PGDE-Biology & Junior Cert Science

hdip

Hi All,I'm considering taking up any offer for a Postgraduate Diploma in Education for Secondary School teaching this September in Maynooth. Financially I cant really afford it.I would have to take out a very large loan which I dread the thought of,however looking at the big picture I would think It would be worth it hopefully.

My question is this:

My subjects that I would be qualified to teach are Junior Certificate Science & Biology.Has anyone just had these subjects and how did they get on job wise following the hdip,are you working?My big fear is that I will spend thousands doing this course and then not be able to find a job.I looked up educationposts.ie and there is currently only 8 secondary schools jobs going in ALL counties.One was Science Biology & maths.I will not be qualified to teach maths.Just wondering am I restricted because of this?

Any replies would be greatly appreciated,Thanks

macraignil

Hi,
When we finished our H.Dip. a few years ago the lecturers were honest enough to explain that most of us would need to go abroad to find work and that was when the economy was still growing.

I could have got a job easily enough in London but inner city life did not seem that attractive. I spoke to a chemistry teacher who had taken early retirement when I was working in Surrey for a summer before I finished my degree and he mentioned how many Londoners regard school as a social outlet rather than a place to learn. Teaching is not very well paid internationally from what I have heard so finding work in other countries is a bit easier than here. Got a few substitute teacher positions but to find permanent work here you would want to be a very good teacher and/or know someone who can put a good word in for you in a school where the biology teacher is retiring.

martyfurey

im qualified in the same subject as yourself and i would strongly advise against wasting your money. i qualified in 2011 from trinity and found it extremely difficult to get work apart from subbing. i was lucky and got a maternity and got 11 hours contract this year but contracts just run on a year to year basis now and you can be let go extremely easy as happened to my girlfriend last year who was on a contract teaching geography. she was replacing a retired teacher so it seemed that her job would be fairly safe but then there was the cut to guidance councillors so she lost it. i fear for our futures as educators because the department of education are doing as much as possible to cut there teacher numbers. And i am not even going to get started on the way our wages have been slashed buy the government in a direct attack on newly qualified teachers. however teaching is an extremely rewarding profession, but i wonder myself if it is worth it the way we are treated by our employers.

SlinkyL

Hi Marty,
I'm currently mid way through completing my PDE in same subjects - it's very depressing to read all the negative experiences of NQTs on the boards. Do you mind me asking where in the country you are located? Just wondering if it is easier to get hours if Dublin based as I am - hoping this will work to my advantage - or maybe there is way more NQTs looking for work here.... I would actually be quite happy to get 11 hours as I have 3 young children and think I would find a full time position too full-on for the next couple of years until my children are a little older. Would love to hear a little more about your experiences looking for work. I am thinking I might need to do the 2 year maths add-on to get a qualification in Maths also to make me more employable. thanks :-)

martyfurey

hiSlinky,
im based in dunboyne and working in the north inner city. there may be some jobs that may come up but the fact is there is no guarantee. a contract this year is great and im delighted with my 11 hours but the way the system is working now i could be unemployed just as easily next year. and whats worse is that i could have my own contract in a school for 3 years and then in the fourth year when i will get my CID ( contract of indefinite duration) i could be let go to start from scratch again. that is what the government have dragged our profession down to. we are treated like scum, even though we are meant to be insuring the future prosperity of our country by educating the youth. the maths add on would be great if you were interested in that field and it would give you another core subject but even maths wont guarantee you work as a friend of mine who qualified the year before me is still unemployed and he has maths and science and physics. it is going to be extremely difficult for any NQT over the next few years because there is such a large demand for jobs. and with the teaching colleges churning out more and more NQT every year it is just going to make the situation even worse. i hope that you do find a job.