11 Oct First Jobs That Set You Up for Teaching
The average person changes jobs 12 times in their lifetime.
Deciding what career you want can be a daunting process. We all experiment with different job roles throughout our lives.
It’s unlikely that we’ll stay in our first jobs for forever. But first jobs can both lead us down or steer us towards paths that provide solid careers.
If you are debating a career in teaching but want to experiment beforehand, then continue reading to see 5 first jobs you could complete that will set you up for teaching in the future.
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Nursery Workers
A great opportunity for young people who have recently finished their GCSEs.
You’ll gain practical experience working with children within a classroom-like setting.
You can be a nursery worker through completing a college course, apprenticeship, or applying directly for nursery positions through official websites (like Indeed or LinkedIn).
On working with children who are up to 5 years old, you’ll gain the needed experience and skills (especially patience) that will set you up for teaching in the future.
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Babysitters
The endless hours you spent babysitting your baby brother or sister may have just come in handy.
Although it may have felt like a chore at the time, babysitting is a great first job to have to set you up for teaching in the future.
Like nursery roles, babysitting is a great profession for young people who’ve finished their GCSEs.
You can become a babysitter through obtaining relevant childcare training and qualifications.
An upside with babysitting is that it can be practiced both part-time and full-time.
It’s a useful job to have if you continue on to study at university, with you being able to work part-time alongside your studies.
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Private Tutors
If you excelled in a specific subject at school, you could use this to your advantage to become a private tutor.
Depending on your experience, you could help children studying for their 11+, GCSE’s or A-Levels.
Although no qualifications are necessarily needed for you to become a private tutor, you’ll find that subject expertise may be desired.
As a private tutor you’ll learn more about the teaching curriculum, setting yourself up to teach full-time across a range of schools in the future.
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Youth Workers
Being a youth worker you will support young people with their personal, social, and educational development.
Like nursery workers, you can become a youth worker through completing a college course or apprenticeship. However, you may also find that for some youth worker roles 2-3 A-Levels are desired in related subjects.
Youth workers work with those between the ages of 11-25.
If you become a youth worker and want to get into teaching in the future, you will more likely be best fitted to a role in a secondary school based on the ages you have experience with.
Not only will being a youth worker help you gain experience with children and young people, but you’ll be able to develop on skills desired for teaching (like empathy and kindness).
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Actors
This one may seem questionable. But if you are an actor you could transition into teaching in the future.
Actors make for teaching positions.
There are many similarities between actors and teachers, as we discussed in our previous blog on “Actors vs. Teachers”.
Unlike the other roles we have discussed, as actors you may not gain heaps of experience with children, but you’ll build on the same skills.
So, if the roles fail to come through in acting, don’t threat as ultimately your performance as an actor could set you up for a career in teaching.
Your Future in Teaching
Whether you’re currently in or looking to go into any of the jobs we have discussed, each one will help you secure a long-term career in teaching in the future.
Do you have any experience in the jobs we have discussed and wish to transition into a teaching position now? We at Forward Teaching can help you.
If you have experience working with children and/or a degree in a specific subject connect with us today and we could secure you a role as a teaching assistant or supply teacher on either a short or long-term basis.
Connect with Forward Teaching.