Help from any Teachers out there

Hey everyone,
So I have wanted to be a primary school teacher for as long as I can remember.
I have even enrolled to complete my Bach. of Education. I deferred when I fell pregnant with Mr. M and I am aching to go back.
The problem I am in is I am the only income earner for my famil so I need to work full-time.
We are also planning bubs number 2.
So I am thinking once I have bubs number 2, enrol in the Teachers assistants course (which is 6mths fulltime) as I get 9 mths paid Mat leave.
Become a teachers asstant, then re-enrol in my bach. of education as My cert in Teachers Assistant will exempt me from quite a few modules in my Bach.
It all sounds fantabulous in my head but I thought I would get some advise from all you lovely ladies :)

Does it sound achievable and how much approx does a teachers assistant earn??
I am in WA if that makes any difference :)


I want more than anything in this world to become a primary school teacher, I just dont know how I am going to get there..........................................

p.s. I hope I have made sense :lol:

hi glittermum
i don't think teachers aids earn very much at all. in fact, i have a friend who is one, and she has told me she earns a very low wage (i don't know the specifics though).
why don't you just skip the teachers aid course alltogether and start your bach ed off campus whilst on maternity leave?

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

Freya I love you :)
I will def look into it :)
Thank you so much ladies for your help. I suspected that an EA doesnt pay much :(
Bugger.

Freya is it Edith Cowan that do it via correspondence???

Do you know the website????

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Freya is it Edith Cowan that do it via correspondence???

Do you know the website????

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Open University does it via correspondence. They are linked with Curtin in WA. Website is www.open.edu.au.

Thank you so much Miss H :)
You are awesome :)

Can I just ask, has anyone become an EA and then completed their Uni Degree???

For some reason I just keep going back to that way.....
Only for the simple reason I hate my job and dont want to have to keep doing this for the next 4 years.
At least if I was an EA I could be in the industry I strive to be in lol

Does that make sense????

Yes, that makes sense. I am wanting to do it that way too. Will be interested if anyone else has done that.

Just wanted to say good luck in persuing your dream. You've had some good advice here by the sounds of it. A teaching degree is a huge committment and pracs are a big responsibility (as a prac teacher we expected our students to put in a fair bit of time outside school hours to plan etc). I had a prac student last year who'd just started her degree externally after having a child. She also worked part time. She said the uni was pretty flexible. Do you qualify for Centrelink assistance? There is the equivalent of Youth Allowance for adult learners I heard, though I know nothing about it.

ooh Julie, Thanks hun. I am 200% dedicated and I have a very supportive partner. I will def suss out the centrelink option. I am not sure :)

yay Miss H :)
I just read that you are wanting to do it this way as well :)
Yay :D

In NSW schools teachers aides get about $17 an hour and its casual rates. We are always desperate for trained aides and often have to use people with no training.
Teaching is an awesome job if you love it (I do) even after all these years I still feel excited about my job.

Thats what I would of expected (paywise) for a TA :) Thanks Mrs Mac, your the best. I cant wait till I have my dream awesome job :D

Hi Hun,
I have my cert 3 teachers assistant and it's really hard to find fulltime work & yes the money isn't great.
I'm now studing a Batchelor of arts majoring in edu subjects externally, it's 3 yes & then I'll do my 1 yr dip Ed after that to be fully qual teacher.
I have found places that offer dip Ed externally also.
Last yr I worked fulltime & did my external studies fulltime, it was tough & I wouldn't manage with kids on top of that.
The great thing with external is you can choose your loading to suit you. Right now I'm at 75% loading, fulltime is 100%. When bub comes I'll drop to 50% loading. It's a great option as you study at home in your own time, you just have to be motivated. Good luck :)

I just saw you hate the industry you're in.
What about out of hours care?
I work mornings 6:30-10:30(admin when kids leave for class) then arvos 3:15-6:30 which gives me my days to do my studies and weekends off, it's not teaching but if you want to work with kids now it's great fun and the pay isn't bad if your a coordinator or assistant coordinator.