Does degree studied have to link to subject I want to teach?

Hi,

Im currently in year 13 struggling with all of the big choices I have to face.

I've been seriously considering secondary school teaching in either maths or Spanish. However, I've also been considering the career of a data analyst. All very different I know!

Due to my uncertainty I have decided to take a gap year where I will live in Spain for a bit as I am in love with every aspect of it, the language, the culture etc.

In order to teach could I study any degree as I am unsure of the subject (leaning slightly towards Spanish)? For example, I don't want to do a mathsy degree (allows me to teach maths or be a data analyst) to later realise I would like to teach Spanish and be unable to.

A further issue is every Spanish degree i have looked at is 4 years which i personally think is a long time considering a year of PGCE will be needed on top of that. With my gap year, i wont be able to work until I'm 24 which is later than i would prefer. I feel like my career options if i decide not to teach will also be more limited with a Spanish degree.

Another option I've been considering is a business degree which would provide me with a degree to teach (but which subjects?), a way into data analysis or further options if I change my mind!

So

My main questions are: does the degree need to be specific to the subject you want to teach? or can passion and skill overcome the fact it isnt exactly linked?
What do you think is the best option?

Thank you x

The general rule is that your degree needs to be 50% or more the subject you want to teach. So, for example, with a History and English degree, you could teach either History or English, and if your degree was simply History, you could teach only History. If a university somehow offers a Maths and Spanish degree then that'd enable you to train to teach either subject, but that's unlikely to exist, so ultimately you'll need to decide. Regarding Business Studies, that would enable you to train to teach, unsurprisingly, Business Studies.

Some schools can be flexible. I know someone who did a degree in Music, did their PGCE/teacher training for Music, and now does some Maths teaching. Ultimately, however, that'd be at the discretion of the school and it'd be very, very unwise to do a Spanish degree and PGCE but intend to only teach Maths, because that'd be very unlikely to happen.

Thank you! I had never even thought of looking at a Maths and Spanish degree and having looked it up, they do exist! So that may solve my problem!

However, it does leave me with the year abroad issue as its compulsory but at the end of the day, it may not be all that bad. I would love to do it, just concerned about the waste of time and money but i think i could swallow it! x