Are you tempted to teach but unsure whether it is right for you? Our job profiles are here to help you decide which is the right vocation for you and this one is all about a career in education. We’ll try to provide you with a good grounding of information about a career in this sector, including the vast number of acronyms they love to stick in all over the place!

Within the Education sector there are many different roles and paths your career could follow: from primary teacher to teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL).

PGCE

The path into teaching that is perhaps most commonly referred to it the Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE). This is one of many initial teacher training (ITT) routes and can be based either at university of at school. The latter of these will mean you spend more time training in a school compared to the more traditional PGCE where your time will be split between both university and school. Most commonly, PGCE’s cover a year.

School Direct Training Programme

Another choice available is the new School Direct training programme. These are delivered in partnership with training providers (most commonly universities). They only began running these in September 2013 so they are a fresh, new route into teaching! They are designed for high calibre graduates and those who have at least three years’ work experience can apply for the salaried School Direct training programme (earn while you train – one our favourite little phrases!).

Teach First

Teach First is becoming extremely popular among prospective teachers! It is a scheme that recruits graduates to teach in low income communities in the UK. If you have leadership potential and are a successful candidate, you will receive six weeks intensive training before being placed in a selected school. At the end of two years (or in some cases a slightly longer period of time) you achieve your PGCE.

Undergraduate Degrees

There is also the option of studying a BA, Bed or BSc at university and achieving qualified teacher status (QTS) on graduating. This process is done via UCAS, and do remember to check with the universities you are applying to that your course will make you eligible for QTS.

Funding

There are a number of ways to fund your teacher training if you are not otherwise earning while you learn. Perhaps it is worth considering teaching a subject which is in demand (for example, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics) – it is often the case that training in these subject areas has more available funding to entice you in! Most importantly though, give careful consideration to whether it is a job you see yourself enjoying for years to come.