Calling all teachers...honest advice needed please!

[Guest allie]

Hi all

 

I know that there a quite a few teachers on here so i am hoping that you can fill in a few of the blanks for me. Im pretty clued up on the reg process, etc but what i need to know is this....is it worth all the money that i am going to have to pay out? By the time i pay all the fees, courses, etc it will cost around $800 to register. From what i can make out, there doesnt seem to be a lot of jobs going around. Am i right to think that even irregular supply work is hard to come by?

 

If this is the case, then my muddled head is swinging toward not bothering to register until we have been there for a while and have a bit more spare cash (I am literally still reeling from how expensive the whole moving process will be!!!)

 

The only prob is that I am a bit of a one trick pony...im only qualified to teach! So now my sleep deprived self is panicking about what other job i could feasibly do once we get there! oh dear....

 

Anyway, what i really need is an honestaccount of the whole teaching job availability situation for primary teachers (even if it is not very good!) I am still hoping that I'll get out there and manage to get some supply...ever the optomist!

 

Now im def going to try and get some sleep! Thanx in advance!

 

[Guest Deb17]

Hi Allie, some people will tell you they found it easy to get a job, some like myself will tell you it's not worth the hassle even looking. I've been here for almost three years, and did relief teaching sporadically over the last two (mainly because I live so far out of the city.) Jobs in government schools are difficult to get unless you have a specialism the school is finding it hard to fill a position in. As a general primary teacher I applied for jobs all over SA, even in the Aboriginal lands, and couldn't get a single interview. I was extremely lucky enough to get a position only recently, but it's not in teaching, and I wonder if I'll ever get back to the job I loved. Quite a few of the teachers on here who have got jobs found them in independent schools, so they're your best bet I think, although that kind of teaching over here wouldn't appeal to me. Good luck with your search and all the best with the move.

[Rachiegarlo]

you could always do tutoring if you wanted to wait.

[Guest Bodie]

Allie send me a pm. I will assist in any way possible. Bodie.

[Guest norah battie]

cant wait till I can say that Bodie!!!!!!!!!! got my advanced and accred by the way....onwards and upwards!!hope you are fine!

[Guest Em76]

Hi Allie,

I too am a primary teacher and have secured a full time job, in an independent school, temp til Christmas. I have only been here since the end of Jan and began relief teaching after Easter. Relief teaching has been manic, I could go out to 3 different schools everyday. BUT I live in Mount Barker and happily commute to Murray Bridge everyday - for teachers in the city or on the coast this is simply too far. For many who live in the hills the environment is too challenging - I will only do Junior Primary (KS1) up there having been reduced to tears by a particularly unpleasant class (and I worked in very challenging schools in the UK).

I've had 3 interviews, applied for about 10 jobs, Suzer wrote my resume and my next door neighbour assisted me with my app letter. The whole application process is very different to the UK and it took me a while to get my head round that - I am happy for you to borrow my app letters and resume just pm me your email address.

Overall I would say that the chances of work depend hugely on where you live, I know that I have been extremely lucky and this is not always the case,

Em x

[Guest katsmajic]

Hi, am sticking my oar in here - as im not in teaching etc - but i do know quite a few Ozzie qualified teachers -

 

The best way of trying to break into teaching is by relief work - make yourself available all the time - short notice etc - if you like a school you are reliefing at make it known and bust your arse to impress the head/committee etc.

 

You need to be good at what you do, out and about, big and personal - ozzies are not slow about being forward and thats a big positive here!

 

As Debs has said shes had a nightmare, others have too - some have had it a bit easier - but not alot.

Im aquantided with 30+ future teachers that qualify this year - 7 have jobs lined up - 23 dont and theyre all ozzies. 10 have signed up to go to the uk/usa for a year for experience...cos they cant get jobs here.

 

Not saying its all negative just thats its damn hard work.

 

Good luck with everything Kat xx

[Jenny]

Its so good here that my sons best friend has just gone over to UK to teach and he's been qualified for years - say no more!!!!!

[Guest allie]

Wow...sounds about what i was thinking anyway! Thank you all for being so helpful - it allows me to go across with realistic expectations. It really does seem to be a saturated market and it doesnt sound much different to the situation in scotland at the moment (too many teachers, no jobs at all)

 

I think i will register when we get there anyway and try it out but if not then i can always retrain and do something else hmmm thinking hat on for a new aussie career!

[Guest Em76]

Hi, am sticking my oar in here - as im not in teaching etc - but i do know quite a few Ozzie qualified teachers -

 

The best way of trying to break into teaching is by relief work - make yourself available all the time - short notice etc - if you like a school you are reliefing at make it known and bust your arse to impress the head/committee etc.

 

You need to be good at what you do, out and about, big and personal - ozzies are not slow about being forward and thats a big positive here!

 

As Debs has said shes had a nightmare, others have too - some have had it a bit easier - but not alot.

Im aquantided with 30+ future teachers that qualify this year - 7 have jobs lined up - 23 dont and theyre all ozzies. 10 have signed up to go to the uk/usa for a year for experience...cos they cant get jobs here.

 

Not saying its all negative just thats its damn hard work.

 

Good luck with everything Kat xx

 

All of the above is absolutely true - I got my job in a school where I have TRT'ed and I made sure that I let them know how much I liked the school and how good / flexible I am.

I also did a term of voluntary work whilst i waited for all of my paperwork to be processed. I worked 9 - 11, 4 days a week with children with SEN - they loved having me and wrote me a glowing LOCAL reference. They also gave me stacks of TRT once I had the paperwork and were willing to employ me for term 3 if I didn't get anything else. If you can afford to 'invest' in doing some voluntary work it is well worth it.

Emma