Changing your career to teaching

2010-03-22 - Steve Brooks

Why would people want to change their career to teaching? Often you will hear of people who have given up on lucrative and long-standing career paths to embrace the teaching profession, to the amazement of colleagues, friends and family alike. There are a variety of reasons for such a change, although it is rarely done to increase their income or because there are better employment opportunities in teaching. Usually the reasons are less tangible and more to do with wanting a change in lifestyle, with ‘giving something back’ or ‘trying to make a difference’.

What, then, are the attractions of teaching? It suits those with a gift for communication and a desire to share knowledge. Teachers sometimes talk of the ‘rush’ of being the centre of attention, and it certainly brings out the performer in many of us. Then there is the satisfaction of bringing out the best in others, watching the development of understanding, above all of sharing in the achievements of your students.

How difficult is it to make the change? In fact, in many countries, governments actively encourage late entrants into the profession. They value the diverse skills, wider experience and emotional maturity that these people can bring to the classroom. Obviously, they prefer candidates with a university degree relevant to the subject they will be teaching. It is often possible for successful applicants to complete a post-graduate teaching course at a college near their home. These courses are often underwritten, or at least heavily subsidised, by the government.

There are other options too. Some governments have overseas volunteer programmes which allow people to share their specific skills and experience with people in developing countries. In many cases these volunteer programmes do not require much in the way of formal academic qualifications. This can provide a way for people with practical skills and experience, but few academic qualifications, to share in the joy of teaching.

Then there is the burgeoning growth of Teaching English, either as a Second Language or as a Foreign Language. The setting for this kind of teaching is either in a college in your home country, teaching English to recent immigrants, or (more usually) overseas in private language schools. This last option was often undertaken by younger people attempting to subsidise independent foreign travel and a freewheeling lifestyle in exotic places. These days, however, it is tending to be more and more regulated, with most national governments requiring private language schools to hire teachers with recognised qualifications, usually a degree in a relevant subject and a TESL/TEFL qualification. To be merely a native speaker in possession of a tie is now, I am afraid, not nearly enough! However, the good news is that initial TESL/TEFL certification can be achieved in just a few weeks at various colleges and private language schools both at home and abroad.