Retrain as a teacher to make a midlife career change

When it comes to this occupation, being an older jobseeker is seen as a significant advantage.

TEACHERS who enter the profession through career change bring important life experiences that benefit their students.

Experts say those who become teachers in their second or subsequent career are often far better at connecting with students than those who have gone from school to a teaching degree and then immediately back to the classroom.

They urge those contemplating a career change to give teaching a go, saying it is extremely rewarding to be able to provide young people with the knowledge and skills needed throughout life.

Australian Catholic University education expert Dr John Munro says teachers who have other workplace experiences are often more accepting of “different ways of doing things’’ for students who do not successfully learn through traditional methods.

They are also more likely to provide a wider range of career options to students than first-career teachers, he says.

Career changers have more teaching options than many who pursued the career as a school leaver.

“Say you’ve gone straight from school to uni to train to be a science teacher – the only experience you have is that of a classroom,’’ Munro says.

“But if that person had worked in a butter factory or other areas (before entering teaching) – and can see how the ideas they are teaching can apply to those areas – then that gives the teacher a much broader understanding that they can pass on to their students.

“That teacher can see (recognise) a lot more opinions and options – and that’s really important for students.’’

Existing workers who have an undergraduate degree – regardless of the field of study – can transition to teaching by completing a two-year Master of Teaching qualification.

For those who cannot wait to finish their studies, Teach for Australia offers a leadership development program whereby successful applicants are able to teach in remote and disadvantaged schools while simultaneously completing the postgraduate degree.

TFU chief executive Melodie Potts Rosevear says the program provides one-on-one coaching and mentoring support to participants, who must be willing to teach where the need is greatest.

This year, more than 40 per cent of participants, who are known as associates, relocated interstate to take up teaching posts at schools that had demand for their subject skills and expertise.

“In the communities where Teach for Australia associates work, there is strong demand for STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) teachers but we have also helped schools find teachers for English, other languages, drama, history, music, legal studies and more,’’ Rosevear says.

Applications for the 2022 leadership development program close on August 15.

After completing degrees in exercise science and clinical exercise physiology, Nathan McLean worked in sport and marketing before moving to a teaching career.

Through the TFA, he has been placed at Melbourne’s Narre Warren South P-12 College, where he teaches PE and health, while undertaking the masters degree.

“Each day when I see the growth in my students’ abilities and confidence levels, I can’t help but feel a sense of achievement in helping to shape a young person’s future for the better,’’ McLean says.