Alexis Betts

Age at time of shift

36

Gender

Female

Education level

Graduate

Universities attended

De Montfort University

Shifted from

Detective Constable

Location

City of London

Salary

£30,000-£40,000

Years in old career

10

Shifted to

Primary School Teacher

Location

Lincolnshire

Salary

£20,000-£30,000

Years in new career

5

Year of shift

unknown

What was your role in your old job?

Having completed a 2 year probation period as a 'Bobby on the beat' I was selected for the force's Criminal Investigation Department. Then after secondments to the Surveillance Department and  the Divisional CID Office, I specialised in the investigation of  cheque and credit card fraud offences - arresting suspects - preparing cases for court.

What is/are your new role(s)?

Primary school teacher - currently teaching a year 5 class of 9 - 10 year olds and mentoring a graduate entry into the profession.

Why did you change?

Having been forced to leave the police on medical grounds (serious post-natal depression) my confidence was slowly restored as I became more involved at the small school where my 3 children attended - initially in the nursery class. I had always enjoyed 'imparting my knowledge' and would often be assigned to look after 'the new recruit' and I discovered this also transposed to children too!

Are you happy with the change?

Absolutely!

What do you miss and what don't you miss?

I miss the camaradery and the 'thrill of the chase' from being in the police. Meeting people from all walks of life is something that happens quite rarely in education too and strangely, I miss the shift work!

How did you go about making the change?

Going back to university to gain the right qualifications, then approaching a school to take me on in the relatively new entry scheme of the Graduate and Registered Training Programme.

What was the most difficult thing about changing?

As I had not been working for a significant time and was unable to return to the force, I was only looking forward to new beginnings in teaching.

What help did you get?

Careers advice from the local college.

What have you learnt in the process?

To be absolutely sure that when you're offered a position, you consider it carefully and make sure you are doing what's best in the interest of your career and that you are not being taken advantage of.

What do you wish you'd done differently?

As above.

What would you advise others to do in the same situation?

To make sure your school and teacher training college work in unison to provide the best training programme for YOU - that's what they are obliged to provide.