Taking the first step

Rappcakes

Ive decided i want to do become a secondary school teacher.Im 22 years old and am halfway through a course in another college but its taken me this long to realise i have no passion for it.I always thought in the back of my mind about becoming a teacher and last night i made my mind up.Ive read most of the threads in this forum and while they've been helpful i still have a few questions to ask.

1. Theology and English is the course i think im going to apply for.I would like to teach English,Geography,History and i assume i can teach Religion with that degree?My question is,how can i get the qualification to teach geography or history?Would i have to do another degree on top of the one i am considering?

2. Also,im confused about the wage structure.Im not getting into this for the money, but i dont want to go into this without understanding how hard it is to live with teachers wages. Is your pay based on how many subjects you teach? Am i making my decision too late?I undersand that i must complete a H.Dip course and that on top of a 4 year degree is five years, meaning i will be 27!(hey i guess i can teach maths too ) Would i be overlooked because i was late in deciding what i wanted to do in life?

and finally

3. Ive read people have missed out on a place by points system or a certain percentage, could you inform me on what this is as im confused.

Thanks for reading, hopefully these answers will give me the assurances i need.

Powerhouse

First of all your age irrelevant. Even if it was relevant you will still be a kid at 27!

You should have a really careful read through the threads here before you decide on teaching subjects. With respect it seems everyone would love to teach history but there are zillions of graduates because its a fairly handy college subject and dwindling demand in schools. This is a very important consideration for future employment.

The reason people talk about a points system is that the post-grad Dip is competitive and depends on your degree marks.

Your pay has nothing to with subjects taught. Check out the teachers' unions websites for details.

You'll get people psalming about lack of jobs but you should choose good subjects and then go for it.

anoisaris

How can you teach History and Geography with a degree in Theology and English surely your teaching subjects need to make up the degree you have studied? Each teaching subject must make up one third of your degree of at least 3 years prior to your HDip for you to be considered a qualified teacher of that subject.

drusk

You can teach any subject you like as long as that subject makes up at least 33% of your degree. So you should be able to teach English and Religion at the end of your degree. If you want to teach geography and history, you would have to complete another degree. There is an abundance of teachers of history and english, so it would be harder to get a job teaching these subjects than others. But not impossible, so don't let that put you off.

Entry to the h-dip course in most universities is done on a points system by the CAO. Kinda like the leaving cert. In order to get a place on the hdip, your degree results need to be a very high 2.1 or a 1.1. Many teachers do a masters degree (which is worth a load of points) or spend a year subbing in schools (100 hours teaching is worth 1 point) in order to get a place on the hdip course.

Check out www.asti.ie for info on salary scales.

Check out www.pac.ie for info on the points system to the dip. Click on 'Postgraduate Diploma in Education'.

spurious

Double check about eligibility to teach Religion. AFAIK not all Theology degrees are accepted to teach religion. Remember most secondary schools are under the patronage of the Catholic Church and they like a particular slant on things.

rainbowtrout

Just out of interest what course are you doing at the moment? Because it might be a degree that is recognised for teaching and if you like the subjects it would save you starting from scratch. You would still have to do the HDip of course.

Recognised courses are listed on the Teaching Council website.

Qualified teachers holding a degree and HDip start on point 3 of the basic scale (as on ASTI/TUI websites) and get an allowance for the degree and HDip also. There is a sticky on teaching salaries.

Salary scale assumes full time hours, so if you are on half hours well then it's half the salary.