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Teaching Science subjects???

id0ntkn0w

Hi,
I am interested in teaching Science at second level and thinking about studying Chemistry...I have an interest in all areas of science and was wondering if experienced teachers might be able to advise me as to what science subjects need teachers? I'm concerned about doing my degree and then finding that there is no need for the subjects I'd teach. I know in the UK they are looking for Maths and Physics teachers, but whats the situation like here?
Thank you.

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siobhd

I was told that last year only 6 physics teachers qualified in the whole country. In terms of job opportunities that would be the way to go. Chemistry is a good one to have too, but there's plenty of biology teachers out there. There used to be more of a shortage in maths, but in recent years not so much. The best of luck

mirrorwall14

siobhd wrote: »

I was told that last year only 6 physics teachers qualified in the whole country. In terms of job opportunities that would be the way to go. Chemistry is a good one to have too, but there's plenty of biology teachers out there. There used to be more of a shortage in maths, but in recent years not so much. The best of luck

Do you mind me asking for a source on that? Given the numbers qualifying from the multiple colleges and two cohorts of Hibernia a year I find it hard to believe

siobhd

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Do you mind me asking for a source on that? Given the numbers qualifying from the multiple colleges and two cohorts of Hibernia a year I find it hard to believe

Yes absolutely. My principal had just returned from a conference and it was announced there. It was said in a "warning" sort of way. They were told that physicist aren't doing PME but going into jobs or post grads and that the only physic teachers are those completing B.Ed.

rainbowtrout

siobhd wrote: »

I was told that last year only 6 physics teachers qualified in the whole country. In terms of job opportunities that would be the way to go. Chemistry is a good one to have too, but there's plenty of biology teachers out there. There used to be more of a shortage in maths, but in recent years not so much. The best of luck

Were you told that in Maynooth? I was studying there last year and a physics student told me there are only 7 qualified teachers. How I laughed.

Let's look at the facts. There are approximately 700 second level schools in the country. Approximately 6000 students sit LC Physics every year. Even if we were to assume that every physics class in the country had 20 students in it, that would mean there are 300 people actively teaching physics. To be honest, it's probably more as physics classes tend to be small. Still reckon there are only 6 qualified teachers?

UL have 2 Science Teaching degree from which teachers can qualify as Physics teachers. I'm only considering UL as that's where I went. In my own class 11 teachers qualified as Physics teachers. I know 9 of them are actively teaching physics in this country. I then qualified and that makes 10 of us. That's a class graduating from 2000. The BSc Ed took in about 30 when I was there and typically a third did the physics option. From what I hear the numbers are higher now in the 50-60 region as a first year intake. The other BSc Ed course they are now offering allows qualification in only Physics and Chemistry. Have no idea what the intake is but they are all physics qualified. I'll let you crunch the numbers on the rest.....

rainbowtrout

siobhd wrote: »

Yes absolutely. My principal had just returned from a conference and it was announced there. It was said in a "warning" sort of way. They were told that physicist aren't doing PME but going into jobs or post grads and that the only physic teachers are those completing B.Ed.

Your principal is an idiot if he/she believed that, and everyone else at that conference is an idiot if they didn't challenge that frankly ridiculous statistic.

Again: Science Education UL, Science Education NUIM both have physics teachers qualifying every year.

Moody_mona

^^And DCU, I qualified in 2011, 16 left with Physics qualifications.

rainbowtrout

Moody_mona wrote: »

^^And DCU, I qualified in 2011, 16 left with Physics qualifications.

ya, I didn't know what the subject options were there.

RealJohn

I got the impression the siobhd meant that there were only seven newly qualified physics teachers, not that there were only seven qualified physics teachers. I don't get the impression that that's what you were addressing rbt, though I might be wrong on both counts.

rainbowtrout

RealJohn wrote: »

I got the impression the siobhd meant that there were only seven newly qualified physics teachers, not that there were only seven qualified physics teachers. I don't get the impression that that's what you were addressing rbt, though I might be wrong on both counts.

