Teaching prospects for 2025 onwards

What a lot of people don't realise is you don't need to study what you want to eventually teach at UG level. For example, if you were to pursue Biology, but want to take a PGCE in Geography, you might need to take a summer induction course but it's still possible.

In addition, once you have completed a PGCE you obtain Qualified Teacher Status and are actually qualified to teach any subject. For example, I know someone who trained on a music PGCE but got a job as a geography teacher.

Don't define your UG degree choice by your want of teaching a certain subject. It's a long way away and you might change your mind regarding career paths or find that teaching isn't for you.

When I applied, you're right, there is a 50% minimum content-related requirement but for those that don't have this they would need to undertake a pre-course programme.

The fact that the government is offering student loans for second degrees in STEM subjects shows there's not only a shortage of people studying STEM-related subjects, but those going into these professions.

I think maths, science, geography and MFL teachers will always be in demand as there's SO many graduate level positions/opportunities that pay a lot more than a teachers starting salary.

True but from what I gathered A levels are preferred in that subject and 50% is required for most unis. I have an interest in Biology and wouldnt mind working in a related field if teaching doesnt go well for me. But do you have any ideas about what would be preferred by 2025 onwards though? Currently, I understand Physics Chemistry Maths Comp Sci are in demand now, and that Biology is in the middle line - would you please offer any advice for this? Thank you.

A good school will look for a degree in your main teaching subject - a Biology grad will be expected to teach KS3 science a well. What other A levels are you taking? If you could offer KS3 maths that would be an advantage. [My role in schools involves recruiting]

Edit: seeing the new DfE pay rises (£30k) at M1 then progresses to 38k at the end of MPS, then UP3 ends at £45k and this pay is enough for me, as I know i’ll enjoy it. Do you think this may attract more STEM graduates and then by 2025 this will drastically make PGCE course v competitive? I hope not. How much would biomed grad get paid roughly? I see they are more or less advertised as a p/hr basis - which makes me feel as if you’re only called in if necessary.

I’m doing Biology Psychology English Lit. Just finished y12. I only want to teach Biology though. I’m not confident to teach chemistry especially as I only done Combined Science GCSE and no a level in that hence I would only be confident to deliver KS3 students.

So if I do Biomedical Science at Degree - considering I can enter other professions. I can receive a generous bursary of £26000 & can qualify at this time.

Could you tell me if the general consensus that the first 2 yrs (pgce and nqt) are the hardest? Then it gets better from there. And what degree did u do and Pgce? If u dont mind telling me. Thanks.

This makes me more confident in doing Biomed now.. I really want to teach Biology only (Y7-Y11) & then Chemistry if needed be to Ks3.

Edit: seeing the new DfE pay rises (£30k) at M1 then progresses to 38k at the end of MPS, then UP3 ends at £45k and this pay is enough for me, as I know i’ll enjoy it. Do you think this may attract more STEM graduates and then by 2025 this will drastically make PGCE course v competitive? I hope not. How much would biomed grad get paid roughly? I see they are more or less advertised as a p/hr basis - which makes me feel as if you’re only called in if necessary.

I’m doing Biology Psychology English Lit. Just finished y12. I only want to teach Biology though. I’m not confident to teach chemistry especially as I only done Combined Science GCSE and no a level in that hence I would only be confident to deliver KS3 students.

Would I be able to teach:
Biology mainly (From Year 7s - 11s)
Then chemistry for KS3. I hope this will be enough to cover a full time timetable.
How many hours of formal teaching is considered Full Time in a week?

Could you please reply to my edit on my previous message.
Thank you for this help - it is really beneficial and nice of you to reply.

Truthfully, nobody knows the future, not many people were prediciting a pandemic to throw everything into chaos In the short term I think it likely is that more people will apply for teaching for the next couple of cycles. Maths, Science, MFL etc have been shortage subjects for a long time now.



As science is in shortage of specalists, it's quite common in a lot of schools that you teach all three main sciences up to KS4/GCSE. But KS4 isn't always harder to teach than at KS3; In fact I prefered teaching biology at KS4

A school may try to match you to your specalism as much as possible, but it all depends on the resources at hand. I worked in a school where we never had a full teaching staff for science - I was asked to teach physics A-level when our only physics specialist went on long term sick. The reason they choose me was because I had an A in physics at A-level, but having to teach it at short notice was very uncomfortable. It took quite a bit of crash study, but I got through it.

It's hard to answer how many lessons you would be expected to teach per week - schools vary considerably, not all schools have 1 hour lessons - some have 30 mins, I've heard of others being over 2 hours as standard! You won't be teaching a full timetable until after your training and NQT year anyway.

Under current rules and requirements, yes you would be able to. I had a friend on the Chemistry PGCE who read a Biochemistry Bachelors.

This is genuinely up to the person. My PGCE year was far more stressful than my NQT year, but that's because I put all in to learn very quickly and make sure that, yes, whilst I was learning during my NQT, the year was more focused on establishing my role within my classroom and school, building rapport and authority within the school and progressing student outcomes. At PGCE you need to do so much paperwork, constant evaluations etc. but at NQT this is minimised. That being said, some people who I studied a PGCE alongside have found their NQT far harder as they struggled with the workload or marking, greater teaching timetable, wider school commitments etc.

I got a 2:1 in Geography, went on to study a Marketing Masters degree. I undertook a Secondary PGCE in Geography. People on my course had degrees in geography, business, geology, english and maths.

Once you earn Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) after a Secondary PGCE, you will be qualified to teach students ranging from Year. 7 - Year. 13. What school you apply to/contact you sign depends what year groups you will teach. Some people on my course went on to study A-level only, however the majority (myself included) teach in secondary schools and so teach all secondary students.

Replying to edit: The government are doing this because there aren't enough teachers, but also because they want to highlight teaching as an attractive career and a competitive option in the eyes of other careers one could go down. Don't forget, if you're a teacher, you're a professional, like that of a Lawyer. The expertise required and time to qualify is additional reasoning behind an increase in starting salary. Unfortunately, society tends to rate the difficulty/expertise of a job by the amount its paid and the current starting salary doesn't represent the role of a teacher as it should. Will this attract more to the profession? Absolutely. At the same time, it's extremely demanding and takes a certain skill set and type of person to thrive in a career in education that will turn many people away.