New BA in English Literature - Career Advice as a Single Parent of 4 with Complex Nee

[oldcarnutfred]

EDIT**** Thankyou everyone for your replies!! Some wonderful suggestions that I'm going to look into further

but for now I am going to enjoy my baby and appreciate doing nothing until I'm ready for work again. I will take your advice and save the teacher training until my children are older.
Hi everyone

I have just finished uni and this week have been awarded BA (hons) in English literature

I studied with the Open University and it has taken me 7 years alongside raising my children. But now I have my degree, I have absolutely no idea what career path to go down.
I will be taking some time to do nothing, I am recently a single parent to a 13 year old girl with social anxiety, 10 year old boy currently being assessed for Autism, ADHD and ODD, 2 year old boy who is very attached to me, and an 11 week old baby. So at the moment I am a very busy mum, I was writing my final assignment whilst in labour before I went to hospital and carried on writing the day after giving birth and everyday after, submitting it when baby was 12 days old, so now I've finished my degree I'm having a well deserved break!
So my reason for this post is trying to find out what career path to do eventually. I wanted to teach literature to secondary age children, but I know that teaching is a lifestyle not a career. So if any teachers on here can answer, being a single mum to 4 children, all with complex needs, would teaching be completely unrealistic in the near future for me?
Anyone who has a degree in English literature, what career path did you take? I would love to be able to read for living or write analytical essays of books

sorry for the long post, and thank you if you read it all

 

[queen1989]

Wow, super mum right there!!! Well done to you, I’d take a rest and enjoy your time with your babies and think about it later, it will come to you when you least expect it. Good Luck and huge congratulations on the birth of you baby and your qualifications.

 

[wildstriker]

Sounds like you want to be an academic? Which would mean a master's and probably funding for a PhD. Not easy to get, but not impossible. It would take years though.

 

[b12732]

@wildstriker you can get funded Phd depending on the subject. I’m currently doing my MA while working as a full time teacher. Aiming to do phd after

 

[papadios]

Wow, well done you, sounds like you have the determination to become a teacher. Have you considered getting a job in a school as a TA for experience and to decide if you like it/can cope with it? There are routes into becoming a teacher via apprenticeships whilst working but depends on where you live
If you did decide to be a teacher, you'd have fabulous holidays with your children and not really have to worry about childcare when schools are out good luck in whatever you decide x

 

[akyrah]

@papadiosthis isn't true. There is so much to do during the 'holidays', it's impossible to do without some form of childcare.

 

[papadios]

@akyrah I said 'not really' which doesn't mean, completley. I work in a school and am a single parent and I've always managed without having to pay a penny or overly worry

 

[godsproblemchild]

@papadios but do you work in a school as a teacher?

 

[papadios]

@godsproblemchild I'm a HLTA, thankyou for your interest

 

[godsproblemchild]

@papadios so that’s a no then. teachers have a hell of a lot more planning, marking, meetings, standards etc than a HLTA. Must HLTA’s teach work given to them by the teachers- which the teachers would have to set!
So just because you “have always managed without having to pay a penny” doesn’t mean that everyone else can- lots of single parents don’t have friends or family they can rely on, particularly if their kids have special needs or they have lots of them- putting 4 kids into childcare during school holidays would actually be quite costly.

 

[papadios]

@godsproblemchild thankyou for your uniformed opinion about my role as a HLTA, and my comments were meant to be helpful, not trolled. Thanks for your opinions

 

[godsproblemchild]

@papadios why does everyone cry troll when someone challenges them! not every criticism is a troll your comment wasn’t realistic.

 

[cwalker02]

@godsproblemchild erm.... I was a science hlta, I taught a full teaching timetable, planned, delivered and marked by me. The only difference was I taught send children. Please don't speak about role you clearly know nothing about.

 

[papadios]

@cwalker02 thankyou for this comment, this is exactly what I do but in mainstream and I teach h&w and languages to whole school

 

[cwalker02]

@papadios I loved it and it allowed me to get the experience to become a qualified teacher. Never looked back. I do miss the smaller classes though

 

[godsproblemchild]

@cwalker02 ok- I know nothing…..

 

[neomedipharm]

@papadios steady on, you're dispelling the notion that teachers work every minute of every week....I have friends that are teachers, who also don't have holiday childcare issues!

 

[papadios]

@godsproblemchild I'm surprised you have time to be on FB

 

[papadios]

@neomedipharm work/life balance it's a thing

 

[chantelle]

@akyrah this isn’t true for everyone. I’m a teacher (and single parent) and I’ve never had to get childcare during the holidays to work, and nor have any of my colleagues. The only exception might be arranging for my kids to go on play dates when I go into school on GCSE results day.