If you’re studying Pre-School or Primary Education, maybe you’re wondering what you’ll do when you graduate. Is it possible to have career outside the classroom? The Vice-Dean of Education, Rosa García, has helped us to put together this exploration of the career opportunities that trained pre-school or primary school teachers have. You might think that the options are pretty limited – and that’s where we hope to surprise you with this post. The fact is that teaching is a skill in great demand across a wide variety of companies and institutions.
1. Teach children in schools
It’s what most people do after graduating: start studying for the civil service exams so that you can get a job at a state school. Most graduates in Pre-School or Primary Education see their future careers in front of a class of children in a school.
If you think this is the path you’re going to take, then it’s probably best to start preparing during your final year of the degree in Education.
2. Teach in other places
The ability to teach is a valuable asset, as there are many other places where people need to learn apart from the usual state schools. For example, in hospitals, boarding schools, rehabilitation centres, prisons, youth detention centres, etc.
Who can doubt that these are places that need teachers with empathy, pedagogical skill and the desire to make things better?
3. Create teaching materials with a sense of fun
Nowadays we’re all so used to looking at different screens at the same time (phones, tablets, the TV, etc.) that completely capturing someone’s attention is more difficult than ever, given all the stimuli and information around us. This means that materials which make learning effective, fun and accessible are more necessary than ever. The way in which we learn changes with time and especially in response to technological advances.
An Education graduate can contribute a lot in this area: advising companies and publishers in the creation of teaching materials, carrying out online educational projects, implementing projects which incorporate ICT into the educational process, etc.
Miguel Ángel Savall has a doctorate in education and he’s also a computer engineer. He decided to bring together his two areas of expertise and set up Foredu, a technology consultancy company for educational organizations. His achievements show that “education specialist” and “new technologies” can be a winning combination and a path well worth exploring. (Read more about his story here).
4. Organize social, educational or cultural activities
Promoting cultural diversity and inclusive values can be a great way for society to progress and teachers have exactly the right skills to do this. These are just some of the areas in which you could make a career for yourself: planning educational or cultural activities for public or private institutions, road safety awareness, nurseries, programmes for consumer education or the consolidation of healthy habits, planning educational activities at museums and galleries, etc.
5. Research
Research is all about pushing against the frontiers of knowledge and, in the case of education, of moving the discipline forward. That’s why one career option for education graduates could be to become a researcher at a university or research foundation.
There are also career opportunities at libraries and the media. They need people who can create studies and reports based on research and archive materials.
6. Teach languages
An interesting way to improve your employability as an Education graduate is to combine your degree in Pre-School or Primary Education with accreditation in a particular language. Doing that could enable you to, amongst other possibilities, work as a language teacher, an interpreter or a translator for embassies, consulates or bilingual schools.
Susana Sempere, a graduate of our Master’s Degree in Bilingual Education programme, now works in the bilingual education sector and she knows that being a teacher at bilingual school is about much more than just teaching in English. (Read her story here.)
7. Start your own company
If you have that entrepreneurial spirit, then why not set up your own company or become self-employed as a private teacher, or work on online teaching platforms.
8. Go for a career in business
Knowing how to teach and how to guide others through the learning process are the key skills of Education graduate – and they are also much sought after in the business world. You could become a trainer, train other trainers, lead innovation initiatives, or move into human resources, among many other areas.
9. Teach religion
As well as accrediting your ability to teach languages, you could become a recognized religion teacher. If you combine this with your Education degree, you could teach religion in primary or secondary schools.
10. Teach where you’re really needed
Many charities and NGOs are looking for volunteer teachers, but they hire teachers too. The fact is that the people who get the chance to work with these organizations – both at home and abroad – say they give a lot but get so much more back. It might be that some experience at an NGO could change your life.
So, there’s a quick run through of some the main opportunities for Education graduates. As you can see, teachers have a set of skills which can be used in many areas outside the typical school classroom, opening up all kinds of career possibilities.