Here’s a frightening figure.

Nearly forty per cent of new teachers have exited the teaching profession by the time their second year would begin. The overall figure is not that much more encouraging, with one in ten teachers deciding it is time to quit every year. One of the few things that might offer the slightest of comforts to the Government is that, if everybody considering leaving were to do, then the current crisis would become even more of a full-scale disaster. Why Do Teachers Exit the Teaching Profession? Excluding normal age retirement, whatever that might be, the reasons to exit the teaching profession are not that surprising.  Certainly, some take a temporary break, perhaps for maternity or paternity, or just for a change of scenery.  It is their intention to head back later, although many fail to do so. It is hardly surprising.  On one side of the equation is hassle – hassle from Government; it is a safe bet to do down teachers.  Hassle from parents and pupils; with nobody from nursery class staff to sixth form teachers safe from assault any more, why bother to put yourself in the firing line?  Hassle from senior managers, increasingly people without the skills and experience to understand what makes a good teacher.  Hassle from Governors; where else but in education would unqualified people, often with a vested personal interest, be allowed to make influential decisions on the running of a giant institution? I was once told by a Governor, without the slightest touch of irony, that she was an expert in the curriculum.

‘I’ve been on a weekend course,’ she explained.  Another time, I heard from the son of a particularly unpleasant Governor that ‘my mum’s job is to sack teachers.’ On the other side of the equation is little to balance out the scales.  Average pay; decent holidays, but only at the most expensive times of the year.  Some, but far less than before, job security.  A good pension, but much less so for newcomers to the profession. It’s Much Less of a Gamble Than Might Be Feared My personal experience suggests that the grass can be greener out of the classroom.  I will explain why shortly.  But for many teachers, the wish to move on is strong but the inevitable fear of the unknown holds them back. It took me ten years from the point of realising that the classroom no longer held the attraction it once did to actually stepping across the threshold to a better future.  I wish I had done so earlier. I used to get up at six, in fact five o clock for one distant school at which I worked.  I would return home never earlier than twelve hours later.  Weekends were spent running sports fixtures, sometimes teaching (in one school), preparing, planning and marking.  Work in the evenings ended would run to 10 pm at least twice a week, and I made a point out of producing the shortest plans I could get away with. I still get up at six.  But, I have the joy of taking my kids to school and collecting them at the end of the day.  I am only a little worse off, but work for about a third of the hours I used to.  If I don’t like a client, I don’t work for them.  Something, sadly, I could never do with little Jonathan or his repulsive parents. And although I really thought I would, I miss almost nothing about my old life.  Here’s something else, I found out that the world outside of school is actually really nice, really professional, really welcoming. How to Go About Exiting the Teaching Profession Finding a way out so much of this depends on what you plan to do once your day ceases to be defined by the lesson bells. Not everybody knows that, as it currently stands, the pension can be taken at 55.  This consists of a 25% tax free lump sum and a monthly payment.  It is a bit of a gamble, because the amounts are smaller the earlier they are taken, but I worked out that I would need to live into my eighties before taking my pension early started to cost me money. Career Choices There are fundamentally four choices after teaching:

• Retirement, or not working for some other reason
• A new career
• Re-Training
• Self-Employment

Let’s take a quick look at the career options. A New Career Teachers are in high demand.  Years in the classroom have endowed us with a number of skills that are highly transferable to the workplace.  Soft skills acquired in dealing with pupils and their parents are highly sort after in other careers that require contact with people on a regular basis.  Retail, counselling services, recruitment – in fact any job that involves lots of face to face activity makes ex-teachers high up on the list of ‘perfect fit’ candidates. There may be a short-term drop in salary, but career structures in the private world are much fairer, and more transparent, than within schools.  And just being able to go on holiday in June or September is going to be worth a couple of thousand a year compared to fighting the crowds in August. And why not use your specialism to help you find a new job?  Maths teachers and accountancy; history teachers in museums; geography teachers…you get the idea.  In addition, every teacher has management experience.  Management is just about getting the most out of those under you, and let’s be honest, if you can do this with thirty ten-year olds, you can do it with adults. It is probably wise to assess the market before handing in your notice.  Some work experience during the Easter holidays could be good, as well as visiting a career site or accessing local services.  It will be just like finding a holiday job at uni again. Re-Training For those looking to exit the teaching profession but remain in the professions retraining can be a great option.  The open university (OU) allows you to do this on a part time basis while still earning, either as a teacher or in a temporary job. Or, if the funds and family circumstances allow, a year’s course will leave you qualified for most work.  Costs vary, but expect tuition fees to be in the region of £6-£8k for a year. Self-Employment For me, the reason to exit the teaching profession was to become my own boss.  I was sick to death of being told what to do by people who, to be honest, had not the slightest idea what they were talking about.  (Anyway, their view disagreed with mine, so they had to be wrong). What hit me most were three things.  Firstly, how much work there is out there.  Secondly, how agreeable it is to work outside of a large institution and thirdly, that the financial conditions were substantially better than I feared. I am not qualified to give financial advice, but I would suggest that if you plan to set up your own business, definitely consult an accountant.  The tax world is highly complicated, and there are many legitimate ways to maximise the efficiency of your financial operations.  Suffice to say that, as a car buff, my new Mercedes E class costs me no more to run than the four-year-old mini I used to own.  And that is thanks to the skills of my accountant. Reasons To Stay As A Teacher (Part One)…there won’t be a part two. The pension is good.  The staff room can be a friendly place.  There is a definite job satisfaction in seeing a child grasp a concept you have been teaching.  And… If teaching is right for you, it is a great job still.  Not, I would argue, as great as it used to be but perhaps that is because I got old, and the profession stayed young. But, don’t dismiss the alternatives. Why not share your own experiences and plans with Educator by emailing to the address below?