Not Sure What To Do

So, I'm currently studying English Lit and Creative Writing at university. I have always loved creative writing and reading fiction books. I am analytical and good at spotting connections between things. I tutor for work sometimes, I am a voluntary editor and journalist with, a show on the student radio. I have other job experience (on top of tutoring) and volunteering experience (retail volunteering, volunteering with young people with a youth worker chaperoning, food bank volunteering) and I am a staff writer voluntarily (outside of the journalism). I love working with young people.

I'm thinking of either going into education and then going part-time (online tutoring) while being a stay-at-home parent and foster carer and writing on the side, OR going into journalism and tutoring on the side, with Qualified Teacher Status in case I cannot get stable enough work as a journalist and part-time tutor and have to work as a teacher (and to attract a higher-paying tutoring job too). I would love either career choice and I'm just a bit stuck right now. I have a year to decide what to do as my Master's, as I'm going into my second year of uni.

I'm thinking either:

MA in Education or MA in Special Educational Needs Education at Edge Hill, or an MA in Working with Families and Young People (which would also stand me in good stead for fostering, and open up alternative career options also), followed by a PGCE in Secondary English at Edge Hill.

Or a PGCE in Secondary English, then an MA in Journalism (so that I have the PGCE as a backup, in case a career in journalism doesn't pay enough. I should already be able to tutor on the side too, as I have several years of tutoring experience already).

I am also considering editing as a backup, as I am a voluntary editor at multiple journals, two of which are student run, and a Comment Editor at my student newspaper (on top of writing for them, of course). Copywriting is another avenue I am willing to explore, and I am part of a Gen-Z copywriting community and will be building my copywriting portfolio while at university. I am aware that my undergraduate degree is not super employable, especially in today's economy, so I'm wondering if there's anything else I can be doing, and what is more reasonable to do.

The MA in Journalism would be NCTJ certified, as it is the course at Salford University which I would be looking at. Also, I'm considering saving up some of my part-time tutoring money to do a CELTA certified TEFL course, ideally 120 hours or more, this summer (I am aware they are expensive) and I am thinking of spending a year teaching abroad, either just after I graduate from my BA in 2026, or between my master's degrees. This way, it opens up more tutoring jobs, and gives me the option to teach abroad in person one day. Does this sound like a good plan?

Sorry, my head is all over the place. There's a lot I want to do and which I will be doing over the next few years to secure myself a job to do with writing in some way, shape or form and in education in some way, shape or form, with one as my main job and the other as a side-job if needs be.
For context, my partner, who I've been with for three years so far, intends on being an FE teacher at the college where we met, so it would be a combination of both of our wages coming in if all goes well, but I want to be make enough to support myself exclusively, or myself and my future children, in case anything happens.

In case any of this is confusing, here's some examples:

MA Special Needs Education, Year in China, PGCE Secondary English.
PGCE Secondary English, Year in China, MA Journalism.
MA Education, Year in China, PGCE Secondary English.
Year in China, MA Special Needs Education, PGCE Secondary English.

