Should I apply for this job ...

[jnb]

the job in question being running the planetarium at the local observatory! The downsides are that it's part time, low paid and I've already asked the observatory director to act as a reference for a teacher training course (which was what I expected to be doing this year coming). Of course the upside is that it's running the planetarium at the local observatory!

[Vox45]

Follow your dreams !

[Colinlp]

I qualified as a teacher a few years ago, I'm no longer a teacher. Teachers in my honest opinion are the most undervalued, unappreciated, hard working people but sadly abused out there; if I stayed in teaching I would have been in prison by now for murder or worse! I think you can see where my recommendation is going!

[Ant]

I know the guy that runs the planetarium at the Southend-on-Sea Museum, he absolutely loves it. Last time I saw him he was so much happier than where he used to work.

If you can financially make it work, I'd go for it!

Ant

[Lee_P]

I run the Bristol Planetarium. Happy to have a chat about the particulars of this kind of job if it's useful to you.

[JamesF]

I run the Bristol Planetarium. Happy to have a chat about the particulars of this kind of job if it's useful to you.

Is that the one at @Bristol?  My children have had numerous enjoyable visits there

James

[Lee_P]

Yes it is! I'm glad your family liked it. We've just had a major revamp and are now the most advanced Planetarium in the UK, so you'll have to visit again and let me know what you think

[JamesF]

Excellent.  I shall pass on the news

James

[Astroboffin]

I qualified as a teacher a few years ago, I'm no longer a teacher. Teachers in my honest opinion are the most undervalued, unappreciated, hard working people but sadly abused out there; if I stayed in teaching I would have been in prison by now for murder or worse! I think you can see where my recommendation is going!

They also get the longest holidays of any job I know....lol

AB

[jnb]

They also get the longest holidays of any job I know....lol

AB

As long as you ignore the prep before lessons, marking after, admin and pastoral elements

[recceranger]

Tell him I will run it for free!

[JamesF]

Were I to guess at an occupation likely to have more holiday than teachers I'd probably go for offshore divers.

James

[JamesF]

As regards the OP, I think if it works for you financially and if you feel that it will work from the point of view of turning a hobby into a job (which does always have the risk of robbing the hobby of some of its pleasure) then go for it, and as it's part time perhaps find something productive to do with the additional free time so you have something to fall back on if the planetarium job doesn't work out as planned.

On the other hand, depending on the route you were planning to take with teaching perhaps there's the possibility of using astronomy there too.

James

[ollypenrice]

I've been a teacher and now run an outdoor planetarium. 

I loved teaching when I was allowed to do it, but when I was required to be a glove puppet with a politician up my backside I lost interest and gave it up. 

Anyone who thinks teachers have long holidays needs to wise up, big time. Such people tend to be used to having working hours. During the term time teachers don't have working hours, they just have work. They feel guilty for taking six hours off to go to bed.

Olly

[JamesF]

I've been a teacher and now run an outdoor planetarium. 

The view is a bit fuzzy from where I'm sitting.  Can you sort it out, please?

James

[Saganite]

I completely and utterly agree with Olly. My daughter teaches A level students and she is so overworked it is not funny. When she gets home from school at six in the evening

she has several hours of marking etc, but she is so devoted to her students she just does it!

It is making her ill but she just does it! She has commendations for her work and she just does it.

It makes me very angry, and still she does it.

Teachers are so undervalued!!!!!!!

[Ags]

My daughter is a maths teacher. Based on her experiences and her total lack of work-life balance, it's not a career I would recommend. I keep telling her to run away and join a bank.

[Calculon]

As long as you ignore the prep before lessons, marking after, admin, pastoral elements and Michael Gove

This is ridiculously underappreciated by far too many people. It's incredible that it's become such a prevalent idea that people hold the 'great' holidays against teachers, when the reality is that they end up with less time separated from work than most standard workers.

Anyway, OP, it's tough to say whether or not you should take the offer. If the pay isn't good then you really need to figure out how much you'll enjoy the job, there's no substitute for being happy in what you do! Inevitably it's a very personal decision that only you can weigh up properly.

[dweller25]

They also get the longest holidays of any job I know....lol

AB

My wife is a Teacher and I can tell you that this is far from reality.

[JamesF]

From my point of view the sickening thing is that in order to genuinely improve everyone's standard of living as every successive government claims to intend to do, we really need to start by massively improving the education system.  Right now it often doesn't serve pupils nor allow teachers to do a good job.  In some situations it appears little more than crowd control.  And it's been going wrong for far too long.  I know people who are teachers now who struggle to do fairly basic arithmetic, or who can't spell or write a coherent paragraph.  How can their pupils be expected to achieve any better?

If we genuinely want our lives to improve we need to accept that we have to invest a lot more in teachers and the education system and if necessary pay more in taxation to fund it rather than treating the entire system as an undesirable drain on the public purse to be used for political point-scoring.

James

[Stu]

Hi all,

All is well currently with this thread, but just a gentle reminder that, whilst discussion of the teaching profession is relevant to the OP, please steer clear of politics. It would be a shame to have to lock the thread as it's an interesting discussion.

Many thanks,

Stu

[Paul73]

Easy. If you can keep body and soul together on the money offered, take the job.

You can always do the teaching in a year or two. And. The work at the observatory will certainly stand you in good stead for teaching in future.

What is the hurry?

Paul

[ollypenrice]

Easy. If you can keep body and soul together on the money offered, take the job.

You can always do the teaching in a year or two. And. The work at the observatory will certainly stand you in good stead for teaching in future.

What is the hurry?

Paul

That's a very good point.

Olly

[alan potts]

On the back of Colins well writen lines, I would not become a teacher for double what I used to earn and that was a few quid. You never know where the planetarium path may lead. I mean no disrespect to the Profession of Teaching without them I would not be able to read and write, if indeed I can. Often said I wished I had more attention, instead of wondering about either, Nanette, Gill or Tracy. (the list is much longer)

James, I had a friend that was a North Sea diver, fit as hell, made loads of money but sadly died very young.

Alan

[jnb]

Easy. If you can keep body and soul together on the money offered, take the job.

You can always do the teaching in a year or two. And. The work at the observatory will certainly stand you in good stead for teaching in future.

What is the hurry?

Paul

The hurry? Well one practical point is that I don't currently have a job because I was planning on going into teaching anyway and, while I don't have a job at present, I do have a mortgage. It's just ironic that having started on the changing career plan now I have an opportunity for what is, as my wife put it, my dream job becomes available.