What are the most/least desirable teaching subjects right now?

ToasterSparks

Out of curiosity, I was wondering what subjects are in the most demand at the moment, what subject combos are ten-a-penny and what you would advise if someone was embarking on the teaching route, besides the subjects they are most passionate about?

Might be of use to others as well, as people often tend to post threads about subject choices and teaching prospects.

spurious

Can't think of any right now that there isn't an over-supply of.

TheDriver

Looking at CVs etc coming in, theres a truck load of English, History, Business, Geography and surprisingly metalwork.
Then good few Maths, Re, Art, Irish
Very hard to get Home Ec

drusk

Irish, Maths and French are good subjects right now, jobs-wise.

The business and science subjects aren't great.

dory

English and History seem to be the most common combination I've noticed.

allyatsea

What an interesting thread...

I am embarking on the teaching route aswell and was thinking of doing French/Spanish to leaving cert level, with Hist/Geog as secondary subjects.

Would there be a demand for this sort of combination?

I have also been scouring the ads for teaching posts for the past year and as previous posters have said, seems like Irish, Maths, French are the subjects most in demand.

hugs&xxx

I have 3 years experience teaching french to leaving cert higher level and after four interviews still have no job. Seem to be losing out to people with abit more experience so dont think french is in as much demand as made out.
Hopefully when you graduate it will have picked up, could just be the recession thats causing the jobs to be scarce.

allyatsea

Oh dear, that's not looking good...

What other subject do you have? Also, when you see combinations like French/Irish, or French/Maths, would you still apply for the job even if you don't have the other subject, just on the off chance?

hugs&xxx

I have business, and I also studied german for my first two years of my degree. I apply for jobs even if they are advertised french/irish and last year managed to secure the french part of a job. I think spanish would be a great combination to have in the future as more students are interested in learning it and its becoming more popular in certain schools. Irish also seems like a subject that a few of my friends who are unqualified have been able to get a few years experience in before doing the hdip. Also with irish you could gain alot of money by offering grinds, theres always primary school teachers who need to brush up on their irish for their exams.
It also important to pick subjects you will enjoy studying as you really want to be passionate about them if you are teaching them. If you have any questions, pm and I can reply. Best of luck!

rainbowtrout

allyatsea wrote: »

What an interesting thread...

I am embarking on the teaching route aswell and was thinking of doing French/Spanish to leaving cert level, with Hist/Geog as secondary subjects.

Would there be a demand for this sort of combination?

I have also been scouring the ads for teaching posts for the past year and as previous posters have said, seems like Irish, Maths, French are the subjects most in demand.

A lot of schools don't offer two languages. You won't be qualified in History or Geography if you only take them in First Year Arts. However they would be more advantageous than say taking Philosophy and Welsh, (I'm looking at NUIG Arts subjects list), you could possibly take up more modules in these subjects after graduation to gain further qualifications so you could teach them.

allyatsea

Thank you for this advice. I'm looking at French because I am already fluent, and Spanish because I think it's a subject on the rise (i give it a few years and it will overtake German in my opinion).

Unfortunately in UCD Arts you can't do 3 subjects combined in order to meet the teaching council's requirement of 30% of your primary degree. However, I would do a good few modules of Geography. Is it possible to qualify for another subject to leaving cert after you have done the PGDE? If for example, you took and extra module of geography per term for the next couple of years, would that make you qualify in the eyes of the TC?

rainbowtrout

allyatsea wrote: »

Thank you for this advice. I'm looking at French because I am already fluent, and Spanish because I think it's a subject on the rise (i give it a few years and it will overtake German in my opinion).

Unfortunately in UCD Arts you can't do 3 subjects combined in order to meet the teaching council's requirement of 30% of your primary degree. However, I would do a good few modules of Geography. Is it possible to qualify for another subject to leaving cert after you have done the PGDE? If for example, you took and extra module of geography per term for the next couple of years, would that make you qualify in the eyes of the TC?

Currently what is happening is that when you have registered with the Teaching Council for whatever subjects you are qualified in, you tell them something like 'I have x number of modules in geography'. I assume they would want to see the paperwork to find out exactly what you have done and then they can tell you what you need to do to make up the shortfall.

dillo2k10

How do some teachers have so many subjects. My Business and Lcvp teacher also teaches english, french, irish and geography. Is there part time courses or something that you can do while teaching to add extra subjects.

rainbowtrout

dillo2k10 wrote: »

How do some teachers have so many subjects. My Business and Lcvp teacher also teaches english, french, irish and geography. Is there part time courses or something that you can do while teaching to add extra subjects.

