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How Do You Become A Teacher?
Master Ozzy
Posts: 18,937 Forum Member
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I'd like to become a teacher, but I don't have a degree. I'm getting a bit older and I can't afford to go to University for three years. From what I understand, you have to have a degree and then do a years teacher training. Is there any other way? I really want to do it but just can't afford three years at Uni.
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But, aside from that very long shot, I'm afraid you'll need a teaching qualification - either a Bed (4 years) or if you already have a degree in a particular subject, a PGCE course (1 year).
http://www.education.gov.uk/get-into-teaching
If it's secondary you are thinking about there are some great bursaries available for certain subjects, I was looking at chemistry, and back then it was 20k if you had a first in your degree, which would have been pretty good.
Although you might not think you can afford to study, try and get some advice from the finance dept at a uni your intrested in, you'd be suprised the amount of scholarships, bursaries etc you might be eligible for, particularly as a mature student!
Showing your age,
and a mid-90s Volvo estate...complete with National Trust sticker..
Depending where you at Uni there might be teaching options - particularly in Chemistry and Physics.
My daughter did an MSc in Chemistry at York, and they offer a scheme where instead of doing a PGCE year (and paying for the privilege) you go straight in teaching at a 'deprived' school for two years (and get paid for it - not as much as an NQT, but not bad). This makes you a qualified teacher, without costing anything above your Science degree.
Essentially there's a massive shortage of Science teachers (including Maths), so it's a scheme to try and encourage the brighter graduates to enter teaching.
However, I'm not aware that any of the graduates in my daughters year took that option?.
Really, as a mature student my mrs found she was entitled to less then people who had just left collage.
Will depend on your personal circumstances, savings etc a lot of them are means tested, t here's also a lot of funds you can apply for mature or not, I applied for several each year that added about 2k to my yearly income, they are often linked to performance and are competitive, but if you're on course for a 1st each year and apply quickly you can get lucky!
Also it will depend on the uni, some have more funding available, I've found the better unis have a lot more bursuries and funds you can apply for, luck of the draw I guess.
Experienced teachers are currently leaving the profession in droves, many at breaking point through long hours, disillusionment, low morale and exhaustion. The education system in England (NOT Scotland) is currently heading for crisis.
It's all about statistics and ticking boxes, and being seen to implement and follow ridiculous and unsustainable government policies. The profession is over managed and under funded. The classes are huge and in many cases you don't have the space or facilities to teach a decent lesson.
Forget your 35 hour week, 65 is more realistic and you will not be paid for that. Nor will you be paid for the 2000 sides of marking you will have to do over Christmas, or the 80 courseworks (at 40 minutes each) you will be marking during the Easter holidays. If you still have them. The government wants schools to get rid of the usual holiday schedules and reduce them, at the same time as trying to bring in compulsory evening and weekend hours. The drive is to turn all schools into academies responsible for their own budgets, with staff paid by the school and not the local authority. So out will go all the teachers on upper pay scales in favour of paying for double the NQT hours. Your employer will decide your salary and you will be on performance related pay, but you are unlikely to fulfil the criteria to get to the next pay level as they will change the criteria every time, just ensuring you always fall short of meeting it.
'Satisfactory' teaching is now the new unsatisfactory. Spot inspections are the order of the day and if you haven't found time among marking the 80 hours of coursework to mark jotters (twice each, to show the green ink recording pupil feedback after the initial marking) then you will automatically fail. If you have to sanction a noisy student you will automatically fail. If you don't have a 3 -tiered lesson plan, show evidence of learning over 20 mins, have a seating plan....you will automatically fail. if your pupils fail to achieve their unachievably high targets (to satisfy the statistics) you will automatically fail. You will be powerless in this situation which can lead (should the school wish to manipulate it this way) into need to improve, capability and then out.
And forget standing up for your rights, you will be the only one at a union meeting as all your colleagues are too afraid of sticking their heads above the parapet to attend. Everyone is so afraid of losing their jobs that nobody wants to draw attention to themselves.
And forget having a pension, that too is on the road out but the chances of you sticking in the profession till you need it are minimal anyway!
Cynical, maybe.......but I have lived through all this first hand with friends who are teachers and members of my family who are teachers. I've seen the impact on their morale and experienced their frustration as they battle with impossible targets, red tape and exhaustion.
I'm just putting on point of view , so do your research OP, and make an informed decision about the career before you decide.........
chip....meet shoulder.
Absolutely
I'm not a teacher myself ...no way!.....but have followed the profession closely over the last 15 years and have first hand knowledge of typical day to day routine through close friends and family.
