THE CAREER DOCTOR GETTING INTO TEACHING

The H.Dip. is a frustrating course to try an get on to. First, have you received concrete feedback as to why you failed to secure a place? If it is that you scored a lower second in your degree, then you have troubles. If this is the case, you need to get past being a faceless candidate and make appointments with the decision-makers in the colleges you are applying to. Buy them coffee and find out what makes them tick. Have they made exceptions in the past? Why? Why not? It is easy to reject JABAs (just-another-bloody-applicant), so don’t be one.

What about bypassing the H.Dip. entirely for now? Can you look to getting on to an M.Ed. programme? Either bite the bullet and go full time (abroad if necessary and if you are really serious about pursuing education as a career) or do a longer programme by night or distance learning. The fact that you are on a Masters programme – highlight this heavily on your CV – will lend much more weight to your next move, whatever that might be.

You mention that you have experience in both primary and secondary level. Which do you really want to work at and why? Clarify this in your own mind and it strengthens your ‘sales pitch’ immeasurably. If whoever is listening to you thinks that you have a fallback, or Plan B, position; they will be less inclined to give you what you want. People respond to passion, drive and commitment, so make the tough decision, come off the fence and go for it!

Gaining further experience will be more fruitful and focused once you have determined your long-term strategy. As you have no doubt already discovered, there are a significant number of unqualified teachers out there today. There is no reason why you can’t join their ranks while you attain further qualifications. Look to your network, to people who know your character and who might be willing to speak up on your behalf or to take a chance on you. Apply for everything you see advertised as well and learn from each rejection (there will be many!) You don’t have to take a job that doesn’t suit you, so apply widely and learn everything you can.

Finally, one other route that occurs to me is that you might pursue something in the field of educational psychology. As our understanding of the development of young minds grows, the market is crying out for skilled people in this arena and while you might not end up directly in a classroom environment, you would be making an enormous difference to the children you would be working with.

Rowan Manahan is MD of the career management firm Fortify Services and author of Where’s My Oasis? Visit www.fortifyservces.com or telephone 01 230 1313.

Irish Independent, Jobs & Careers supplement, August 25th 2005.

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