That doesn't mean she's qualified in them. I'm qualified in Ag Science, Biology and Chemistry. I've never taught Biology since I left college but I have taught Maths, Physics with Chemistry, LCVP and German. Not to mind various computer based subjects.

Terri26

Schools can make teachers teach anything that they need but you can't actually apply for jobs in these subjects if you are looking for your job. also some people do top up courses, dips in courses etc. your first year courses will not and do not count however maybe you can top up areas in them after your degree

Padraig_joe

Just following on from this discussion, I'm going into second year of a BA at the moment and trying to decide between Irish, Spanish and Economics as the subjects to keep on. I know I should keep on Irish, as I don't think getting a teaching job as a Spanish and Economics teacher would be really possible (?), but just wondering whether Spanish or Economics would be a better option when combined with Irish? I'm getting worried with all the talks about unemployed teachers, and know a lot of it is down to subject choice, so I wanna be sure I make the right choice. I know there's no way of knowing for sure what the job advertisments will be in three years time, but it would be great if anyone could give me some advice?

dory

I would say Spanish.

Economics will be covered by the many business grads out there looking to teach. And more and more students are not taking up French or German as Spanish is seen as easier, and good for holidays!

But really, you should pick whatever you want to teach. A friend of mine has Irish and Economics and again this year she has no problem getting a job. She gets jobs because of Irish and then gets to teach whatever her second it. So you should really make sure you like your second subject a lot.

spring21

i have only one subject , Geo+ hd , any adv in doing a second subject part time? I was thinking of re, french, maths, cspe... im looking for a year or two of study.
Thx

Toto Wolfcastle

Using text speak is against the rules of boards.ie. Please do not use it. Thank you.

salutations

janeybabe wrote: »

Using text speak is against the rules of boards.ie. Please do not use it. Thank you.

I read recently that very few Maths teachers had Maths as their main subject and that this was affecting the standard of teaching. It might be something to consider, especially with industry bemoaning the amount/standard of Maths and Science graduates and looking to the future's supposed 'knowlwdge economy'. In the UK Maths teachers get a Golden Handshake and are paid more, thats not very likely anytime soon but 5-10 years down the line I see top Maths/Science teachers in huge demand.

spurious

The short answer is that at the moment the colleges are spewing out hundreds of PGDE holders every year in all sorts of subjects when there is already a glut of teachers.

You don't need any Maths qualification to work out that jobs are scarce, even a few hours here and there.

TheDriver

salutations wrote: »

I read recently that very few Maths teachers had Maths as their main subject and that this was affecting the standard of teaching..

Absolute crap to be honest. Most Maths Teachers have Maths somewhere in their degree and lots of Maths teachers teach ord level or foundation level JC/LC. Nowadays those getting into LC maths know what they are doing for the most part.

delta_bravo

The sums of job prospects is quite depressing.The NUIs + Trinity are creating about 800 teachers per annum. You also have to add the DCU course,Specialist colleges (UL,Mater Dei etc.) and those coming from the UK. There are potentially over 1000 teachers created looking for work. Im guessing the school building rate does not match this current creation of teachers. Should be fun when I graduate so!

niall3r

delta_bravo wrote: »

The sums of job prospects is quite depressing.The NUIs + Trinity are creating about 800 teachers per annum. You also have to add the DCU course,Specialist colleges (UL,Mater Dei etc.) and those coming from the UK. There are potentially over 1000 teachers created looking for work. Im guessing the school building rate does not match this current creation of teachers. Should be fun when I graduate so!

This is extremely annoying and frustrating. I know it may be unfair for those who wish to enter the profession but surely it is time to curb the numbers on the PGDE courses?

How does it make sense to be churning out graduates for jobs that do not exist?

dillo2k10

niall3r wrote: »

This is extremely annoying and frustrating. I know it may be unfair for those who wish to enter the profession but surely it is time to curb the numbers on the PGDE courses?

How does it make sense to be churning out graduates for jobs that do not exist?

