How does being an unappointed teacher affect professional identity, confidence and family ties? Ways to protect hope, from supply teaching to exam season.
For four years you taught lessons in placement schools, saw the "I've got it" spark in children's eyes, and at graduation heard the words "You are teachers now." Then the exam results were announced and your list of preferred posts came to nothing. Now when people ask about your profession, you hesitate for a moment: is it right to say "I'm a teacher", or "I have a teaching degree"? Being an unappointed teacher is not simply a matter of not finding a job; it means preparing for a profession for years and then being kept waiting at its door, with your identity left in limbo. In Turkey, most teachers in state schools are appointed centrally on the basis of national exam scores, so this waiting can last years. In this article we look at the psychological process unappointed teachers go through, how professional identity is shaken during this wait, and how you can protect both yourself and your wish to be a teacher during this period.
Why Is the Psychology of an Unappointed Teacher So Distinctive?
For many people in Turkey, teaching is not just a profession but an identity, and often a childhood dream. Some chose this path inspired by the primary school teacher who taught them to read and write, others on their family's advice that "This is the safest profession." Either way, teaching has become an important part of the answer to the question "Who am I?"
There are several features that set being unappointed apart from other experiences of not finding work:
- The profession is perceived as having a single door. Although there are private schools and tutoring centres, for many prospective teachers "real teaching" is seen as equivalent to a permanent state post.
- The outcome is decided by a score. Years of effort come down to an exam result and limited quotas. The area outside the person's control is very large.
- The cycle starts again every year. Exam, results, preferences, appointment list... The same hope and the same disappointment can be relived year after year.
- The sense of fairness is shaken by subject area. In some subjects quotas are very limited; seeing a friend from another subject appointed with the same score raises the question, "Why is my effort worth less?"
When these features come together, the result is a state of mind that mixes anxiety and grief.
Common Psychological Signs in Unappointed Teachers
The process of not being appointed affects each person differently. The following are common signs; on their own they do not amount to a diagnosis.
- Anxiety, sleeplessness, stomach aches and headaches that intensify during exam periods
- A deep slump in the weeks after results are announced, not wanting to do anything
- Avoiding news about the teaching profession, the days schools open and Teachers' Day
- Distance in relationships with friends who were appointed; finding it hard to listen to their school stories
- Thoughts of regret such as "I wasted my years"
- Loss of confidence in the profession: "I probably wouldn't have been a good teacher anyway"
- Intense reluctance and difficulty concentrating when starting to prepare for the exam again
This last point is particularly important. For someone who has sat the exam several times, even opening a textbook can bring back earlier disappointments.
As the years go by, a new thought is added to these signs: "Am I too late now?" An exam taken with hope in your early twenties carries a different meaning as you approach your thirties. Friends get married, buy homes, have children; the unappointed teacher may feel as though they are still living the day after graduation. This time pressure makes each new exam heavier than the last.
For more on anxiety specific to exam periods, take a look at our article on KPSS anxiety (KPSS being Turkey's public-sector staff selection exam).
Supply Teaching and the Private Sector: The "I'm a Teacher, but I'm Not" Feeling
A significant number of unappointed teachers work during this period as hourly paid supply teachers in state schools, in private schools, at tutoring centres or by giving private lessons. These forms of work provide both professional experience and income; but they bring their own emotional challenges.
Someone working as a supply teacher walks into the same classroom as their permanent colleagues, teaches the same lesson and meets the same parents. But the pay at the end of the month, the job security and their position in the staffroom are very different. The feeling "I'm this class's teacher, but not really" can gradually erode the sense of belonging. Leaving that class at the end of term and saying goodbye to students you have bonded with is a separate loss as well.
Let's say you are a primary teaching graduate and this year you are teaching a first-year class in a village school as a supply teacher. The children hug you and call you "my teacher", and you write their first letters together. But mid-term the head teacher tells you that a permanent teacher is coming and that you will hand the class over to them. While thinking about how to say goodbye to the children, you are also wrestling with the feeling that your own effort is not being seen.
Those working in private schools may face long hours, high parental expectations and often low pay. Sometimes this intensity also drains the energy needed to prepare for the exam, and the person is caught between two fires: if they stop working they cannot make ends meet, and if they keep working they cannot prepare for the exam.
Despite these difficulties, every day spent in the classroom is a real experience that nourishes your professional identity. Not having a permanent post does not mean that what you teach and the bonds you form are worthless. The skills you gain, such as classroom management, assessment and communicating with parents, stay with you whichever path you take in the future. We have covered work-related exhaustion in teachers in more detail in our article on teacher burnout.
Family, Community and the Place of Teaching in Society
In Turkey, teaching is still seen as a respected and "secure" profession. This increases the pressure on the unappointed teacher. Relatives ask, "Haven't you been appointed yet?", and some say, "We told you not to study that subject." If you live in a village or a small town, you may feel as though everyone knows your exam result.
Some families, without realising it, turn the exam into a family matter. On results day the whole household holds its breath, and when the result is negative a silent atmosphere of mourning settles in. The person has to carry both their own disappointment and their family's. One way of easing this load is to talk with the family before results day: telling them in advance what kind of reaction you need and what would be good for you can help that day be less draining.
The relationship with friends who were appointed is another sensitive area in this period. A friend you sat beside at the faculty and studied for the KPSS with may now have started work at a school in the east of the country and be telling you about their first parents' meeting. It is entirely natural to feel a pang while being happy for them. Accepting these mixed feelings is also a way of protecting the friendship. Sometimes saying to your friend, "I'm really happy for you, but right now it's a bit hard for me to listen to school stories" is far healthier than quietly drifting apart.
