Realities of teaching!

Permanent post are not always the norm. Schools are increasingly making one year temporary contracts with them being made permanent at the end if there have been no problems.

Hi,

For secondary languages there are generally plenty of jobs available - everyone who trained on my course last year was successful in obtaining a post for their NQT year.

If you live and work in a cheap area, a mortgage is possible. One of my friends from the PGCE got a mortgage straight away, just on her initial teaching salary. So it is doable, if you already have savings for the deposit (or have family who can help you out). Otherwise you'd need to save for quite a few years I'd've thought. But the key thing is to be in an area where housing is affordable. I'm in the East Midlands and will be looking to buy a house in the next year or two as house prices aren't too bad here.

There are lots of temporary/short-term posts but I wouldn't say permanent posts are as hard to get as the person you spoke to said. Many people on my course went straight into a permanent position after their teacher training. I got a 1-year temporary post but a few months ago I reapplied for my post and how have a permanent contract.

Good luck!

That actually doesn't sound so bad to me, Here in Ireland its really difficult to get permanency..there are 5 levels of "Non-Permanent" positions, and it takes years to get through them!
Thanks for the heads up :-)

thanks so much for the advise!it certainly sounds like a better situation them is in the republic of ireland.as my degree is in media production,its a little tricky getting a pgce course for english but got some positive feedback yesterday from a course provider so fingers crossed! eventually id like to teach english,german and spanish...but one step at a time.my mum asked me this morning....after u qualify,when u hit t job market....r u going t b in a weak position without an english degree?? got me thinking....if i get t pgce n english without having a strongly relevant degree....could i likely find myself in a difficult position? yes ive lots of teaching experience with music but i wonder?

Hmm, this sounds more complicated than I thought.

When applying for a PGCE, they expect 50% of your degree to have been in the subject you want to teach. For example, I have a joint honours degree in French and History (50:50 split) so I could have done a PGCE in either of those subjects (I did Modern Foreign Languages focusing on French, and now teach mostly French with a little Spanish).

English PGCEs are notoriously competitive so you will struggle to get a place without a degree in English (or 50:50 English and another subject). There are also a lot of applicants for English teaching posts after you qualify.

Some subjects (Modern Foreign Languages, Maths, Science (particularly Physics)) are "shortage subjects" where there are more places available and there are generous bursaries to attract candidates. There are also plenty of jobs for these subjects. But English is not one of these areas.

Hi,
Thanks so much for your honesty. Although I've read on a few sites that English is a "shortage subject"...I suspected that it was not as in demand as the subjects you've named above.
I also have another option of doing a degree here in Ireland in German and Spanish...which are two languages I love, and have been studying at home for a year...its just the time scale...Here I would have to do the degree and then a further 2 years postgrad to qualify...I'm up for the challenge but obviously the idea of doing just a year in the UK and then "Subject refresher course" in German and Spanish after looks tempting...
I could always do the degree here and then head over for the one year PGCE in modern languages? In the big scheme of things is one or two years extra study that big a deal?
I guess its most important to really consider all my options as whatever decision I make...its for the long term.
Do you have any thoughts on which is more in demand..German or Spanish...maybe its about the same?
Thanks again for your feedback, I REALLY do appreciate it

Spanish is most in demand. German is in decline in most schools, Spanish is on the increase (and for this reason teachers in more demand as there aren't as many teachers who can teach Spanish compared to how many schools want to offer it). French is fairly stable.

Interesting, I've spoken to a few German teachers in Ireland and it seems although French is the most popular subject, (German has about 1/3 of the amount of students compared to French) there is a scarcity of qualified German teachers! I'm also told by a head master and another teacher that Spanish is on the up...although there are many teachers in Ireland now that find it difficult to get work...this is likely to change in the next decade...as birth rates have increased and languages are more and more seen as essential subjects.
One German teacher told me that if I choose German I'l never be out of work and can give German grinds and use the language for working in other industries also.
How do UK teachers feel about their salaries and conditions? I've notice that there has been a few strikes and that many teachers are not happy with their allowances...especially in London?