Over half of professionals surveyed in London admit to questioning the sustainability of their job or career.

New research on behalf of the Get Into Teaching campaign, a programme by the Department for Education to encourage new teachers, has found that 55 per cent of professionals in London question the sustainability of their current job or career.

The survey of over 2,000 people shows that despite the high percentage of self-doubt in professions at London, nearly one in five (19 per cent) found teaching to offer a stable and long-term career, with 18 per cent claiming that the ability to have regular term holidays were also a bonus to the profession.

Heather Brown, a physics teacher from St Clement Danes, Chorleywood, was one of the many surveyed who found teaching to be a more enjoyable profession. Ms Brown changed her twenty-year career in the construction industry into teaching in 2018 after also contemplating the sustainability of her career.

She said: “After spending over twenty years in construction, I reached a point in my career where I wanted to use my skills and experience to make a different kind of impact. Changing careers is a big decision but choosing to become a teacher was one of the best moves I’ve ever made.

“The most rewarding aspect is realising how not just what they learn from me but giving them the skills to develop their own ideas and thinking. It’s still early days for me but when there is tangible evidence that your teaching has enabled them to learn new things it is incredibly satisfying.

“Every lesson has its highs and lows. Lessons have to be adapted to suit the different needs of the students in each class and that takes skill and time. I am generally feeling positive about the progress of my classes so far, it helps that I work within a very organised and supportive science department”

From the people surveyed, 15 per cent of professionals said that they question their career most after a holiday and 8 per cent said they begin questioning their career by the end of summer.

Bill Richards, managing director at the job searching website, Indeed, commented on the research found. He said: “Career changes happen for many different reasons and are often influenced by a person’s desire to seek work that better matches their priorities and values.

“This research shows workers face crossroads when they start to question their fulfilment and as more people look for jobs reflecting their selves, it’s easy to see why they would consider teaching.”