Work experience at uni with a full timetable?

I'm entering my final year at university this September and desperately need some work experience in a school in order to be a stronger candidate for the highly competitive JET ALT position. I got the idea to volunteer in a primary school, however, being a final year student, I don't have any days without classes. My timetable is completely packed, with 2-3 classes per day in things I cannot skip (eg dissertation and core modules). The only day this doesn't apply to is Monday, when I would have my discovery module class, however although this is less important to the degree itself it's extremely relevant to what I want to do after graduation (TEFL module) so skipping that just seems wrong even though it's seemingly my only choice. What do I do?

TLDR; classes every day, can't skip them, need volunteering experience, wat do i do

Reply 1

oswalds

Depending on your course, I've found that term times at universities tend to end earlier than school terms, so you might be able to organise a week just before Christmas or the summer holiday in 2025. You might also find that reading week and half-term are different weeks, so you could organise it in your reading week if you have time. Another option could be to volunteer at some form of summer school or camp, or work for a tutoring company in the evenings (I know quite a few people who did this whilst at University). You could also apply for the position a year later and spend a year after graduation working as a teaching assistant to gain experience.