Never a month passes but yet another crazy policy is introduced. Its all "let's implement this" to tick this box, without the slightest consideration where the time to DO IT ALL will come from!
A lot of the fun, creativity and intuitive teaching has been removed by lack of funding, lack of time, increasingly over the top risk assessments meaning teachers are really restricted in what they can teach in practical classes like science labs and tech.
Never a month passes but I hear news of yet another intelligent, motivational teacher packing it in because of ridiculous workloads and low morale. In one school where a family member teaches 40 members of staff have handed in notice since Christmas!
Sure, I like a good rant like anyone else:) But this is an advice forum, and so I'm advising the OP that this is a profession undergoing radical change at the moment, and to do his research and speak to a variety of teachers before making up his mind to enter this field. He can then make up his own mind and weigh up the balance between enthusiastic feedback and negative feedback.
I'm sorry, but a degree is pretty much essential to become a teacher.
Have you had any teaching experience?
If not, you should definitely try getting some hours as a Classroom Assistant / TA just to see if you like it - and it would also make you a little more successful in actually getting on a course in the future.
Even though the above rant by a forum member was tongue in cheek, it did contain a lot of truths.
Yes, the hours are on paper very good, but you will find yourself working double that - especially in the first few years. And the money is not good enough for the responsibility you have.
Would i recommend it as a career? Hell no!
Decent money if you only have a crappy degree though?
IMO teaching IS a fantastically rewarding job, no doubt about that. However, I'm just hitting 40 and I am on my knees. God only knows how I'm expected to work to 68. I am speaking from the perspective of someone in primary education so can't comment on what it is like for secondary teachers.
I have pretty much nothing outside of my job and feel trapped. If I could go back and start again I'd NEVER take up teaching. I LOVE being with the children and delight in those 'lightbulb' moments. I would miss that terribly. That is all that keeps me going.
Pretty much every teacher I know wants out. Many, including myself, have toyed with the idea of becoming a TA. That way we'd still get the pleasure of working with the children without as much stress. Obviously though there are financial implications with this solution.
My personal life is pretty much in tatters as a result of the job and I'll never get that time back...think long and hard about it before you jump in.
In regards to the OP, if it's something you are fully committed to, then I suggest booking some holiday from your current job and get some experience in a local school. Even if it's only two days, you will get a feeling whether you like it or not. I was lucky in that I already had a degree so just needed the one year PGCE (even though the fees did rise last year to £9k). You say you can't afford it, but you could always take out a student loan. Regardless of your age, I don't think any student could afford the £9k a year fee anyway so you are no different. If you have a mortgage, rent the house out! Just go for it!
Speak to other teachers, there is also a big difference between primary and secondary school teaching. As somebody mentioned, think about becoming a TA though even that is very competitive area to get into.
As for student loans, you don't need to pay them back until you are earning national average and even then you are on a sliding scale. MSE worked out that if you earn the national average you will never pay them back in full even after working for 40 years. If you are starting later in life then even less chance of that happening. However unless you live at home, university can be expensive for other expenses that you will have to pay yourself.
If you have a 'crappy degree' it's highly unlikely that you'd be accepted on a PGCE course.
I still keep in touch with people via an old-students website and it is scary how many left teaching prematurely, either due to ill health or nervous breakdowns. I have a relative who went into teaching much later in life and she was advised by her union to take six months off as sick leave, after suffering due to the political manoeuvring of an empire-building head of a school that became an academy.
Now that portable electronic media devices have made many children unable to concentrate for more than a few minutes at a time, I would imagine that teaching is now only an option for the tiny minority who have truly exceptional stamina, a natural air of authority and exceptional talent. Anybody else could be signing themselves up for an early grave.
I have several friends with medical degrees and while they work very long hours, they are also very well compensated. They're only junior doctors at the bottom end of the pay-scale and even after all their deductions are still earning more money than the average teacher.
Unless of course you're talking about nurses and other care-workers, whose pay and conditions in this country are an absolute disgrace.
you could say the same about teaching, heads of secondary schools can earn over £100k but like health care the vast majority including those with degree will be on less then £30k a year and I'm pretty sure will be doing longer hours inc weekends and evenings.
My husband jumped ship from the private sector into primary school teaching via a PGCE and he loves it. He actually works fewer hours, the pay is reasonable and the holidays are fab! We have a far better work life balance for our family now and he finds the work so very rewarding.
I do think it makes a huge difference if you are a mature student or a career convert, I think your expectations are vastly different when you can appreciate the long hours, low pay and high stress that lots of other employment entails.
If you can find a way to do it I would certainly encourage it.
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