That is the way I read it the first time, but that was what undergraduates were being told in NUIM last year. My point still stands though. There are at least 4 science teaching degrees listed on this thread from which students are graduating each year with a qualification to teach physics. There is no way in the world that there are only 6 students qualified to teach physics graduating each year. I'm not even counting the PME and Hibernia students.

siobhd

I'm just passing on info that was given in the hope of guiding someone for a career path. It was what I was told. I should have said only 6 newly qualified last year. With 4 universities, as you say, it seems highly unlikely. I don't claim to be an expert in this by any means I just know that there seems to be a shortage as I know of schools unable to get physics teachers to cover leave.

Crazy Ivan

Just finished the PME at NUIG this year. Only two out of the class of >120 finished with a qualification to teach physics; myself and one other student. The other student was considering going into a PhD in physics when last I spoke to him so I may be the sole candidate who registered with the TC this year from NUIG. Who knows!

Is it possible that the principal was given figures from last year when there were no "dip students" qualified because of the change to a 2-year course?

It is possible that a lot of people who finished with a qualification to teach physics didn't carry on into teaching. Before beginning the course I worked in a tech company where many of the programmers and engineers had teaching qualifications in physics. We were in dire need of people with technical backgrounds and found it hard to get physics and engineering qualifications. Starting wages were 5k - 10k higher than a teacher would start on with full hours.

The figures may not be correct but siobhd's principal's concern is valid.

xtralong

This post just highlights the need for comprehensive statistics to be published so people can make informed decisions before entering/trying to remain in the profession. I'd imagine the Teaching Council are in an ideal position to do this annually with a simple survey issued to teachers on renewal of registration. There's far too much anecdotal evidence regarding subjects, hours, shortlisting, interviews etc. It would nice to have some well researched stats. linked to population change/census information to help plan for the future.

rainbowtrout

Crazy Ivan wrote: »

Just finished the PME at NUIG this year. Only two out of the class of >120 finished with a qualification to teach physics; myself and one other student. The other student was considering going into a PhD in physics when last I spoke to him so I may be the sole candidate who registered with the TC this year from NUIG. Who knows!

Is it possible that the principal was given figures from last year when there were no "dip students" qualified because of the change to a 2-year course?

It is possible that a lot of people who finished with a qualification to teach physics didn't carry on into teaching. Before beginning the course I worked in a tech company where many of the programmers and engineers had teaching qualifications in physics. We were in dire need of people with technical backgrounds and found it hard to get physics and engineering qualifications. Starting wages were 5k - 10k higher than a teacher would start on with full hours.

The figures may not be correct but siobhd's principal's concern is valid.

But if they are counting the year where there were no dip graduates then it applies to all subjects that year and that information should be included for clarity. In my experience the vast majority of students that do teacher training degrees do go on to teach or at least attempt to get a job teaching. You're in that mindset for four (now five) years and the degree is focused on teaching science as a job rather than getting a job in a lab. We weren't really trained for that kind of work anyway. Even from my own graduating class I can think of only about 4 out of 30 that didn't go into teaching.

Corkgirl18

id0ntkn0w wrote: »

Hi,
I am interested in teaching Science at second level and thinking about studying Chemistry...I have an interest in all areas of science and was wondering if experienced teachers might be able to advise me as to what science subjects need teachers? I'm concerned about doing my degree and then finding that there is no need for the subjects I'd teach. I know in the UK they are looking for Maths and Physics teachers, but whats the situation like here?
Thank you.

Hi there, jobs were fairly scarce this year. There is a demand for physics teachers at the moment and there were a fair few maths jobs that were advertised.
Chemistry jobs were pretty scarce this year. Only c. 7000 students sat chemistry this year as opposed to c. 34000 who sat biology so obviously there is not as much of a demand.
Best of luck with your decision.