Considering a career change to teaching?
Are you thinking about the possibility of going into teaching? Well you're not alone. There are about 30,000 new teachers in the UK every year.
Some of them are switching from very different careers, bringing the benefit of their experience and knowledge into the classroom. A freelance editor, a retail manager, a lawyer and a fashion buyer are amongst those that have told us their stories about their career switch into teaching.
There are a number of routes into teaching. All teachers in the UK need qualified teacher status (QTS), but there are a number of ways to achieve this, from a full undergraduate course to a one-year postgraduate (PGCE) if you already have a degree in a different discipline. Courses can be part-time or full-time. The Training and Development Agency for Schools can support you in choosing the right next steps for you.
You may be looking at making a financial sacrifice in terms of your annual income - but if it's your calling, you need to evaluate what's more important. And teaching may turn out to be better paid than you thought. If you're keen to develop quickly there are routes available such as Fast Track Teaching. You can improve your income by taking on leadership responsibilities or developing specialist skills (Advanced Skills Teachers) as your career develops. The section on pay and benefits will give you a better idea of what to expect.
And finally, job opportunities. One of the other great advantages of teaching is that you can find jobs advertised all over the country. Most of them can be researched on the Internet. To give you some idea, there are lists of commercial job sites and LEA sites that advertise teaching vacancies on the job seeker home page.
You could also read the information about researching jobs and applying for a job online.
