods and their parents worse ....it's true! And if the principal decides it's YOUR fault ...STRESS!

*In the last year sick leave has been HALVED - if you get cancer etc there's a good chance your job will be gone ,certainly your wages ,before you recover .

Bananatop

questionsgirl wrote: »

:(I am an arts graduate looking into the idea of doing the Professional Masters in Education for 4 years trying to work and save money to go back to college but I really don't know if there is any point now. The fees are too big and even then the possibilities are so bleak after graduation but then why so many people still applying there must be some jobs out there. it coming to the deadline now and I really don't now what to do. absolutely any help or advice welcome.

It is tough to get a job in a primary school, and even tougher again to get one at second level. If you're worrying about getting a job when you finish, is it possible to hold off for a year on the course and see how the economy goes? At least then you would be graduating in three years (I understand a PME lasts two years), job situation mightn't be so bleak then.

If it's something you would really love to do, I suggest you do it. Yes it is expensive, and yes it is worrying to not have the certainty of a job at the end of it, but you never know on what path the PME course will take you. Another opportunity might present itself while you're doing the course which you haven't yet considered. Don't put your life on hold for too long, or take on a career you have no heart in just because things aren't going well economy wise. You could make a great teacher who would have a fantastic impact on other peoples' lives, and for that alone you should try it!

Best of luck with your decision.

Duffy89

Louthdrog wrote: »

Unless you are willing to follow the jobs to England, it may not be wise. I just graduated from college this summer and have a full contract job over here in London, as do many people I know. Anyone I know who stayed in Ireland hasnt got anyhting worth talking about.

How are you finding England? Did you get a job easily enough and what is the pay like? I'm applying for the PME and my justification for leaving a stable job for an uncertain area is that I am willing to go to England as there seems to be jobs there. I would be able to teach business, accounting and economics and I am considering doing history through the Oscail programme.

Louthdrog

Duffy89 wrote: »

How are you finding England? Did you get a job easily enough and what is the pay like? I'm applying for the PME and my justification for leaving a stable job for an uncertain area is that I am willing to go to England as there seems to be jobs there. I would be able to teach business, accounting and economics and I am considering doing history through the Oscail programme.

I am loving England. I did quite lucky with my school as there is a lot of support from staff. I have got friends who don't receive the same amount of support and aren't having as good a time as a result.

I walked into a job, had a choice of 12 actually. But I am a maths and a science teacher, which are in complete shortage here at the minute. Not sure how things are for your subjects.

Pay is quite good. Im with an agency so get paid well per week but nothing for holidays so works out at less than I would get a year if I was hired by school directly. I am moving onto a school contract soon so will be earning more then. You can expect to start off on anywhere from between 20-25 k pounds a year depending on where you work.

walshm800

Louthdrog wrote: »

Unless you are willing to follow the jobs to England, it may not be wise. I just graduated from college this summer and have a full contract job over here in London, as do many people I know. Anyone I know who stayed in Ireland hasnt got anyhting worth talking about.

LOUTHDROG,

how you getting on over there?? Where abouts are you? If you are looking for a change my school are recruiting for January and it's fabulous!

Louthdrog

walshm800 wrote: »

LOUTHDROG,

how you getting on over there?? Where abouts are you? If you are looking for a change my school are recruiting for January and it's fabulous! :)

Im getting on great. Absolutely love it! Love my school. Would take a whole load of money to get me to move

:cool: