My career change to teaching
I graduated from the University of Exeter with a geography degree in 2010, and had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do. Whilst training to teach had been on my radar, I didn’t feel confident, experienced or old (!) enough to make the move into the classroom just yet.
Fuelled by an enthusiasm for geography and learning as much as I possibly could about the world, I spent time working in retail before taking an internship at an environmental magazine. Following this, I interned for the Greater London Authority in their sustainable development team, before I was lucky enough to get a job in the Education Department at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), where I’ve worked for the last 5 years.
I enjoyed every single minute of my geographical career — I absolutely loved developing new skills and learning something new every day, and gained a wealth of experience working in a range of professional contexts, including with schools and young people.
Last year, I finally felt ready to start my new career in the classroom. It was a pretty daunting decision — I was leaving a job that I loved and starting something completely from scratch. Would I be any good in the classroom? Would I be able to cope with the workload of both school and university? I had so many questions, but there was only one way to find out the answers — I felt ready for a new challenge.
I started my Primary PGCE in September, and am coming to the end of my first school placement. It has been an absolute whirlwind of a journey so far, but I have enjoyed every minute of it. My experience — both professionally and personally — over the last nine years has been invaluable, and has really helped to prepare me for life in the classroom and returning to university. It has provided me with a sense of perspective and set of skills that I wouldn’t otherwise have had going into the profession, which have enabled me to manage my time effectively and shape my lessons to show my class how different subjects can be applied to real-life situations.
If you’re considering a career in teaching, I would urge you to ignore the negativity surrounding both the profession and the PGCE. Of course, teaching — and training to teach — have their challenges, but so does every other job. If you’re committed to making a difference and to the children you are working with, the occasional long day will be completely worth it.
One of the things I was most worried about when starting the course was not knowing exactly what I was doing, and not being able to be the perfect teacher right away. I constantly remind my class that making mistakes help us to learn, and it’s no different as a trainee teacher. Your teacher training allows you to try out new techniques and ideas — making plenty of mistakes along the way — and to subsequently become the best teacher you can be.
Teaching is an incredibly engaging, worthwhile and rewarding profession, and every day is different — some days are challenging, some are hilarious, but the majority are a constant and lovely reminder of why you went into the profession, how inspirational working with children can be, and how much of a difference you can make to the lives of children and young people. Stay positive and enjoy it!
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