What part of your job do you enjoy least?

[SpookyFrank]

See this seems like complete madness to me.

I don't know if it's changed, but in Scotland to teach at secondary, you used to have to either 1) have a degree in the subject you wanted to teach or 2) have studied it/something closely related for two years at university.

So if you wanted to reach maths, for example, you needed a maths degree or an engineering/physics degree would work. To teach physics, a physics degree or an engineering degree.

If you were a maths teacher, you wouldn't be allowed to teach English. Which seems completely reasonable.

Eta Looks like this ^ still applies.

If you’ve never had any teacher training, there are two ways to become a qualified teacher in Scotland: a four-year undergraduate programme or a one-year PGDE programme. Both these routes allow students to become qualified primary or secondary teachers. You’ll need a degree, or equivalent, regardless of whether you want to go into primary or secondary teaching. Due to the specialisation of secondary teaching, however, your degree will need to be in a relevant subject. So, if you want to be a History teacher, for example, you’ll need a degree in History or some sort of closely-related field.

Am I Qualified To Teach In Scotland? | myjobscotland

If you have a teaching qualification from somewhere outside Scotland, or you only have informal qualifications or experience, you may not be fully eligible to teach here. But don’t worry – whether you are new to teaching or an experienced professional from out with Scotland, there’s a route into...

www.myjobscotland.gov.uk

Same in England basically. But with science they assume that three subjects are actually just one. At our trust the scheme of work is set up so that everyone teaches biology in autumn, chemistry in spring and physics in summer.

I do have a science degree and a teaching qualification FWIW.

 

[Pickman's model]

Same in England basically. But with science they assume that three subjects are actually just one. At our trust the scheme of work is set up so that everyone teaches biology in autumn, chemistry in spring and physics in summer.

I do have a science degree and a teaching qualification FWIW.

What subject is your degree in?

 

[SpookyFrank]

What subject is your degree in?

Genetics

 

[Sue]

Same in England basically. But with science they assume that three subjects are actually just one. At our trust the scheme of work is set up so that everyone teaches biology in autumn, chemistry in spring and physics in summer.

I do have a science degree and a teaching qualification FWIW.

Sounds like that's changed for the better although treating all three sciences as one seems a bit of a bizarre thing.

(I used to share a flat with a guy who had a degree in history but was working as a French teacher. His French was poor and he found the whole thing massively stressful. And it wasn't exactly fair on the kids either. Lots of his friends were in similar boats. One was meant to be teaching maths and ended up coming round one night so I could explain some stuff to him that he was meant to be teaching that week. Found the whole thing absolutely astonishing.)

 

[ice-is-forming]

I've had one particular casual job for six years, I go to peoples homes & talk to families/people when they've been impacted by suicide. Sometimes it's a school or a workplace.

It's called a crisis response team. It truly can be quite awful, & comes with lots of vicarious trauma. I'm good at it, so I keep doing it. Also it's such a weird, human, random, extraordinary, personal & deep experience to be a part of over & over, I've recognised that I don't do it just for the money iykwim

 

[kabbes]

Sounds like that's changed for the better although treating all three sciences as one seems a bit of a bizarre thing.

To be fair, I would hope that somebody with a degree in biology would be more than competent to teach GCSE level physics.

 

[ouirdeaux]

Part of my job involves speaking to members of the public who are likely to be abusive. I am in no actual physical danger, as they've called on the phone, but it's not particularly pleasant, and it can get to some people. I can't say I find it actually enjoyable, but it tends to wash over me, and can be funny at times, what with the variety of inappropriate insults that I get because they can't see me: I've been called a Paki cunt, a bitch nigger, a fucking Jew and a bumboy. When I collect the fifth term -- no idea what it will be -- I'm going to stand up and shout, 'Bingo!' (I'm not counting all the generic fucking cunts and arseholes that come my way, obviously.)

What gets to me far more is when these people don't answer simple questions. Most of them are not abusive, but they seem to have lost the ability to listen. The questions are designed to be idiot-proof, but once again the ingenuity of idiots has been underestimated.

 

[Edie]

To be fair, I would hope that somebody with a degree in biology would be more than competent to teach GCSE level physics.

You know, I cannot do maths at all. I struggle with even simple mental addition, subtraction etc and have been shown how to do things like multiply fractions or whatever a lot of times but it just doesn’t stick. I can do stats cos that’s concepts, but anything else a primary school child is more competent at (no exaggeration). I sometimes even wonder if it’s some kind of number blindness?

Anyway, there’s not a hope in hell I could teach physics!

 

[kabbes]

You know, I cannot do maths at all. I struggle with even simple mental addition, subtraction etc and have been shown how to do things like multiply fractions or whatever a lot of times but it just doesn’t stick. I can do stats cos that’s concepts, but anything else a primary school child is more competent at (no exaggeration). I sometimes even wonder if it’s some kind of number blindness?

Anyway, there’s not a hope in hell I could teach physics!

If you did a PGCE, though, numeracy would be part of that assessment process.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

You know, I cannot do maths at all. I struggle with even simple mental addition, subtraction etc and have been shown how to do things like multiply fractions or whatever a lot of times but it just doesn’t stick. I can do stats cos that’s concepts, but anything else a primary school child is more competent at (no exaggeration). I sometimes even wonder if it’s some kind of number blindness?

Anyway, there’s not a hope in hell I could teach physics!

