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Anonymous survey answerSurvey Nº 127

I left another career to re-train as a teacher and gave up a year of earnings to follow my dream.

Left another career to retrain, now looking elsewhere

Published 5 October 2026 · 1 min read

Employment situation
On a supply list, no work
Sector
Primary

The situation takes a toll on you and your whole family. The uncertainty makes it impossible to make plans for the future and the worry over money is constant. I left another career to re-train as a teacher and gave up a year of earnings to follow my dream. I have a real passion for teaching but the uncertainty and stress is causing me to look elsewhere for employment.

This is answer 127 of the 269 written answers that teachers let us quote anonymously in the Scottish Teacher Employment Survey 2026. It answers the survey’s last question: what do the people who make decisions about teacher employment need to know?

We have corrected spelling, added paragraph breaks and removed details that could identify anyone. Words in square brackets are ours.

Every answer in the report (PDF) Survey results

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Supply
I now feel I am sitting here with a degree I cannot use and the more time goes on the more I feel a permanent job is not going to happen for me.

6 min read

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  • +4
Read the account: 6 years for what
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