I can’t afford to work as a teacher – what am I going to do?

Question: As a mature student I undertook an arts degree followed by a teaching qualification. Now I have just 10 hours of teaching work a week for an hourly rate of €30-€35. After tax, petrol, food and clothing, this is no better than social welfare. I feel there is no future in teaching. Can you advise on any other careers I could apply my skills to?

Answer: I am certain that, having summoned up the courage to return to full-time education for four years as a mature student, it must be devastating to find yourself being unable to make ends meet.

In thinking of an alternative career, it’s worth remembering all the skills you have acquired in getting to this point. Think of the challenges you faced in securing both your undergraduate degree and your teaching qualification. Quite apart from the academic content of your degree subjects, you have had to acquire a range of other skills to navigate successfully through all the challenges of your studies.

These include organisational, motivational, interpersonal and presentational skills, among others. You might not realise it, but these will improve your employment potential across a wide range of sectors.

Might I suggest that you sit down and list the challenges and barriers you encountered over recent years and then identify the skills you had to develop to overcome them.

Following this exercise, you should rework your current CV to indicate the wide range of skills you now possess, indicating the context in which you demonstrated competence in each one.

Apart from areas of technical competence – be it in dentistry or engineering – most employers are looking for highly motivated employees, with good organisational and interpersonal skills, who have proven competence in confronting challenges and overcoming them.

It’s not a question of which sectors are relevant to your specific degree. Rather, the skills you now possess make you eminently suitable to take on managerial roles in any sector where that is the required skill set.

You may not have earned much from your four-year academic journey, but you have increased your earning potential enormously. The challenge now is to recognise this and acknowledge it in how you present yourself at any potential interview for a more attractive job.

Having chaired numerous interview boards in my time, the one factor that separates also-rans from successful candidates is self-belief based on proven competence, and a clear determination in addressing and overcoming the challenges the position on offer involves.

The greatest barrier you now face to acquiring a more challenging and better-paid occupation is your own self-perception.

One word of advice for students considering teaching: anyone who regards teaching as a cushy number has never stood in a classroom. Fulfilment comes primarily through engagement with your students and not in monetary terms, but after 40 years I have never regretted for a moment becoming a teacher. If you have the bug, don’t give up on the aspiration yet.

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