Question regarding teaching in Australia
 

Hi guys,

I am an electronics engineer who wish to change profession from an engineer to a teacher (primary or sec). FYI, I have a Bachelor Honours Engineering degree recognised by Engineers Australia.

Am I qualified to be a teacher either in the primary or secondary school?

Hope you guys can shed some ideas.


Van

Re: Question regarding teaching in Australia
 

Van the Man,

Have you got a teaching qualification like a PGCE or do you have any teaching experience?

If not, you will need to complete a one year initial teacher training course, or you may possibly get work in a private school but you would usually have to be registered with the state education department.

Good luck x.

Re: Question regarding teaching in Australia
 

Hi ws99,

Nope. I do not have teaching qualification. I believe PGCE is only available in the UK? By, the way, I'm from Asia. The only teaching experience I have is conducting personal tutor to primary school students after school hours.

Where can sit for the teachers training course? Is it a masters or graduate diploma course?

My qualification is in B.Eng(Hons)electronics/computer engineering and I am planning to teach basic science and basic computing or maybe some other relevant subjects to primary and possible secondary school student?

Rgds,
Van

Re: Question regarding teaching in Australia
 

Van,

Whereabouts in Australia do you plan to live?

A course like this one would be best to do: http://www.uq.edu.au/study/program.html?acad_prog=5384

Re: Question regarding teaching in Australia
 

Hi ws99,

Thanks for the info. I plan to live either in Perth, Sydney or Melbourne. Most probably in Sydney or Perth.

You're saying that a Grad Diploma course is sufficient for a person to start teaching. Is it a pre-requisite?

Thanks.


Van

Re: Question regarding teaching in Australia
 

Hi Van,

the authorities won't let you anywhere near a school without an accredited teacher training qualification that is either a 4 year education degree or a 3 yr degree plus 1 year diploma.

You may also find (certainly for NSw, can't talk about the other states) that the degree you have will not cover you for a course as a science teacher. Degrees here for teaching have to have two strands to them, and you may well find that with an engineering degree you fulfil the Physics requirement but you will fail the chemistry or biology. You may want to look at becoming a technology teacher instead, though in NSW Electronics is only considered a secondary subject and needs to be paired with another subject.

I would do some careful research before making any decisions, as your case will no doubt be complex. I would recommend contacting the state education boards and seeking their advice before committing yourself...

S

Re: Question regarding teaching in Australia
 

Hi S,

Thanks for the reply. It seems complicated. Hmmm....what about doing a graduate diploma in education as what ws99 suggested?

My plan is to only teach primary or secondary school student.


Cheers,
Van

Re: Question regarding teaching in Australia
 

What swerv-o is saying is that your degree may not qualify you to even get onto an australian dip Ed course as you have to specialise in 2 subjects and they have to be subjects that are taught in school (for secondary anyway). You may be better off either looking at primary where you will teach all subjects so be more likely to get onto a course, or doing a Dip Ed in your home country in a subject taught in school.

I don't really understand what you mean by 'My plan is to only teach primary or secondary school student.' This is a professional job, and needs commitment, a lot of work and the relevant qualifications. And by the way primary and secondary are very different so you need to sort out which one you want to teach quickly and get some school experience.

Re: Question regarding teaching in Australia
 

Hi hereshoping,

I prefer to teach in primary or secondary but I do not know the standard in Australia. Back in my country, the primary subjects consist of english language, basic mathematics, moral & ethics, science and etc.

For secondary, subject ranges from english language, additional mathemathics, history, biology, chemistry, physics and etc.

As I currently have only a a Bachelor of Engineering Electronics/Computer degree recognised by engineers australia, I do not know whether I am allowed to teach primary or secondary school student.

Refering to my sentence "My plan is to only teach primary or secondary school student", it means I'm planning to teach in a lower level form e.g. primary school.

FYI, If I were to take a masters/PhD course, I can be a tutor or lecturer in the university or college. But am not that ambitous as I only want to settle down to be a primary or sec school teacher.

Lets say I prefer to teach primary student, what course should I take? My passion and interest lies in teaching as I'm currently conduction private tuition for primary school children in mathematics, english and science.

Thank you.


Van

Re: Question regarding teaching in Australia
 

Can u tell me how to post a query on this site. i'm alraedy a registered member

Re: Question regarding teaching in Australia
 

Looks like you found out all on your own!

S