Teaching and Education
A graduate career in teaching has so much to offer and if you're someone who wants to inspire children and adults then this could be the career for you. As well as making a difference to your pupils' lives, the teaching profession where you'll never stop learning yourself and acquiring new skills.
Most teaching and education jobs are based in schools, colleges, and training centres. There's also teaching jobs in universities but lecturers usually have many years of teaching experience on top of extra qualifications before going onto university teaching. You can also find teaching jobs such as support staff which include teaching assistants, or administrative and management staff who deal with making sure the school runs smoothly.
Financially, the teaching sector isn't too bad as well and it's among one of the best paid graduate careers out there. There's also scope for speedy career progression.
In the UK, there are more than 100 teacher training providers, however in the last few years there has been some stiff competition for teacher training places, more commonly if you want to train as a primary teacher. Because of this, at least two weeks work experience at a school is essential.
Application deadlines for primary teaching are in December whilst secondary deadline is in June, but it's recommended to apply as soon as possible so that you don't ruin your chances of getting a place on the course you desire.
If you have chosen teaching because of all the holiday and the 9am to 3.30pm work hours, then you'll be in for a shock as teachers work well beyond school hours, especially the first few years of your career, which will involve making a lot of lesson plans.
As a teacher you can also choose to take on management positions such as head of year or head of a subject area, and potentially in 10 years you can see yourself as deputy head teacher at a primary school.
Early years Teacher
Further Education Teacher
Learning Mentor
Primary Teacher
Private Tutor
School Administrator
School Business manager
Secondary Teacher
Special Education Needs Teacher
Teaching Assistant
The starting salary for newly qualified teachers from September 2010 in England and Wales was £27,000 in inner London and £22,626 in most other areas, but this can really all vary depending on what borough you work for and if you are taking on additional responsibilities at the school.
Administrative and management staff can see their salaries range from around £13,000 to £40,000 a year.
After graduating and getting a degree, you can apply for a postgraduate teacher training course (PGCE) or an employment-based route into teaching. In terms of entry requirements, this can vary between teacher training institutions as some have higher expectations than others.
Also, you are not expected to have a degree in the subject you wish to teach, for example, you could become an English teacher even if you have a degree in maths. You might be asked to take a teacher training enhancement or extension course, designed to boost your subject knowledge before you train for qualified teacher status.
As well as a degree, you need to make sure you have the minimum requirement which include GCSEs at grade C or above in English and maths, and if you want to do primary school teaching then a GCSE grade C in a science subject is required. .Minimum requirements are also expected for administrative and management roles.
For a lot of jobs in teaching and education, it's important that you are a people's person and depending on what level of teaching you do, you should enjoy working with children. Organisational skills are very important as well as oral and written communication skills. Obviously knowing in-depth knowledge about the subject you are teaching is important as well and being able to motivate your pupils.
Life as a teacher offers you plenty of opportunities and you'll consistently be given training and support to enable development of skills you can use in your career.
