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Thinking of going into teaching? What you need to consider

Thinking of teaching

Teaching is a wonderfully rewarding career but it can also be challenging and you need to be realistic about what you hope to achieve by entering the profession.

You are considering a career that is interesting, rewarding and stimulating. Of course, it can also be stressful and demanding at times, but most teachers wouldn't do anything else. As a teacher, you'll get to work with a wide range of people of all different ages and backgrounds - moreover, you'll also have fun.

This page offers lots of advice and information about what it's like to be a teacher, how you train as a teacher and how to get a place on the teacher training course you want.

What are the types of teacher-training courses available to you?

There are a range of ITT courses available and it is important that you find one to suit your circumstances.  For more, see What course will be best for me?

What kind of qualifications will you need to become a teacher?

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You are considering a career that is interesting, rewarding and stimulating.
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To become a fully qualified teacher in state schools in England and Wales, you’re going to have to gain Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). This will almost certainly mean completing a programme of initial teacher training (ITT).  In order to find out more about the qualifications required for different ITT routes, please see: Qualifications you need.

Changes to rules for obtaining QTS
For all UK trainee teachers, the current limit of five years in which you can be employed as a teacher without having passed the skills tests and obtained QTS has been replaced by a deadline of 31 August 2008. After this date, no one can be employed as a teacher in a maintained school, non-maintained special school or pupil referral unit in England without having passed the skills tests and obtained QTS

What kind of experience will you need to become a teacher?

Experience of working in schools or with youth groups, for example, are important aids to learning more about what it might be like to be a teacher and also in getting onto the ITT course you want.  For further details, please see: Gettting on a course.

Other issues to consider

If you have thought seriously about a career in teaching, you will already have thought through many of the issues below. Use these points as a checklist to ensure that you’ve considered the impact of your decision on every area of your life.

  • Your current financial commitments: will you be able to support yourself during a year or more of study?
  • Opportunties: are there many teaching/ITT opportunities in your area? Would you be willing to relocate if not?
  • Travelling: how far are you willing/able to travel for work/training?
  • The structure of the academic year: what’s the impact of the termly structure on how you like to work? What impact might it have on the holidays you and your family/friends can take? How will you manage with the ‘peaks’ of busy times within the school year?
  • Work/life balance: will you find the time for lesson planning, marking etc?
  • Age groups: what age group do you wish to teach? Do you have any work experience with that age group?
  • Subjects: would you prefer to teach one or two subjects in depth (secondary) or a broader range of subjects (primary)?
  • School culture: what kind of school culture would support how you wish to teach and interact with pupils? Depending on how long it’s been since you’ve been in a classroom, you may need to consider the extent to which it will have changed in that time.
  • Challenges and difficulties ahead: how do you cope with challenges? Teaching is a rewarding and also challenging career. Pupil/parent behaviour, the national curriculum, structures of school buildings, school culture, community profile are among the issues that can be the cause of either support or challenge for teachers. It may not always be possible to find the perfect school for you at particular points of your career and it’s worthwhile considering how you would meet the challenges that such a situation can present.

When making your decision, question any assumptions you have about what it is like to be a teacher; talk to others in the profession; and even think about visiting your local school.

 Download ATL's free publication for students, Into the classroom, for further advice on how to get the most out of your studies.

Further information

  • Finding the right ITT provider

Resources