Late 40’s and never worked in the summer in my life

[Fakegrassthatlooksreallyreal]

Save for two years in my late teens, early twenties as a student
Ive had minimum six weeks off over summer, maximum for years almost three months off over summer, then home with my Dd for years before she started school.
I’m due to start a new role in the early autumn and will get only two weeks off in summer, I’m actually panicking about it 😅
I realise I’ve been incredibly fortunate in this area of my life (not always in other areas, so life hasn’t been plain sailing) but how will I adapt

Haha! This is my thoughts on new jobs too. Ive never worked in August since I left uni.

I assume you’ve always been a teacher or worked in schools OP? I mean the good thing now is that you can take holidays outside term time which is SO much nicer, less crowded and cheaper. Unless you have school-aged kids that is 😂

I honestly think it will be really hard to adapt to!

Yes! but only four weeks in comparison to around 16 at the most 😫

I actually like(d) working in the summer, but then my parents helped with childcare and my husband had days off in the week so it wasn’t a headache. Loved just focussing on work and not school, lunches, uniforms etc, plus roads and traffic are quieter. My kids have left school now though

Oh well

We don’t have that as don’t live near parents, it would have been a real struggle. Now Dd is older i’ve been able to change things, but this aspect I will miss greatly.

This is why teachers make me laugh (and I am related to a few who think themselves martyrs) most of them have never known any different than getting 13+ weeks off a year, including 6 in the summer, and think that’s normal. They have no idea what it’s like for everyone else, many of whom only get 28 days a year INCLUDING bank holidays, as they’ve never done it. They take the long holidays for granted.

I am not saying teaching is an easy job, just pointing out how something will be seen as normal and taking for granted if it’s all you’ve ever known - despite it being contrary to how most working adults have to live.

OP - you will get used to it. Like we all did when we left school and started working. The weeks and months roll into one, and you’ll be in control of when you can take your (reduced) holiday. To be honest August is a crap month anyway and I avoid taking annual leave then - everywhere is busy, it’s usually raining, and holidays are expensive. June, early July and September are much better months for leave.

I used to moan to my dad about this - he went straight into teaching from college and did that til he retired. The only time he’s ever worked in August is going into school for GCSE and A-level results. His birthday is near Christmas, so he’s never had to work on his birthday, either!

Having said that, I do know teachers who work a lot harder than my dad did and would very often be working throughout each school holiday, so please don’t read this as a teacher-bashing post!

Yes I think I agree actually, it really is such a massive perk to the job.

I think it must be difficult for parents, who don’t feel the benefit of annual leave spread across the year because they can only go on holiday / have family time during school holidays anyway. I wouldn’t want summers off because I like being able to book holidays at less busy and cheaper times of year and not have to battle the crowds when I go out to places.

You’ll get used to it soon enough I imagine, though. The first year might feel a bit of a shock, but after that it’s just going to be your normal.

I don't think we take it for granted, more that we get frustrated by people thinking we don't earn it. I've done 16hrs of extra work this week already. At home. In my free time. Over the next couple of weeks, I will write 210 reports, mark 120 books, 30 mock papers and spend around 10hrs delivering extra revision and catch up sessions. All outside of my contracted hours. Plus dozens of other things. That's even before you look at how much work I'll do over the actual summer holidays. I'm not a martyr at all. I adore my job and the long holidays are a huge perk for childcare. But they're also necessary in light of the workload.

OP, it will become your new normal really fast. I only entered teaching as I turned 40 and worked in the summer before that. It's no better or worse. Just different.

Welcome to the real world, OP.

A member of my family worked as a teacher & moaned constantly, as they all do, about what a total nightmare the job was, how underpaid & under-appreciated she was, nobody understood how tough life was for teachers & so on ad nauseam. The ususal story.

Eventually (and in fairness to her unlike most of her colleagues), she had the balls to actually quit & got a job in the private sector with the same 5 weeks off a year as everyone else.

She couldn’t handle it at all & ended up going off sick with anxiety & depression because she genuinely couldn’t cope with working 47 weeks a year, only 2 weeks off in summer etc. She went back to teaching & afterwards moaned a lot less about how intolerable life was when you have 13 weeks off a year. Funny, that…🙄

It’s unfair to say it’s not a very difficult job, it most definitely is, hence why I left. The holidays are indeed a massive benefit though

I am sure it varies and depends on what year you teach, and what subject etc. Being an English or humanities teacher at secondary school for GCSE students would involve a lot more marking than a PE or music teacher, and take a lot longer than marking maths papers too.