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gohan

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So I'm currently six weeks into my PGCE for secondary maths and I'm really enjoying it.

Today my brother just offered me a carpentary job working on films sets (in the last few years he's done star wars 7, the Han solo movie, ready player one, the mummy, the man from uncle and both fantastic beasts films). Now I know my way around tools but I'm far from an expert but it's a whole who ya know thing so even with my lack of experience I'd be getting £30 an hour plus 120% over 40 hours and 180% on Sundays. Which is like 60k a year minimum up to like 100k for reasonable 6 day weeks etc.

Now I'm fairly sure I wouldn't enjoy the work, but I'd be earning around 3 times the wage (plus 6% tax self employed company dodgy shit) and I'd get to work on cool as fuck sets.

So do I stick with teaching and be poor, or sell out and go into the film industry?
 

Gwadien

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So I'm currently six weeks into my PGCE for secondary maths and I'm really enjoying it.

Today my brother just offered me a carpentary job working on films sets (in the last few years he's done star wars 7, the Han solo movie, ready player one, the mummy, the man from uncle and both fantastic beasts films). Now I know my way around tools but I'm far from an expert but it's a whole who ya know thing so even with my lack of experience I'd be getting £30 an hour plus 120% over 40 hours and 180% on Sundays. Which is like 60k a year minimum up to like 100k for reasonable 6 day weeks etc.

Now I'm fairly sure I wouldn't enjoy the work, but I'd be earning around 3 times the wage (plus 6% tax self employed company dodgy shit) and I'd get to work on cool as fuck sets.

So do I stick with teaching and be poor, or sell out and go into the film industry?

Depends if you're finding your PGCE difficult or not, also, don't be put off the money in the long term, if you acquire enough extra responsibilities you'll be dandy.

Finish the course (if you're finding it OK) then assess your options is what I would do.
 

fettoken

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I think you're better off deciding that depending on the situation you're in, in life.
 

gohan

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Depends if you're finding your PGCE difficult or not, also, don't be put off the money in the long term, if you acquire enough extra responsibilities you'll be dandy.

Finish the course (if you're finding it OK) then assess your options is what I would do.
This was my thinking, QTS lhas no limit as long as I don't start my NQT year so I could finish the year and then decide in June, but equally I could make 50k between now and June lol
 

SilverHood

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If you're going to jump, do it with both feet and no regrets. How old are you? What happens if you drop out and the carpentry job doesnt work out? Can you re-apply next year without consequence? What happens if you like the work? How are you going to get certified that you are doing your job?
 

Edmond

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Also don't be lured by the 'working in the film industry' thing. It will become just a job and the novelty will wear off very quickly
 

Gumbo

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Are you guaranteed that money, 52 weeks of the year? I'm guessing not. Factor that into your calculations. There may be times where there are no films to work on, and then do you have the same contacts which will get you on sites doing door frames and skirting boards?

Part of me says just f'ing do it. Yolo etc. The sensible head says finish the PGCE then give it a shot with the qualification to use later..
 

Job

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Go for it, teaching has become dreadful job and most of them are institutionalised.
 

DaGaffer

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How much longer is your PGCE? I'm not a big fan of not finishing stuff, and if it was me, I'd get the qualification and then have a crack at the set thing, if that's possible. If its not and the carpentry offer is a one time deal...I have to admit I'd be really tempted. You're right that its not a "what you know but who you know" type industry, and despite CGI its an area that will be resistant to automation. Do it right and there's probably a bit of a travel opportunity as well.
 

gohan

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How much longer is your PGCE? I'm not a big fan of not finishing stuff, and if it was me, I'd get the qualification and then have a crack at the set thing, if that's possible. If its not and the carpentry offer is a one time deal...I have to admit I'd be really tempted. You're right that its not a "what you know but who you know" type industry, and despite CGI its an area that will be resistant to automation. Do it right and there's probably a bit of a travel opportunity as well.
Yeah my brother spent 3 months in Spain getting overtime rate the while time expenses paid etc for the Han solo movie, yeah it's a work dependent industry but there are 3 studios (pinewood leavesdon and elstree) that the company is contracted too and all are 10 miles from each other. My brother has done it for 4 years and is never without work, infact the opposite they expect about 50-60 hours a week out of you and there is never not overtime. I'm more worried that I'll hate the job. I want to say fuck it and start tomorrow but my head tells me to wait until may (my brothers father in law runs the company so as long as they don't break up its not time sensitive)
 

Gwadien

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Go for it, teaching has become dreadful job and most of them are institutionalised.

You're a thick twat.

Hows that for pc and institutionalised, bitch?
 

Gwadien

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137ca9e2a4de70b11d0ae475997e8004.gif
 

Billargh

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I'd just finish the course and take the job afterwards. I imagine most jobs become a rigmarole eventually, so you might as well earn bank for it.
 

gohan

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Wait @gohan fucking Maths? You on a £30k bursary?
25k + 9k loan 30k is only for the physics bitches with a first, so I'm not in a bad financial position this year, just worried it might be a wasted year and the opportunity might not be there forever
 

gohan

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I'd just finish the course and take the job afterwards. I imagine most jobs become a rigmarole eventually, so you might as well earn bank for it.
Yeah this seems to be the general consensus, plus gives me a route to fall back on if I end up hating it. Cheers all, was pretty much what I was thinking but wanted to see if peiple thought it was stupid not to go for it right away
 

Raven

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Most people I know that trained to be teachers are no longer teachers.

Crap money, have to deal with spoiled brats, virtually no progression path.

Guaranteed income though.
 

Tom

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I'd take the film set job. Bear in mind you wouldn't see much filming because surprise surprise film crews don't really like to hear and see people whacking nails into things while they're trying to film, but if you get in there and people like you, you'll have a job for a very long time. Film and TV is all who you know, nobody gives a shit about your qualifications. If you do a good job, if people like you, they'll put your name forward for the next job. I have a colleague who was lucky enough to cover for someone who couldn't do a particular shot on a very famous film, he could do the shot and that was that - his name is in the books and now he's cushty.

Bear in mind that filming days (if you're present) can be very very long, cold and boring. And you won't be able to publish pictures on your phone without being ejected from the premises. In fact, don't take pictures at all, just turn the phone off. But the food is usually top notch, and there will be free snacks all day every day.

There may be decent sized gaps between projects where you won't be working. So keep a nice comfy float in the bank, enough to pay the bills for six months or so, and chill.
 

Scouse

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I'm with @Tom tbh. You can always finish a pgce some other time - we're crying out for teachers so you can't miss that particular boat...
 

CorNokZ

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Go for it. Hate it for a year or two. Buy a sweet house. Become a teacher. Love hating that for the rest of your life.
 

caLLous

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Bear in mind you wouldn't see much filming because surprise surprise film crews don't really like to hear and see people whacking nails into things while they're trying to film
Presumably they also like their sets to be finished before they start filming on them.
 

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