I suspect a lot of it is down to being out of practice - I used to be pretty good at maths at school but I struggle to do stuff in my head nowadays, and usually have to resort to a calculator.

 

[SpookyFrank]

If you did a PGCE, though, numeracy would be part of that assessment process.

In our case this was a ten minute online quiz before we started the course. The questions were everyday arithmetic, hardest bit was probably percentages. The DfE requires that teacher training providers check their trainees are numerate and literate but in reality that's done on the most perfunctory level possible.

You do also have to do masters-level written assignments and data analysis mind you.

 

[Chz]

Any time someone who gets paid more than me doesn't bother to do their job properly and I end up having to do it for them. Which happens a lot.

That's the plus side of working in Academia. I know we're all paid shit. In fact, I have a market rate supplement that most of them don't have so I can't really complain on that front. (Their first offer was met with "LOL, wut?" but they really needed to fill the position)

 

[Edie]

In our case this was a ten minute online quiz before we started the course. The questions were everyday arithmetic, hardest bit was probably percentages. The DfE requires that teacher training providers check their trainees are numerate and literate but in reality that's done on the most perfunctory level possible.

You do also have to do masters-level written assignments and data analysis mind you.

PGCE sounds really tough, it’s loads of work isn’t it, really intense. I think you teachers are absolutely amazing, gotta be one of the most challenging jobs out there, so many skills

 

[campanula]

Christ - chasing fucking invoices. I have a coupla customers who are always so late that we have rolled around to the next month...then they whine that they are being invoiced again, 3 days after finally paying the last one, so I oblige by putting it back till the following month, then they whine at the cost of paying 2 months at once and we end up getting several months out of line....Have just spent the entire of this month (April) in overdraft cos 2 customers went off on holidays (one of them on a 3 week fucking tennis holiday) without paying.

 

[Epona]

Christ - chasing fucking invoices. I have a coupla customers who are always so late that we have rolled around to the next month...then they whine that they are being invoiced again, 3 days after finally paying the last one, so I oblige by putting it back till the following month, then they whine at the cost of paying 2 months at once and we end up getting several months out of line....Have just spent the entire of this month (April) in overdraft cos 2 customers went off on holidays (one of them on a 3 week fucking tennis holiday) without paying.

This is why I can't do this sort of self-employed work by myself, I'd never get paid - I just don't have the boldness to chase up payment for things.

Hope you manage to get it sorted.

 

[Mumbles274]

Sorry if this is grim, but for me... Its when clients complete suicide

 

[ice-is-forming]

Sorry if this is grim, but for me... Its when clients complete suicide

Yep, that's on my don't like list too (((mumbles)))

 

[furluxor]

My work is pretty undemanding in all the meanings of the word but getting on social media has to be the worst bit. All I need to do is post some stuff, click a few likes and maybe comment under something but it just makes me feel sick, like watching TV commercials on full volume.

what with the variety of inappropriate insults that I get because they can't see me: I've been called a Paki cunt, a bitch nigger, a fucking Jew and a bumboy

That's hilarious, I laughed out loud. We should have a thread on the funniest part of our work as opposed to least enjoyable.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

I've been a manager for years - I like it. Mainly because it means I have more authority and can change things in the way I think is needed, and have a lot of autonomy. I still get involved in stuff the more junior team members ordinarily do, but mainly to solve problems and the like. I don't have a degree.

I couldn’t be naffed with the responsibilities. I just want to turn up, fix or replace the things they want me to and then fuck off. Each to their own though.

 

[Barnsley Basher]

Hello again everybody. I am once more in the land of the living. 5 long months of paperwork now all done and dusted. Back at work where I was received with open arms by workmates and customers alike. Gorra new puter and aim to take part more in threads.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Good to see you back Barnsley Basher

 

[Steel Icarus]

What really grinds my gears - not about my job per se but still - is that for all the trumpeting from the bosses about how students are the top priority, all the decisions are made by people who don't work directly with students, in some cases for many years.

 

[likesfish]

Stupid people.
One thing shouting at me because you got a ticket I understand that, but shouting abuse at me in passing ffs.
Or being told politely you can't park here driving off around the block and being surprised I'm still here and they can't park here my bosses will encourage to stay if we have had a Complaint till the driver doesn't try to come back

 

[Steel Icarus]

I love my job, but the double whammy this week of English and maths GCSEs and an Ofsted inspection has produced the old familiar shoulders and jaw stressache. Fuck this job, sometimes.

 

[krtek a houby]

Cleaning the jacks.

 

[Hollis]

Anything that requires me to interact with DfE funding manuals or regulations. Tedious, complex, opaque and will fuck you up if you get it wrong

I've had experience of that. FE sector was the biggest nightmare - kafkaesque. Particularly the spiders web of hyperlinks that have developed. I wasn't convinced anyone where I was working really understood it all.. There were just varying levels of blagging it.

 

[quiet guy]

Filling in mid-year and end of year appraisals. Pointless waste of time and effort.

 

[likesfish]

3 ways to pay for parking
The app which is shit when it works it’s fine when it doesn’t there’s no rhyme or reason.
Pay by phone which is overly complicated and really needs to be set up before you want to go out.
Or the machine which is perfectly simple to use if you build parking ticket machines for a living

 

[Artaxerxes]

"I only do what's needed" is fine

 

[kalidarkone]

1) Having to explain to people on the emergency trauma and orthopaedic theatre list, that there is a strong possibility that they won't get their op today and will have to come back tomorrow.

2) Stocking up. Essential but tedious.