A permanent post is an outcome; being a teacher is a process that begins anew with every bond you form with a student.
Protecting Hope and Yourself as an Unappointed Teacher
Don't reduce your professional identity to a permanent post
Ask yourself: What nourishes me most about teaching? Being able to explain something, connecting with children, knowing a subject in depth? These needs can be met not only through a permanent post but in other ways too: volunteer education projects, book drives for village schools, homework support for children in your neighbourhood, creating educational content. These do not replace a post; but they keep your need to "be a teacher" alive.
Make exam preparation sustainable
Intense periods that begin every year with "This time I'll drop everything and just study" often end in burnout. Instead, make a realistic weekly plan that fits with your job. Include one full day of rest a week in the plan. In long-term preparation, consistency is more valuable than intensity.
Be prepared for results day
Plan the day the result is announced not as an exam but as a day on which you take care of yourself. Decide in advance who you want to find out the result with and what you will do afterwards. If the result is negative, avoid making big decisions for at least a few days.
Limit comparison
Appointed friends' school posts on social media, score debates in teacher groups and placement simulations can keep anxiety constantly alive. Getting information from these groups is useful; but setting a limit on how much time you spend on them each day is just as important.
Thinking about a "plan B" is not betrayal
Many prospective teachers see even considering an alternative path as a betrayal of the profession. Yet a plan B does not mean giving up plan A; it is a way of feeling safe in the face of uncertainty. Fields such as guidance services, educational technology, publishing, corporate training and associations working with children are places where teaching skills are valued.
Keep your connection to your subject alive
Keep reading about your subject, following new teaching methods, and attending educational seminars and online workshops. For a prospective maths teacher, puzzling over a problem, or for a prospective Turkish literature teacher, thinking about how to present a novel to students, is a reminder that the profession is not just a post but a calling. This connection can also be a source of motivation during exam periods; because the topics you study are not just questions, but things you will one day explain in a classroom.
Express your feelings
Instead of suppressing disappointment, anger and envy, talk to someone you trust or write things down. Forming solidarity groups with prospective teachers going through the same process both reduces loneliness and makes it easier to share practical information.
When Should You Seek Professional Support?
You might consider talking to a professional in the following situations:
- If you experience a deep loss of enjoyment and motivation lasting weeks after exam results
- If even starting to prepare for the exam causes intense anxiety or physical symptoms
- If you constantly compare yourself with others and feel worthless
- If your family relationships have become seriously strained because of this process
- If your sleep, appetite and daily routine have been noticeably disrupted
- If you have started to think that life is meaningless
At moments when you think about harming yourself, please don't stay alone; in an emergency call 112 (emergency services) and reach out to someone close to you. For prolonged low mood and hopelessness, it is possible to get support in the area of depression and mood.
How Is Not Being Appointed Addressed in Therapy?
In therapy, the first step is to acknowledge that this experience is a loss. Instead of brushing it aside with "You're still young, it'll happen next year", space is made for the grief caused by the postponement of an imagined future.
In the cognitive behavioural therapy approach, thoughts such as "If I wasn't appointed, I'm not good enough to teach" or "I've wasted my life" are examined against concrete evidence. With people who experience exam anxiety, work is done on relaxation techniques, attention management and realistic study plans. Avoided situations, such as opening a textbook or meeting friends who were appointed, are gradually brought back into life.
For some clients, the meaning of a permanent post lies deeper: gaining their family's approval, protecting the identity of the "successful child", or closing a lifelong sense of insecurity with a post. When these deep needs are recognised from a schema-focused perspective, the person can put the goal of being appointed in a healthier place: as a life goal, but not as the only measure of their worth.
Therapy also supports decision-making: How many more years do I want to sit the exam, and under what conditions will I try another path? It is important that these decisions are guided not by anxiety or family pressure, but by the person's own values.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does it make sense to work as a supply teacher if I'm not appointed?
Supply teaching can be valuable for keeping your professional experience alive and maintaining your bond with the classroom. However, if the workload completely prevents you from preparing for the exam, you need to strike a realistic balance between the two goals. It helps to decide by considering both your financial circumstances and your exam goal together.
I envy my friends who were appointed. Does that make me a bad person?
No. Envy is a natural feeling that arises when you see someone else reach something that is very valuable to you. Noticing this feeling and naming it is healthier than suppressing it. If you notice that the feeling is pulling you away from your friends completely, it helps to talk about it with someone you trust or with a professional.
I'm thinking of giving up teaching but I feel guilty. What should I do?
Considering moving away from a goal you have worked towards for years can feel like a betrayal of your family or of your past self. But changing direction does not mean losing everything you have learned; teaching skills are valued in many fields. It is important to make this decision without rushing, taking your values and your real circumstances into account.
How can I find motivation while preparing for the exam again?
The disappointment of previous attempts can make even opening the book difficult. Rather than waiting for motivation to arrive, starting with very small steps, for example studying for only half an hour a day in the first week, can work. Noting what worked and what didn't in previous exams helps you see the new period not as a repeat but as a correction.
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Eda Erkan Alapala
Klinik Psikolog. İstanbul Kent Üniversitesi Klinik Psikoloji Tezli Yüksek Lisans mezunu; bilişsel davranışçı terapi, çocuk merkezli oyun terapisi ve çocuk-ergen psikoterapisi alanlarında eğitimlerini tamamlamıştır.
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