HELP! Confused on career pathways..

Hi guys,

It would be amazing if anyone could give me some clarity on these queries.
I'm in year 13 so have time to think about my future, but I've always been someone who likes to understand my possibilites.

I'm currently studying History, Politics and BTEC Sport at A Level and have gained all my offers for a Politics degree.
I'm unsure what I want to do in the future- I chose Politics as I have a natural interest and I believe it will open up my options.

My plan is... if i'm not happy with my career by the time I'm 26/27, to go into teaching as I know I would really enjoy it.
I'm just confused on what I could do with my Politics degree.

I'd preferably like to teach PE but I could teach Politics/citizenship also. However, I don't know if I would get a PE PGCE- I have experience playing for a national netball team, but only have BTEC Sport qualifications.

Another way, I wouldn't mind teaching History and Politics. I'm not sure If I would qualify for this either. I would prefer to do PE.

Please could anyone let me know, it is greatly appreciated!!
Thank you

Politics isn't a degree that's required for any specific career, so you can more or less apply for jobs that ask for a degree in any subject or a career that didn't require a degree in the first place.

In terms of teaching, they say that you can teach any subject at secondary school level after a PGCE in any subject, so long you're competent in it e.g. I wouldn't say I would jump the chance to teach French if I never studied the language at GCSE, A Level, degree level, any random course, or even went to a French speaking country to immerse in the language. In other words, you should be able to teach Politics, History, or PE after a PGCE in any subject (you might want a second opinon from a secondary teacher though). Having said that, the requirement to do a PGCE in a particular subject tend to be a degree in any subject and then pass a competency test to say you know enough about the subject to do a PGCE in it i,e. you don't necessary need a degree in the subject to do the PGCE in it, even though it's ideal (do get a second opinion on this though). I, for example, know of teachers who only did PGCE in maths or biology, but teach PE as their second subject (teachers tend to teach 2 subjects at secondary schools).

In terms of careers that you can do with a degree in any subject include:

The random careers that you would be eligible for with no further training post A Levels include:

If you want to go and do an extra degree in a random subject, you can do conversion courses in:

Masters' that you can apply with undergrads in any random subject include:

You can go into the following areas with specific professional qualifications (irrespective of what previous qualifications you have):

From the above, I can see doing a Level 2 sports certificate in say Netball would be of some interest. Even if you don't end up teaching in schools, you can coach people playing netball at a netball club (or start one yourself).

So no, degrees in politics (or history for that matter) don't open that many doors compared to other disciplines. The fields where you should get a degree in order to go into the field tend to be roles in healthcare, social work, academia, education, engineering, economics, social research, architecture. Having said that though, you can get into a number of these fields through apprenticeships.

Hi guys,

It would be amazing if anyone could give me some clarity on these queries.
I'm in year 13 so have time to think about my future, but I've always been someone who likes to understand my possibilites.

I'm currently studying History, Politics and BTEC Sport at A Level and have gained all my offers for a Politics degree.
I'm unsure what I want to do in the future- I chose Politics as I have a natural interest and I believe it will open up my options.

My plan is... if i'm not happy with my career by the time I'm 26/27, to go into teaching as I know I would really enjoy it.
I'm just confused on what I could do with my Politics degree.

I'd preferably like to teach PE but I could teach Politics/citizenship also. However, I don't know if I would get a PE PGCE- I have experience playing for a national netball team, but only have BTEC Sport qualifications.

Another way, I wouldn't mind teaching History and Politics. I'm not sure If I would qualify for this either. I would prefer to do PE.

Please could anyone let me know, it is greatly appreciated!!
Thank you

Hello @le.bosh

The qualifications that you MUST have to be considered a qualified teacher in the UK, is to be awarded with QTS (Qualified Teacher Status) Once you've completed a teacher training course, and awarded with QTS (and possibly a PGCE too) then you are able to teach in any school, to any age and cover any subject. However, for the purpose of training, you would need to select a subject area, and one you have relevant qualifications for. This is usually from your degree, but A-Levels count too.

The challenge in applying for and completing a teacher training course in politics, is that you begin to limit your employment opportunities. (ie school often, if at all, only offer politics classes at A-Level stage) Therefore, something that is part of the National Curriculum is a better opportunity. (ie History or PE)

Having some relevant experience to working with or teaching young people can help a great deal. If you have a broad experience of different schools, this can help you to choose the phase or the subject to teach, and the kind of school that feels comfortable for you to work in too.

Once you begin your degree, you become eligible to a Get into Teaching adviser, who you can register for here. We'd be able to help you to explore a teaching career and see if it is a suitable option for you - or not!

Wishing you all the best! Jane 🙂