For now it does make sense to stop making more teachers. However quite a lot of teachers do retire each year. Class sizes have recently been increased sue to the recession. Once that class sizes are improved there will be more jobs. Also if you look at the number of children in primary school right now you will see that it was more than in the past and so all of those extra students will require secondary school teachers in a few years. I think that they should close the pgde for a year or two though

delta_bravo

We were told this year in the PGDE that things will be a lot rosier in 4-5 years. So it may well be a case of hanging in there for a good while.

dillo2k10

delta_bravo wrote: »

We were told this year in the PGDE that things will be a lot rosier in 4-5 years. So it may well be a case of hanging in there for a good while.

I will be only going to college next year so it will be 5 years anyway again I am finished. (Thats if I do a year abroad) So I should be all good:) Hopefully

rainbowtrout

niall3r wrote: »

This is extremely annoying and frustrating. I know it may be unfair for those who wish to enter the profession but surely it is time to curb the numbers on the PGDE courses?

How does it make sense to be churning out graduates for jobs that do not exist?

The colleges don't care if you get a job at the end of it or not. They've taken your money and you got a qualification in return, what you do after that is not their worry. If that was the case we probably wouldn't have lots of students graduating with philosophy degrees every year either. At approximately €6k a year the PGDE is a nice little money spinner for the colleges and there are no shortage of applicants. It's a course that is guaranteed to run.

dillo2k10 wrote: »

For now it does make sense to stop making more teachers. However quite a lot of teachers do retire each year. Class sizes have recently been increased sue to the recession. Once that class sizes are improved there will be more jobs. Also if you look at the number of children in primary school right now you will see that it was more than in the past and so all of those extra students will require secondary school teachers in a few years. I think that they should close the pgde for a year or two though

Not as many as are qualifying. It will be years before class sizes are reversed. The government have to cut €3 billion in this year's budget. With cuts like that, we are not going to see money being pumped into education any time soon. Extra numbers in schools doesn't always lead to extra teachers. Often it only leads to extra hours for existing teachers on part time hours.

delta_bravo wrote: »

We were told this year in the PGDE that things will be a lot rosier in 4-5 years. So it may well be a case of hanging in there for a good while.

But they will be still churning out graduates for the next four years so a school can pick a teacher who is straight out of college and has been recently teaching in a school or pick a graduate who qualified 4-5 years ago but not set foot in a school since (not through any fault of their own), not to mind all the experienced teachers who have lost their jobs.

The colleges that run the PGDE are going to put a positive spin on it, otherwise no one would apply for the course.

Toto Wolfcastle

rainbowtrout wrote: »

Not as many as are qualifying. It will be years before class sizes are reversed. The government have to cut €3 billion in this year's budget. With cuts like that, we are not going to see money being pumped into education any time soon. Extra numbers in schools doesn't always lead to extra teachers. Often it only leads to extra hours for existing teachers on part time hours.

This is something that I think a lot of people don't get. Just because someone retires or class sizes go up, it doesn't mean that there is a job there for an unemployed person to take. I know that the amount of first years taken into my school was increased simply to avoid losing a teacher the following year. And I know of a teacher who is retiring this year and who will not be replaced. God knows who is going to take his classes though.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to money. As long as the colleges are making money why would they reduce the numbers?

PJHC

Is there any truth to the idea that some subjects make it easier to get a full-time job than others? I'm going to be finishing a degree in Irish and Spanish next year, and I also have a degree in German (spent waaay too long in college...), would having three subjects make it any easier to get a full-time job more quickly?
I'm going to be 28 by the time I qualify with the HDip, and I really would like to be an Irish teacher (that was one of the reasons I actually went back to college to do another degree, I did some subbing and taught English for a year in a German secondary school and really liked it, but I knew with just German as a teaching subject,I was unlikely to get a full-time job) but if it means that I could be in my mid-thirties and still on part-time hours then I'm probably going to have to give up on the idea of teaching.

Toto Wolfcastle

Irish is one of the better subjects to have. There seem to be more Irish jobs out there than most subjects. Spanish is another good one to have as it is increasingly popular with students. German is a lot less popular but with Irish and Spanish you probably have better prospects than a lot of people and being qualified to teach 3 subjects wont do you any harm!

rainbowtrout

PJHC wrote: »

Is there any truth to the idea that some subjects make it easier to get a full-time job than others? I'm going to be finishing a degree in Irish and Spanish next year, and I also have a degree in German (spent waaay too long in college...), would having three subjects make it any easier to get a full-time job more quickly?
I'm going to be 28 by the time I qualify with the HDip, and I really would like to be an Irish teacher (that was one of the reasons I actually went back to college to do another degree, I did some subbing and taught English for a year in a German secondary school and really liked it, but I knew with just German as a teaching subject,I was unlikely to get a full-time job) but if it means that I could be in my mid-thirties and still on part-time hours then I'm probably going to have to give up on the idea of teaching.

