Career Advice.......

my_pie

Hi all, just looking at my options. I'm 31, with an unused Bsc in IT Management that's 8 years old and a Masters in Music Technology that's relatively unused, I've been applying for jobs lately but to no avail.

I have a few questions, where can the Hdip be studied in Ireland and is there anywhere that does it online?

What's the best place to study a language and what's the certificate required to say i can speak a certain language, (exams etc.)

I'm seem completely lost with regards to what i should be looking for. i suppose right now i would like a job teaching or tutoring and then in a few years i might be ready for a dream job something multilingual i hope.

but im 31, am i kidding myself? society (and some other people) has me feeling old!!

my_pie

apologies, wrong section.

RealJohn

If you're planning to use teaching as a stopgap until your dream job pops up (which is how your post comes across - apologies if I've misinterpreted you) then it's a bad idea for a lot of reasons.

First of all, you can be fairly sure you won't get a job teaching IT at primary or secondary level and IT and music wouldn't be much better (if your music technology qualification even qualifies you to teach music - maybe a music teacher can clarify that).
Secondly, there aren't many jobs going for any subjects anyway.
Thirdly and probably most importantly, if it is intended as a stopgap, you're almost certainly shouldn't be teaching, both for your own sake and that of your students. Teaching can be very stressful and if you're only there to pay the bills until something better comes along then you're probably not going to last very long. You're also unlikely to keep your enthusiasm for your subjects and you'll pass that lack of enthusiasm along to your students so they'll underachieve and dislike the subject more than they otherwise should.

I wish you luck in getting that perfect multilingual but the impression I get from you post is that you're not cut out for teaching.

whiteandlight

This is fine?

The HDIP costs around 6k at the moment for one year and will be 2 years when you can apply. Hibernia do it online
There are few to no teaching jobs in the country so it is not a stable career choice at all.
You are not too old at all.
You need the equivalent credits of a degree in a language to be able to teach it

TheDriver

teaching council is your friend if you want to see if you can teach. Don't listen to "ah shure it iwll be fine" also be prepared for no jobs locally. And be prepared for massive outlay to get started.
In other words, if you don't want a career teaching, then don't start now, chase your dream job.

Cailin CoisFarraige

I can really only respond to your language question.

Obviously a degree in any language counts as a solid qualification, however each language has their own requirements and exams in order to obtain a certificate of proficiency. For example, in Ireland, students learning English take IELTS or CELTA exams to certify that they have a certain level of English, in France it's the DELF exams, Italian learners take CILS etc. A Google search should bring up the exam relevant to the language you want to study.

byhookorbycrook

I'd suggest you do a few days observing in a school. What you think teaching is-or was-when you were at school is a totally different job now. I also think you may have fallen for the media spin that all teachers are on €65,000 a year and are permanent and pensionable. There are teachers who have a lot of experience trying to survive on a few hours a week.

evolving_doors

Hi OP,

Ya basically forget teaching unless you know someone (but thats a different thread) and have about ten years and loadsa dosh to spare (no kids or mortgage desirable!)

... Now might be a good time to get into computer games though given your background...check out pulse college ..

Karpops

my_pie wrote: »

Hi all, just looking at my options. I'm 31, with an unused Bsc in IT Management that's 8 years old and a Masters in Music Technology that's relatively unused, I've been applying for jobs lately but to no avail.

I have a few questions, where can the Hdip be studied in Ireland and is there anywhere that does it online?

What's the best place to study a language and what's the certificate required to say i can speak a certain language, (exams etc.)

I'm seem completely lost with regards to what i should be looking for. i suppose right now i would like a job teaching or tutoring and then in a few years i might be ready for a dream job something multilingual i hope.

but im 31, am i kidding myself? society (and some other people) has me feeling old!!

You aren't too old at all but honestly, if you aren't fully committed to the idea of teaching for the rest of your life, steer clear. It's exhausting, both physically and mentally demanding, will bleed you dry and leave you questioning your ability constantly. The qualification will cost you about 8 grand online, and another few grand getting your degree/masters assessed by the TC. You also need 140 placement hours during the Hdip and 300 hours in your first three years (which is impossible atm)

evolving_doors

Karpops wrote: »

You aren't too old at all

Just on that point, I've noticed a lot of people switching careers and entering the profession at an older stage in life now (and not on full hours for the foreseeable future). So the days of being automatically retired on a full pension are long gone unless you start in your 20's and get into full hours pretty quick!

TheDriver

its most probably a result of the boom where mentioning teaching in 1997-2006, you were told it was foolish and no money in it compared with the lavish bonuses in industry etc etc. That was my experience but i entered the profession anyways.