Make a Difference
Who inspired you at school? I bet you remember their name even now. You remember that they made you feel valued and capable, when perhaps you doubted yourself. Can you be that person for the next generation? A good teacher is sometimes the difference between a child falling through the cracks and a newly discovered interest that could become their lifelong passion and career.
Sitting in your classroom will be the entrepreneurs, innovators and craftsmen, and women of tomorrow. By inspiring and supporting the next generation, teachers have a profound impact on society and there are very few professions will provide a personal sense of achievement as much as teaching. So if you enjoy helping and bringing the best out of others, becoming a teacher could be for you.
Bring Your Passion to the Table
Are you passionate about a subject such as English, Maths, science, sports, or a language? Or do you want to change the direction of your career into something that aligns with your wish to make a difference? This kind of passion and knowledge is exactly what makes a lesson interesting. Passionate people and people with industry experience make for great speakers and teachers, as they inspire others to get on board or be curious about their subject of study.
The good news is that you might not have to retrain for long. If you already have a degree in a subject area or want to teach primary school children, you might be able to do a PGCE training course and gain your teaching qualification in just 9 months. Want to check your options? Get in touch with a member of our team today to discuss your routes to becoming a teacher.
Training Is Funded for Certain Courses
In response to the teaching shortage in the UK, the British government now offers several bursaries, scholarships and loans for people considering teaching as a career. There is also extra support if you are a parent, have a dependent, or have a disability. All scholarships, bursaries, grants, and loans depend on what course you decide to study and some might be means-tested.
For student studying in 2023, we also have some University of Cumbria bursary and scholarships for PGCE and teacher training. In short, there has never been a greater time to consider becoming a teacher. Talk to a member of our Student Finance team to explore your options.
You’ll Be in Demand
Due to an ever-growing population, the need for teachers has never been greater. Despite all our recent technological advances and the threat these now pose to certain job markets, teaching is one of the careers that is still in demand and there is no sign this will change.
As a matter of fact, English schools are currently facing a severe shortage of teachers and recruiting trainees for the profession has now become a top priority for the government. There are also very few qualifications that see you qualified and straight into work in your field of study like teaching does. 97% of teaching graduates here at the University of Cumbria are in employment within six months of graduating, this translates to almost 9 out of 10 students. If you are concerned about job prospects, future-proofing your career, or job security, becoming a teacher will tick all the right boxes.
Teachers Can Work All Over the World
A qualification in teaching not only offers highly transferable skills, ensuring former teachers can go into administration, publishing or research, but it also offers great mobility.
Teaching is a skill that is needed around the globe and, with an increasingly mobile population due to globalization, international schools or schools that service expat communities outside of the UK are growing in size and number. Our Cumbria Teachers are working all over the world, from Moscow to Cairo and from Dubai to Nepal. Cumbria Teachers really do change the world.
If you want a career that will allow you to travel and experience new horizons while still contributing to society, teaching could indeed be for you.
You’ll Get to Learn as Well as Teach
Your carefully planned curriculum will help you understand how children learn. You will be using current, relevant research and evidence to make sure your practice is really effective. You will develop your own subject knowledge and perhaps even master new subjects. Add a dose of keeping up to date with the latest innovations in technology and teaching, and you have a recipe for always learning new things and new skills.
Teaching also offers great personal development in areas such as public speaking, time management, and organizational skills. So, if you want to remain teachable or just have a thirst for knowledge, becoming a teacher will ensure that you learn as much as you teach.
Career Progression Prospects
Within education there are many opportunities for career progression, from starting as a teacher to becoming the Head of a Department or a Headteacher, there are many routes you can take to progress your career. You can also work for publications and researchers specialised in teaching methods and materials, become a private tutor or, as mentioned above, travel the world teaching. If you are looking for a career with serious growth prospects, becoming a teacher will most certainly fit the bill.
It Keeps Your Thinking Skills Sharp
As cliché as it might sound, being “down with the kids” does keep you young. Children see the world differently and the youth of today is incredibly trend-conscious, visual, and technically savvy. Their curiosity, energy, and short attention span will ensure that you are always creating new, different, and interesting ways to share the information you need to teach. And as human history unfolds and new scientific discoveries come to light, your knowledge will also expand.
There are several pieces of research that promote how keeping an active mind helps you age well. As teaching promotes lifelong learning and challenges your creativity, it’s a great career for those who want to keep their thinking skills sharp.
Competitive Salaries
According to the national campaign Get into Teaching, the starting salary for a qualified teacher is around £28,000 and £34,000 in Inner London, escalating to over £48,000 for more experienced teachers. Leading practitioners can earn between £44,000 and £57,000, and Headteachers can earn above £118,000 depending on where they are based in the country.
In terms of labour market suitability, a large part of your PGCE training will be based within schools, so by the time you finish your qualification you will be in pole position to go straight into work. There are few qualifications where you leave university with practical, job market ready experience, teaching is one of them.
No Two Days Are the Same
Every pupil or student is different and learns at a different pace. The curiosity and wide-eyed approach of young minds also comes up with the weirdest and most wonderful things. And if you are the type of person who gets bored easily and likes new challenges, being a teacher will certainly keep you on your toes with questions that test your knowledge, new students every year, new curricula, new topics, new units, and, in short, a lot of variety.
Being Part of the Most Important Moments in Life
Teachers are usually present during the most important moments of a child or young adult’s life.
They are there when you learn the politics of friendship in primary school. They are in the background helping you cope when you suffer your first heartbreak in secondary school or live alone for the first time at university. And they are now in the forefront of spotting, reporting and supporting safety, mental health, and learning disability issues.
Most of us will remember a teacher that really helped us or guided us along the way. While teaching involves a lot of hard work and sometimes extra work marking exams and planning during and in between term-time and even summer holidays, it’s an important position to hold in anybody’s life and one that you should be proud to have.
While you might have never considered teaching as a career, there are several reasons why you should. Teaching is exciting, challenging and rewarding. More importantly, it is the profession that is shaping our future and building the leaders of tomorrow. If you want to do something that makes a difference and really adds value to your life and the lives of others’, you should most definitely consider becoming a teacher.
Want to find out more? Here at The University of Cumbria, we can help you get there. Why not check our PGCE courses, visit one of our Open Days or talk to a member of our team about your options?
Ready to give back to your community? Ready to make sure that all children have opportunities to succeed? Ready to be the person that the next generation will remember as the one that made the difference?
Want to find out more?
You are ready to take that next step. Ready to make that life-changing decision and work towards your career goals. By downloading our prospectus you will have the world at your fingertips.
You can browse our 100+ unique course options and have access to finance and support information to get you started. Discover all of the courses available to you from Arts to Zoology – we’re excited to see what you choose.
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