Many thanks in advance for your help,

L x

Reply 1

Heathersrocks

Original post by Heathersrocks

So, I'm currently studying English Lit and Creative Writing at university. I have always loved creative writing and reading fiction books. I am analytical and good at spotting connections between things. I tutor for work sometimes, I am a voluntary editor and journalist with, a show on the student radio. I have other job experience (on top of tutoring) and volunteering experience (retail volunteering, volunteering with young people with a youth worker chaperoning, food bank volunteering) and I am a staff writer voluntarily (outside of the journalism). I love working with young people.
I'm thinking of either going into education and then going part-time (online tutoring) while being a stay-at-home parent and foster carer and writing on the side, OR going into journalism and tutoring on the side, with Qualified Teacher Status in case I cannot get stable enough work as a journalist and part-time tutor and have to work as a teacher (and to attract a higher-paying tutoring job too). I would love either career choice and I'm just a bit stuck right now. I have a year to decide what to do as my Master's, as I'm going into my second year of uni.
I'm thinking either:
MA in Education or MA in Special Educational Needs Education at Edge Hill, or an MA in Working with Families and Young People (which would also stand me in good stead for fostering, and open up alternative career options also), followed by a PGCE in Secondary English at Edge Hill.
Or a PGCE in Secondary English, then an MA in Journalism (so that I have the PGCE as a backup, in case a career in journalism doesn't pay enough. I should already be able to tutor on the side too, as I have several years of tutoring experience already).
I am also considering editing as a backup, as I am a voluntary editor at multiple journals, two of which are student run, and a Comment Editor at my student newspaper (on top of writing for them, of course). Copywriting is another avenue I am willing to explore, and I am part of a Gen-Z copywriting community and will be building my copywriting portfolio while at university. I am aware that my undergraduate degree is not super employable, especially in today's economy, so I'm wondering if there's anything else I can be doing, and what is more reasonable to do.
The MA in Journalism would be NCTJ certified, as it is the course at Salford University which I would be looking at. Also, I'm considering saving up some of my part-time tutoring money to do a CELTA certified TEFL course, ideally 120 hours or more, this summer (I am aware they are expensive) and I am thinking of spending a year teaching abroad, either just after I graduate from my BA in 2026, or between my master's degrees. This way, it opens up more tutoring jobs, and gives me the option to teach abroad in person one day. Does this sound like a good plan?
Sorry, my head is all over the place. There's a lot I want to do and which I will be doing over the next few years to secure myself a job to do with writing in some way, shape or form and in education in some way, shape or form, with one as my main job and the other as a side-job if needs be.
For context, my partner, who I've been with for three years so far, intends on being an FE teacher at the college where we met, so it would be a combination of both of our wages coming in if all goes well, but I want to be make enough to support myself exclusively, or myself and my future children, in case anything happens.
In case any of this is confusing, here's some examples:
MA Special Needs Education, Year in China, PGCE Secondary English.
PGCE Secondary English, Year in China, MA Journalism.
MA Education, Year in China, PGCE Secondary English.
Year in China, MA Special Needs Education, PGCE Secondary English.
Many thanks in advance for your help,
L x

For clarification, I mean Summer 2025, I know summer is over now haha.

Bump

There’s a lot to unpick there.

What I would say is that teaching is not a career that you can easily dip in and out of as a new entrant. It requires years of experience and dedication to truly master your craft. It also has a high attrition rate. Nearly a third of teachers leave the classroom within five years of entering the profession and, even when established, the exodus is particularly acute for women in their thirties.

Go into it ‘eyes wide open’. Arrange some shadowing or work experience at a local school. Speak to teachers. See what the job involves.

Reply 4

Heathersrocks

Original post by Rainy

There’s a lot to unpick there.
What I would say is that teaching is not a career that you can easily dip in and out of as a new entrant. It requires years of experience and dedication to truly master your craft. It also has a high attrition rate. Nearly a third of teachers leave the classroom within five years of entering the profession and, even when established, the exodus is particularly acute for women in their thirties.
Go into it ‘eyes wide open’. Arrange some shadowing or work experience at a local school. Speak to teachers. See what the job involves.

Thanks for your response! I'll bear that in mind.

Reply 5

Angelil

I have been a teacher for 16 years, and agree with Rainy. You also can’t be a SAHP and tutor at the same time. I’m afraid that made me lol a bit, sorry (I have 2 children aged 5 and 1). Your kids will be climbing the walls wanting/needing your attention and your students need you too. That particular career model would be doing everyone a disservice.

Reply 6

Angelil

Plus an MA in Education before a PGCE makes little sense. People who do the latter usually already have the former plus many years of experience behind them. You’re almost certainly not going to get onto an MA in Education when you have never taught or trained to be a teacher.

Reply 7

Angelil

SO with that in mind your second route makes the most sense by far.
Good luck with it all! You sound like me when I was an undergraduate…knowing I would enjoy and be good at a few different things. Your ‘calling’ will find you. I was a freelance journalist for quite a few years alongside part-time teaching in the early years of my career. It was VERY hard even then and this was pre-AI. Teaching is a much more stable career (one of the - many! - reasons why I ultimately chose it).
Plus, remember you’re only one person and there are only 24 hours in the day. One of the hardest parts of becoming a fully-fledged adult (in my experience at least) is accepting which parts of yourself will take centre stage and which will become side notes at best (especially if you also want to have children and/or foster - this takes enormous amounts of time and energy). Good luck again and don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions.