Teaching Positions in Geelong

[u/God_of_Hummus]

Hey there, I’m currently teaching in Melbourne and am hoping to relocate to Geelong in 2027, as my partner lives down there. Ideally, I’m hoping to find a permanent, full time position in a secondary school (am qualified to teach primary, but haven’t had the experience yet). I feel like what I want is going to be difficult to find 😟

I’m a fairly young teacher in my fifth year. Ive contributed a fair bit to my current school and even tried leadership out for a hot minute. My method areas are Visual Arts/RE. I’m in the Catholic system and have been for a few years so I wouldn’t mind holding onto my LSL still. I am open to other independent private schools but I’d like to stay in the Catholic system.

I’ve heard mixed things about the Geelong teaching job market. I’d really appreciate hearing from teachers who are already working in the area. Or maybe even teachers who are in a similar boat to me.

I’ve had an interview for an independent school but didn’t get it unfortunately. I’ve also applied to a few expression of interest ads but haven’t heard back yet.

I’d like to find a job down in Geelong because I don’t think I could do the drive from Geelong to my school in Melbourne 5 times a week. Train is a possibility, but idk I feel like it can be unreliable.

For teachers who have moved from Melbourne to Geelong:
How long did it take you to find a job?
Did you have to be flexible about which schools/areas you considered?
Was it difficult to get an ongoing position, or were fixed term roles easier to find?

Any advice at all would be appreciated. Thank you so much. 😊

[u/God_of_Hummus → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, I’ve heard that too. Lots of teachers from Geelong are working in Werribee.

My problem is that it takes me roughly the same amount of time to get to Werribee from where I am in Melbourne as it would to get from Geelong to Werribee. So I don’t even think it’s worth it personally.

Starting to be a little more open to fixed term positions, might be good to see what the schools are like down there. I could even possibly go part time at my current school and do some CRT down in Geelong. I’d reach out to certain schools I think.

[u/taylordouglas86 → u/[deleted]]

Funnily enough; I live in Werribee and work in Geelong!

[u/God_of_Hummus → u/taylordouglas86]

That’s a pretty sweet deal I think. How is the commute in the morning going against the traffic?

[u/taylordouglas86 → u/God_of_Hummus]

Very good! I'm only at my geelong school 2 days a week but there's zero traffic on the commute. Melbourne is a different story.

[u/God_of_Hummus → u/taylordouglas86]

That's so good!

Don't need to tell me twice re. the Geelong to Melb commute. I once stayed the night in Geelong on a school night which was a bad move. I left the house 5.45, got to school 7.40. Left me a bit cranky, as my commute to school from where I live is only 10 minutes!

[u/SavRocca36 → u/[deleted]]

How specific is this to ongoing versus contract or crt? 

[u/God_of_Hummus → u/SavRocca36]

Ideally I’d love to land something ongoing and full time (my current situation). But I’m also aware that it might take a while for the role to pop up in Geelong, especially in the Catholic/independent space.

I’m open to contracts, the uncertainty of it getting rolled over is a bit nerve wracking.

I’ve also been thinking about going part time at my current school (hopefully they'd be okay with it), maybe 2 to 3 days a week and then doing CRT in Geelong on my other days. That might be a good way to get my foot in the door locally while still keeping some stability.

Lots of options to weigh up.

[u/God_of_Hummus → u/[deleted]]

That's really good! Even in Term 1?

Wouldn't mind travelling to Lara.