Hi lovely I.M's
I'm 25, married and have 2 kids. I'm happy being a stay at home mum, but this is only a temporary phase in my life. I need more from life. I'm looking at studying but a bit confused as to what to do. I really wanted to do Midwifery, but my husband is mostly against it just because it's shiftwork and he said it will be hard with the kids, and I know he's right. He's encouraging me to primary school teaching. While the actual work hours are appealing, l know there is a lot more work that goes on behind the scenes, like marking homework, planning classwork etc. I'm also a bit worried about it being a bit monotonous or boring (I need stimulation and variety). So to those I.M's who have any thoughts or feedback, can you give me some insight. Thanks :)
5 Replies
there are options of parttime as teachers assistents and particularly high schools have part time positions a friend if currently in her third year and absolutely loving it. studying teaching gives many flexible options not all of which involves one teacher one class and no support
As a primary teacher it'd be incredibly hard to do the planning required at nights.and.weekends without a supportive partner. You'll experience the workload when you do pracs.
I wouldn't choose a career based on my husbands opinion though, any career will be challenging, not to mention even.just finishing university when you have kids, it's the passion inside you that will make you stick with it or not.
I'm a primary school teacher. I started strudying when my youngest, of five, was 3.
IT IS HARD WORK!
I was a single parent throughout most of it but I did it because I was determined to get there.
I worked my arse off. I had no life. I sacrificed.
I ended up getting honors and I was targeted straight from uni into a job. I've been working full time for 6 and a half years and am now earning $93000 a year with excellent holidays.
Firstly - yes there are a lot of extra hours. However, I do most of them at work and don't bring much work home. It gets easier as you get more experienced. It is far from monotonous. It's very challenging and you add your own style to your teaching.
Don't do it if you're not passionate about it. It will be a chore and you'll hate it. I've seen it too many times. Teaching is extremely rewarding though :)
Good luck.
I am 37 and in my 1st year Bach Ed Primary and its great! After all these years I found time to put me first and with my youngest starting school next year, I figured teaching would be perfect to work out the holiday care etc. Also, I have always wanted to be a teacher but life got in the way.
I think to be a teacher you have to have passion for the industry and children as the pay is not all that flash.
If its not in your heart, you probably wouldn't enjoy the course or the work and may regret it. If nursing is what you want to do, do it. There are jobs in clinics etc that don't require shift work that you could look into. Best of luck with whatever you choose but please do what you enjoy.
It sounds like your husband is calling the shots a bit too much. I really don't think it's reasonable for him to be telling you what career you should be striving towards. I can understand it from a convenience point of view, but as a 35 year old woman with 3 university degrees under my belt, I strongly recommend going for the career that you're genuinely interested in. It took me a long time to finally find the right direction for me, and it's very expensive and time consuming to be studying for degrees that you don't really want. As it happens, I'm a midwife. The shift work can be challenging but it's a job that I'm passionate about and I manage to fit about 4-6 shifts a fortnight in around our family life (married with kids aged 6 and 3, I am casual and get by without daycare). Hope you find your way. Talk to your husband and remind him that it's YOU that has to live your chosen career, day in, day out, for the rest of your working life. Ask him how he would feel if you chose what he could and couldn't do for the rest of his working life, and what his life would be like if he had to do a job that bored him and frustrated him, every day for the next 40 years. Good luck IM xo