Graduate jobs are limited, as the whole country is well aware, but there are some areas of demand, in which finding a job needn’t involve jumping through 10 different hoops.
Teaching is a career on the up. Career progression is pretty good, pay is improving and you get lengthy, decent holidays, unlike the average office job. However, certain areas are a little harder to get into such as primary school teaching and in the fields of History and English. However, if you want to be a language, science or maths teacher, you will even get a ‘golden hello’ or several thousand pounds when you commence your first position.
How to get into teaching as a graduate
Unless you have studied teaching as your degree subject, you will need to complete a PGCE. This is a Post Graduate Certificate of Education: it lasts one year, with several difference placements throughout that year, and you will be given a bursary of up to £9,000.
There are other options, but this is the fastest and generally regarded as the best route into the teaching profession. Once you have completed the PGCE, you will then complete one year as an NQT or Newly Qualified Teacher, where you will be guided through the teaching process on the job. After this year you will have qualified as a teacher and you will be able to enjoy a pay rise.
To teach specific subjects such as maths, chemistry, physics and modern languages such as French, German, Spanish and Italian you will need to have studied these at degree level. These are the subjects most in demand; however, you can also apply for primary teaching roles if you don’t want to specialise.
You must choose what age range and subject you want to teach in before you start the PGCE as the course is tailored to school age group and subjects.
Supplementary benefits of teaching
Aside from the long holidays, teaching is a great job to do if you like to travel or dream of one day living overseas. Most countries are always on the look out for good teachers, especially those with English as their first language. You can also take a supplementary TEFL course, which is Teaching English as a Foreign Language; such a course, often taught 'on-site' can allow you to travel through places such as China, South America and India.
Before thinking about teaching any further, check out the range of school jobs available on the Guardian Jobs website to see if teaching is the kind of thing you would like to do.
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