Certainly having three subjects is a bonus, the more subjects you have the more employable you are. Irish is the big bonus in there I reckon. I also think it's unlikely that you'll find a school offering both Spanish and German, you're more likely to get work with Irish/Spanish or Irish/German. That's what my gut feeling is anyway. Hard to say how things will be for the next few years. You could be lucky and land your own hours somewhere or could be subbing for the next 10 years. No one really knows.

allyatsea

I have a feeling that there are loads of English-History teachers out there, and also a good few English-Geography. I have talked to quite a few that have qualified but not found work yet.

And although there is supposedly a need for science subjects, there are also lots of Science/Biology/Chemistry/Physics teachers out there without a job...

My feeling is that Irish + any other subject seems to be the best combo at the moment, Followed (distantly) by Maths + any subject, followed (even more distantly) by French + Any subject.

Any body else have that feeling or am I completely misguided...

dory

allyatsea wrote: »

I have a feeling that there are loads of English-History teachers out there, and also a good few English-Geography. I have talked to quite a few that have qualified but not found work yet.

And although there is supposedly a need for science subjects, there are also lots of Science/Biology/Chemistry/Physics teachers out there without a job...

My feeling is that Irish + any other subject seems to be the best combo at the moment, Followed (distantly) by Maths + any subject, followed (even more distantly) by French + Any subject.

Any body else have that feeling or am I completely misguided...

Totally agree. English and History has been the most common combo for years.

gaeilgegrinds1

Good combos=Irish & maths or Irish and Spanish/French,

Bad=business or science.

TheDriver

history and english and business has long been a bad choice for demand. Also seeing lot of metalwork/tg Cvs and Art and Music floating around so the specialised stuff is also becoming plentiful. Irish/Home Ec/Maths/French/ is still rare enough

sjms

I am a Science graduate, but I only studied Maths and Geography for two years as part of my 4 year degree. Where would I be looking to go for a top-up course? I would really like to be qualified to teach Maths, as I really do enjoy teaching it!

Any links, guidance would be appreciated!

Cheers!

rainbowtrout

sjms wrote: »

I am a Science graduate, but I only studied Maths and Geography for two years as part of my 4 year degree. Where would I be looking to go for a top-up course? I would really like to be qualified to teach Maths, as I really do enjoy teaching it!

Any links, guidance would be appreciated!

Cheers!

You can do modules in maths through Open University. You should get on to the Teaching Council first and see how many you would need to do.

seachto7

Hi all,

I have Irish and French. I always did like History and English though, but from what I read on here, History and Irish grads could be a dime a dozen I studied Irish and French for my undergrad, and have worked in Irish language radio part time, so I do have a grá for it. (as well as French)

Irish and History would be cool, or History and French.

I can't find any info on these in UL (only potentially EFL & French)....

Dionysus

seachto7 wrote: »

Hi all,

I have Irish and French. I always did like History and English though, but from what I read on here, History and Irish grads could be a dime a dozen I studied Irish and French for my undergrad, and have worked in Irish language radio part time, so I do have a grá for it. (as well as French)

Irish and History would be cool, or History and French.

I can't find any info on these in UL (only potentially EFL & French)....

History and English, surely?

Dionysus

gaeilgegrinds1 wrote: »

Bad=business or science.

I'm not a science teacher but it is abject hypocrisy on the part of this state that science is still holding such a low place in the reality of the school curriculum in 2010.

doc_17

dillo2k10 wrote: »

How do some teachers have so many subjects. My Business and Lcvp teacher also teaches english, french, irish and geography. Is there part time courses or something that you can do while teaching to add extra subjects.

LCVP is not really a subject in the same way as the others you mentioned.

My first school had 6 geography teachers and only 3 maths teachers. And geography wasn't even an option to leaving cert! Once you're in they could make you teach anything. I'm teaching one group Science and having a blast at it even though I'm not a Science teacher! It's a great challenge!

seachto7

Dionysus wrote: »

History and English, surely?

my mistake. You're right....