Is it worth completing a PGCE if I'm not sure about going into teaching?

I've been teaching for nearly six years. I love it and I have a life! People who dislike it are more likely to make their feelings known, so it may well seem like the profession is full of people who hate their job, even if it isn't actually the case. I think you need to give it more of a chance.

What is your typical workload like? Do your have to work at home most evenings?

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Sorry to hear that you're not enjoying it, but as you've stated, it's only been a week and you've not even been inside a classroom. I just completed my first week of a School Direct course so I've been in school all week, but I can say that I've absolutely loved it. The children are the reason we do it, so I'd suggest waiting until you've spent some time in the classroom before you make any life-changing decisions. As you've pointed out, you'll be liable for 25% of the course fees if you quit now or in a few months time so might as well give it a go!

The first thing I'd say is that you have to give it a chance. You don't know what teaching is like until you try.

Teaching is a hard job... I believe your heart has to well and truly in it if you want to be successful (including being able to feel genuinely happy about your work). I love being a teacher, I can say I love my job... but I hate a lot of the things that come with it. Sometimes I just want to pack it all in and go and do something I don't have to work all the hours in the world for. I'm sure if I didn't want this so much, I would've gone a long time ago. You may have a hard time putting yourself through your PGCE if all the while you're thinking to yourself that you don't even want to do it.

There is an awful lot of negativity around teaching and this seems to intensify the further into it you get. I find I have to do my best to just ignore what everyone else thinks about it or I just get really bogged down in it all and start doubting my choice. It's hard to offer advice on going into teaching because I feel like everyone deals with the stress and work differently

I'm afraid I don't know if a PGCE is a good thing to have in general.

It depends what previous work experience you have. How easy do you think you would find it to find another job?

If you quit halfway through the course you're going to have the issue of explaining why to any potential employers. If you're sure about quitting, although it's very soon, it would probably be best to do it now, at a stage where you can get away with not even putting the PGCE on your CV and just pretending it never happened.

I finished my PGCE, but then one week into teaching properly I had the same worries as you. I wanted a life. I wanted to work to live, not live to work. Even the motivation of 'it's for the kids' wasn't enough - the kids were rude at best and violent at worst (I was in a challenging secondary) except for the rare times at Christmas/summer/exams when they might briefly thank you.

I decided to quit one week in so that I could pretend I'd never started and it would look better in the eyes of employers. My friends and family were a bit shocked and told me I should give it more time, but I just knew. And now, after countless friends have quit during the year, and countless others who have stayed want to quit every day, I know it was the right decision, for me at least.

One year on I'm now working 9-5 in an office, when I go home I'm home, I can take holidays whenever in the year I like and I'm on the salary I'd have been on in my 4th year of teaching.

I never want to be that person who says "no-one should teach, it's awful!" There are thousands of fantastic teachers who enjoy their jobs and do a great job for kids who would otherwise have nobody looking out for them. But there is no getting away from the fact that teaching is a job where you do most of your work when you're not at work. Anecdotal accounts of teachers aiming to "keep Sunday free" having worked every evening and Saturday are not myths. Some teachers I know have gone part-time so that they can spend their days off (unpaid) planning and have their weekend back!

Basically teaching is a big sacrifice, and there's absolutely no shame in stepping back and saying "I don't think I'm willing to do that". And it might be better to do it sooner rather than later so it doesn't negatively impact on your CV.

On the other hand, your other option might just be to finish the course, knowing you don't want to teach at the end of it. This would:

- Give you a recognised post-grad qualification.
- Give you time to think about what you do want to do and get some experience in it.
- Give you the opportunity to do supply if you couldn't find a job at first.
- Relieve the pressure - half the pressure of a PGCE is the need to do well and get a job at the end; if you know you don't want to go into teaching then you won't be under as much pressure and can relax a bit.
- And just in case it turned out you actually did want to teach, you'd still be able to!

Good luck whatever you do do

No, I don't have to work at home most evenings - but I really believe in professional development so can often be found reading books on education theory and practice even in my free time (but that's a conscious choice - make of that what you will!).

