Studying a degree in education directly prepares you for a range of careers working with children and young people

Job options

Jobs directly related to your degree include:

• Community education officer
• Early years teacher
• Education administrator
• Education consultant
• English as a foreign language teacher
• Further education teacher
• Learning mentor
• Primary school teacher
• Secondary school teacher
• Special educational needs coordinator (SENCO)
• Special educational needs teacher
• Teaching assistant

Jobs where your degree would be useful:

• Careers adviser
• Child psychotherapist
• Counselor
• Family support worker
• Health play specialist
• Museum education officer
• Play therapist
• Private tutor
• Youth worker

Work experience

If you want to do a PGCE or equivalent postgraduate qualification, you'll need to have experience of working with children, preferably in a school environment. This will show that you understand the role and are committed to a teaching career. Contact schools directly to ask for work experience or to observe classes or shadow teachers. 

Volunteering to help out at a local education, sports, community or youth centre is also a good way to gain some experience of working with children and organising group activities. It may also help you increase your knowledge of educational issues.

If you decide to move away from a career in education, think about what areas of work interest you and carry out research into relevant roles and sectors. 

Look out for work placements and voluntary opportunities advertised via your university career service, on company websites and through the specialist press. Use these opportunities to discover whether you suit the work and to build up a network of contacts. Work shadowing is another useful way of finding out about a particular career.

Typical employers

If you're working in a state-maintained school, your employer will often be your local authority. However, you may be employed directly by the school - if for example, you work for an academy, free school or independent school. You'll also be employed directly by the institution if you work for a college.

Other employers include:

• central government departments
• community and voluntary organisations
• museums
• the police and probation services
• social services
• universities.

Skills for your CV

Studying education develops specific skills relating to a range of educational topics. These include theories of learning, equality and diversity, education policy and practice, and creativity and education.

Your degree will also provide you with a good general understanding of education in social, political and economic contexts. Some courses include work placement modules, providing the opportunity to put theory into practice.

You'll also gain the following transferable skills, which are useful to employers in a variety of job sectors:

• excellent communication skills - essential for effectively presenting information to learners
• IT skills - needed for researching teaching resources and preparing materials and for communication within the education setting and with external contacts
• research and analytical skills
• interpersonal skills - working collaboratively as part of a team
• effective problem-solving skills
• organisation and time-management skills - essential for managing a teaching workload and getting planning and marking done on time
• self-management - helping you to work effectively and reflect on your personal practice and make improvements.