Help from any Teachers out there

**misty** · July 27th, 2010, 11:10 PM

Have you thought about part time study whilst still working? I know it is alot, but if you do just 1 or 2 subjects a semester it may be managable? This is how I am completing my degree. It is hard work sometimes, but I think that studying fulltime whilst on maternity leave will be harder then you think and likely the last thing you will want to be doing once bubs is here. Studying with babys and kids is the hardest thing I have ever done.

**Laranna** · July 27th, 2010, 11:37 PM

My SIL and her partner are both teachers and when I quizzed them on info about getting into teaching they advised me not to become a teacher's aide because the pay is crap and you get all the ****ty jobs to do.

Do you have any kind of degree already? If so, the Grad Dip in Education is only one year full time or equivalent part time. That will make you a fully qualified teacher. I'd skip the teacher's aide stuff and go straight for the degree. You could do it part time. The only time you'd need to be available full time is for prac I think.

**AliBaby** · July 28th, 2010, 12:11 AM

Honestly, a bachelor of Education is hard work if you are working full time and looking after a child. You will have a prac to complete (sometimes 1 prac ranging from 10 days up to 4 weeks at a time) which is pretty much full time work at a school. I managed to do one prac over my degree when I was working fulltime but I was 21, had no kids and had a job that was flexible enough that I could work evenings and weekends to make sure I completed my 38hour week there. You also have lesson prep to do which is hard.

I am not saying it is impossible but it is something that you should consider before enrolling and paying all those uni fees.

No idea what the pay is like for a teachers aide but they get paid by the hours that they work and that can change all the time depending on students coming and going to the school, diagnosis of students changing and therefore changes to funding.

**Miss H** · July 28th, 2010, 12:51 AM

I have been looking at becoming an Education Assistant as I just cannot afford the Uni fees. State schools pay between $31000 to $37000 pro rata for EA's. Cleaners and School Officers get paid more!

**Freya** · July 28th, 2010, 08:30 AM

Have you thought about doing it by correspondence? Ive just enrolled to do my B.Ed (primary) through Open Universities. Their study load is 1 subject a study period = part time or 2 subjects a study period = full time. You have 10yrs to finish the degree. They offer FEE-HELP which is like HECS-HELP. You do it completely online in your own time. The Uni that does the teaching degree is Curtin in WA which I see is where your from. They help organise your placements in your home city which are in Year 1 2x 5 day placements and in Years 2-4 3wk/3wk/10wk placements respectively. Head to their website and have a look; can always ring them and have a chat about your options, they are lovely and helpful at the helpline.