Options with your subject: Education

As well as creating obvious opportunities in teaching, the skills and knowledge you gain on an education degree are stepping stones to a wide range of careers in the sector...

Job options

Jobs directly related to your degree include:

• Community education officer
• Early years teacher
• Education administrator
• Further education lecturer
• Primary school teacher
• Secondary school teacher
• Special educational needs teacher
• Youth worker

Jobs where your degree would be useful:

• Careers adviser
• Learning mentor
• Museum education officer
• Training and development officer 

Remember that many employers accept applications from graduates with any degree subject, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here. To find out what jobs would suit you, log in to My Prospects.

Work experience

In order to gain a place on a PGCE course, you will need to have completed a certain amount of hours' work experience in schools to show you understand the job role and are committed to a teaching career.

Volunteering to help out at a local education, community, or youth centre would be a good way to gain some experience around educational issues. You might also gain some work experience at a local careers advice or training centre.

Search for placements and find out more about work experience and internships.

Typical employers

The main employers of education graduates are usually local government education authorities as they have the responsibility for schools. Some education graduates may go on to work in colleges or for private schools where you will be employed directly by the institution. Central government departments and universities also employ education graduates to work in policy or research roles.

Other employers in this area include museums, community and voluntary organisations.

Find information on employers in teaching and education, public sector, charities and voluntary work, and other job sectors.

Skills for your CV

During your education studies you will develop specific skills surrounding educational issues, theories of learning, equality and diversity, education policy and practice, creativity and education, and a general understanding of education in social, political and economic contexts.

You will also gain a range of highly useful and transferable skills such as:

• communication skills - presenting effective oral and written arguments;
• ICT, numeracy, and analytical skills;
• interpersonal skills with the ability to work as part of a team;
• self-management - planning your own workload and reflecting on and improving personal practice.

Further study

Achieving Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) through completion of the PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education) is a popular route for many education graduates.

Other postgraduate courses, such as the PGCert (Postgraduate Certificate), PGDip (Postgraduate Diploma) and MA or MEd, are designed to develop your understanding of the theory, research and policy of education and therefore enhance your professional knowledge, skills and practice. Another option is the MA in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages).

For more information on routes into teaching and to find a course that interests you, see teaching advice and search courses and research.

What do education graduates do?

Almost three-quarters of education graduates are employed six months after graduating, with about half of those working in the education sector.

Find out what other graduates are doing six months after finishing their degrees in What Do Graduates Do?  

Graduate destinations data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

AGCAS

Written by AGCAS editors

Date: 

October 2012

© Copyright AGCAS & Graduate Prospects Ltd | Disclaimer