Education involves working with pupils of all ages and abilities, from nursery to special education to lecturing at university level. All must be engaging and inspirational, with in-depth knowledge about their subjects and clear communication skills.
Teachers will need a degree, but not necessarily in the subject that they wish to teach. Enthusiasm and knowledge are more important. On-the-job training is the norm and bursaries are often available during the PGCE as well as other routes into the industry.
The role of a teacher necessitates long hours. Although the official working day is generally 8:30-3:30, ongoing marking and lesson preparation eat into your free time and working weeks are often 60-70 hours.
Work-life balance as a whole can prove problematic. School holidays are also taken up with prep, marking, revision sessions and other work-related necessities, meaning that it is rare for teachers to have a proper break.
Working in education is a challenging career, with long hours and often inadequate pay but it is a valued profession which can be enormously rewarding for the right candidate.
