Marnie had worked in the insurance industry for many years before she took a break to have her two children. Then after two years of full-time care giving, Marnie contemplated returning to the workforce, but she felt reluctant to go back to working in insurance.
‘I just felt like I needed something different out of my career’, she said. ‘It got me thinking, “this can’t be it for me; there must be something else.”’
Luckily, the experience of being a mother had sparked an interest for Marnie in childhood development and learning. As she watched her children grow and become curious about the world, Marnie began to think about whether her interest could guide her towards a whole new career.
‘I was very interested in the development of my children – watching them grow and learn’, said Marnie. ‘And I really felt that primary teaching suited that.’
This realisation was the start of Marnie’s brave move from an established career in a field that she was trained and experienced in, to a completely new profession that she had a real passion for.
Marnie knew that the first step in this process would be to retrain as a primary school teacher. With two small children, on-campus study was a challenging prospect, so Marnie elected to study a Master of Teaching (Primary) with Swinburne Online.
Online study allowed Marnie to continue to care for her children while she gained her degree, but there were other benefits too that Marnie had not foreseen.
‘I find that [the eLearning Advisors] are a great resource. I like to engage with them on the discussion boards … they’re very supportive’, she said.
Marnie found the course material to be engaging, relevant and practical. During her studies, she spent time in real primary school classrooms – experiences that confirmed for Marnie that she had made the right call in pursuing a new career in education.
In 2019, Marnie has now graduated from her Master of Teaching (Primary), and is working full-time as a primary teacher. She is very glad that she followed her intuition three years ago, and loves her new job.
‘I’ve been able to secure employment in a career that I’m really passionate about’, said Marnie. ‘The best part of being a teacher is when I’m setting up my classroom for the day, I’ve lots of exciting plans for all of the activities we’re going to do, and just waiting to see how the kids are going to react!’
On her experience of studying with Swinburne Online, Marnie says, ‘The Masters was a great study choice for me, because it’s given me confidence to change my career with everything I need, in order to be a great teacher.’
If you think a Master of Teaching might be your next big move, find out more on our course information page.