I teach five different classes - Year 8 English, Year 10 English, Year 11 Humanities, Year 12 and Year 13 (both IB English), so a typical day for me looks something like this:

Get up between 6.00 and 6.20, leave the house between 7.00 and 7.20. Arrive at school between 8.20 and 8.40 depending on how early I've left and how well the trains are running Tutor group at 8.45. Classes start at 9.00. I teach four or five hours a day most days and typically leave school at 5 or 6pm. Once you've taken that four or five hours' teaching out of what is typically an 8-hour day, it does leave you with some 'frees', but I try to use these as efficiently as possible in terms of marking, planning, photocopying, meetings, and other admin. As far as I see it, I'm there to work, not to socialise, so would much prefer to get everything done at school rather than taking work home (even if it means lunch is a cup-a-soup in front of the photocopier ). It takes me between an hour and 90 minutes to get home, but obviously sometimes I have chores to do as well (trips to post office, supermarket, dry cleaner...) and am also learning to drive (boo hiss ) so these things can take up my time too. I private tutor once a week, so get in at about 9pm that night, but again, that's a choice.

I try really hard not to bring work home with me, as I firmly believe in a work-life balance. Occasionally it's unavoidable (students in my school are examined a lot, for example - four out of my five classes will have an internal exam before the end of September) but again it's about using your time wisely (and that includes your commute - it's handy taking public transport if you can sit and mark!). You can't sit around chatting with colleagues all day and then complain about having to take work home. I also believe my students will benefit far more from me if I'm well-rested from having had a chance to go to the gym, read a bit, watch some TV and have dinner with my husband in the evening, rather than if I'm tired from being up marking and planning all night in a caffeine-fuelled frenzy. There are also plenty of 'life hacks' you can draw upon to make your life easier - for example, if I crash in at 9pm from private tutoring, there's no way on this planet I'm going to cook a meal after that, so a slow cooker is a life-saver (prepare your meal the night before and throw it in the cooker. Switch it on in the morning before you go to work and when you get in 12+ hours later, your dinner's already there waiting for you).

All of this comes with a couple of caveats, though:

- I've now been teaching for six years. Getting yourself into this kind of routine doesn't happen overnight - and I'm still learning even now. You can't expect it to come as easily at the start - but once you've got a lot of lesson ideas 'banked' and get used to adapting them to your class' needs, it gets much easier.

- I started off part-time (only teaching 8 hours a week, plus whatever private tuition I cared to shove in the gaps), and gradually built up my teaching hours. I was very lucky to be able to do this; most people don't have a chance to and will be thrown in at the deep end, with 25 hours of classes a week, straight away.

- I teach overseas in an international private school, where conditions are likely different to in UK state schools (e.g. my largest class at present has around 25 students in it and my smallest has 6). Attitudes are also different - people are more relaxed in general and don't tend to push themselves so hard! There's less monitoring overall, so there are plenty of people who will do as little as they can get away with (NB I don't consider myself to be one of those people). So be careful when comparing my experiences with those of others.

Wow!! I'm in the exact same predicament.... I've actually got a few days to decide and had sleepless nights .... going back and forth in my mind yes or no... luckily i haven't started yet and have another interview tomorrow.

I graduated with top grades but got stuck in retail jobs... hate retail with a vengeance... I thought teaching would be a good career progression. In Retail, you can literally turn off your brain (and reserve energy) doing menial and non-demanding tasks, then come home and relax - I have some time for hobbies, socialising and personal learning in preparation for the DREAM job in my field of study.

Maybe I can do a PGCE and immediately after do some supply teaching and fill my spare time with a hobby and of course aiming for the dream - after all I genuinely like sharing skills/knowledge.
I was sooooo naive.

Then. Then I come here. To see the reviews... to get some insight... and i was horrified. Stress.... work takes over your life... no free time, low wages, many hours, exhaustion etc. etc. the list goes on.

I'm still unsure myself.... i'm highly leaning towards no, but my self worth working in retail is depressive, but without sounding too arrogant, I know I am capable/worth more than these crappy retail roles. I don't know... i'm just airing my frustrations. Soooo stressed.

In exactly the same position as you, stuck in retail and hoping for a decent career. I haven't got a place on a teacher training course but I've even thinking about it. But reading posts on this forum is putting me off!

Can I ask if teaching is your dream career? If not, what is?

I feel similar to you. Don't know whether to apply or not.

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I think about it everyday, it's taking over my thoughts at the moment! I guess I won't know if it's for me or not until I get some volunteering experience. Feel free to message me, would be good to talk to someone in the same position!

Can I just say I don't think volunteering experience is the be all and end all of a decision like this. You don't get the responsibility and work involved, and some places may not let you teach at all.

Going to reply more later but in a bit of a rush!