Thinking of a career change?

Heidi Malaure, December 22

 

Don’t make a career change into teaching lightly. Take some time to consider your reasons and examine your underlying reasons for making the move. If your only reason is a shorter working day and the holidays, you may wonder why you ever thought those would be benefits as you juggle the demands of your training year. You will, for sure, need something more to get you through.

Holidays and a 3:15pm finish were not front of mind when I started to consider “what next?” some time in 2020, neither necessarily was breaking out of corporate life. However, as was the case for many people in my position, I had spent the greater part of the year working with colleagues to keep a business going and was beginning to wonder “what is this all for?” I began to think there must surely be something more useful and with more purpose that I could be doing.

My thoughts turned to teaching. I had started my working life as an English language assistant at the University of Poitiers and then diverted to a business career. I decided to take a good look at the road not travelled and set about researching with a vengeance – it is important not to romanticise such life changing decisions.

There are many things you should consider or do if you are setting off down the path of a career change to teaching. Above all, if you have barely been through the doors of a school since you left, it is important to spend time in the classroom. Before you go any further, you must make sure you enjoy being there because this will be your new work place, day in, day out. Also, you will need classroom experience to reference in your application. Write to local schools asking for experience and telling them why you are interested.

At the same time, tap into the support available. The first place should be ‘Get into Teaching’. Leave your details, speak with an adviser, have lots of questions. They will also most likely assign you a mentor to take you through the application process.

Also, attend at least one Get into Teaching event. It will give you the opportunity to speak to early career teachers about their experiences and also training providers. There are myriad training options out there: universities, School Direct, SCITT (in school teacher training). I chose the School Direct because I wanted the experience of being fully integrated into school life while attending university to get my PGCE. In addition, there was a great school just down the road from where I live which I could apply to!

Look also to the wider networks of advice and support. If you are making the change later in your career, as I am, you may fit the profile of “Now Teach”, a charity which supports career changers. They have a wide offering of webinars and social events. More importantly, in my view, the network you will gain is a source of valuable support as you go through your first years in your new career.

If, once you have done your research, you remain convinced that teaching is for you, then go for it. Otherwise you may spend the rest of your life wondering what stopped you. Yes, the training is tough – would we want anything less for our children? However, the rewards are many, the best being when you see the students have learned something new because of you.