It is destroying my mental health and I am unable to support myself financially taking a huge cut in wages. I often rely on my parents for help. This is why I have taken a side step away from teaching but desperately want to get back to the classroom.
It is not feasible studying for years and years to have no employment in the field you love and I would not recommend it to anyone. In fact, I resent the choices I made and I feel I have wasted so many years of my life chasing something I would never have.
This is answer 73 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.