Teaching is an inspiring and rewarding career. If you’re interested about becoming a teacher, you likely have a fair deal of patience and empathy and joy of working with children or young adults. This article explains what teachers do and how to become one. 

Teaching is one of the most rewarding careers, but not everyone can find and apply for jobs. Minimum degrees, licenses, and qualifications must be met before entering the profession. This comprehensive guide takes you through what it takes to become a teacher. This includes whether teaching is the right profession for you and how to choose the best educational path.

What is a Teacher?

A teacher is a professional whose job is to aid students in acquiring knowledge, skills, or virtues. Qualified educators are primarily responsible for imparting students' learning through formal instruction techniques. 

They teach students how to acquire, analyse, and generate new information. They are responsible for leading the curriculum's contents. They serve as an instructor, a human, a coordinator, a supervisor, a motivator, and an administrator of education.

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What are the roles and responsibilities of a Teacher?

• Planning, researching, creating and delivering lesson plans via discussion, lecture, writing, or video
• Developing, conducting, collecting and grading assessments, such as essays, tests, quizzes, and other projects 
• Communicating with students, guardians, administrators and counsellors about the progress and needs of individual students 
• Assisting students at all stages of the learning process, including assisting with school assignments, helping with coursework, and providing emotional support 
• Prepare students for standardised exams. 
• Advising, supervising, or managing extracurricular activities, such as athletics, honour societies, school clubs, or after-school programs 
• Providing motivation and guidance related to career choices and decisions

Qualifications to Be a Teacher 

Communication and interpersonal skills: Teachers must have excellent communication skills to explain complex academic subjects to students. They might spend most of their day teaching and answering questions in classrooms. Their job requires them to speak, listen intently, and react appropriately.

Time management and organisational skills: The school is often a fast-paced setting where courses and classes are held one after the other. Good time management and organization skills might be crucial for teachers managing several classes. Organising skills can be more useful when organising events, extracurricular activities, class trips, and other similar activities.

Lesson planning: Teachers must be able to design, plan, and carry out classes. They typically schedule their classes to maximise knowledge transfer and prepare students for tests and evaluations. For teachers, creativity, innovation, and lesson planning are important skills.

Sensitivity and compassion: Teachers must be sensitive, patient, and compassionate toward their students. Many kids, especially the younger ones, can be challenging to manage. Teachers must know that their students come from various backgrounds and may need specialised attention or a diverse learning strategy. Teachers must be sensitive and attentive to students with varying learning abilities.

Leadership: Leadership skills will assist a teacher in gaining students' respect and attention, controlling the classroom environment, delivering lessons, and distributing homework. Leadership skills are also useful for supervising, counselling, or leading extracurricular activities.

Steps to Become a Successful Teacher

• First, know your passion for teaching. The teaching profession is not for everybody.
• Pursue a bachelor's degree. You can major in early childhood education, secondary education, special education, physical education, education administration, etc.
• Gain hands-on classroom experience in the form of an internship and training. 
• Obtain your teaching license corresponding to the subject and grade level you want to teach.
• Consider your interests and talents and research state requirements to help you decide where to teach.
• Pursue a relevant postgraduate programme to teach in a high school setting. You can choose a specific field, such as science, math or history.
• You may pursue a Doctoral degree or PhD in the field.

Degree Programs for Teachers

Salary of a Teacher

The salary of a teacher varies by region and grade level. Here is a list of the average salary of a teacher in various countries.

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Becoming a Teacher

Advantages:

• Lots of job opportunities
• Good social standing
• Summer vacations and holidays
• Always learning and continuing to grow
• Bonds with students and colleagues
• Job Satisfaction
• Job security
• Indoor work environment
• Sense of accomplishment
• Opportunity to make a real difference

Disadvantages:

• The salary is relatively low
• Challenges of teaching different kinds of students
• Workload
• Limited Promotion Opportunities
• Limited real-world skills
• Repetitive teaching of the same topics
• Work politics
• Routine job

Career as a Teacher

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In the US, the number of elementary school teachers is anticipated to increase by 7% between 2016 and 2026 due to expected growth in demand. The employment of teachers in middle and high schools is predicted to increase by 8% over the same period.

Classification: 

• Early Childhood Education teachers
• Preschool / Pre-Kindergarten teachers
• Elementary teachers
• Middle School teachers
• High School teachers
• Postsecondary teachers 
• Special Education teachers

Employment Sectors:

• Elementary & Secondary Schools
• Private Schools
• Public Schools
• Traditional Universities
• Corporate Universities
• Online Universities
• Virtual Schools
• Open and Distance Learning
• Community Colleges
• Art Colleges and Music Academics
• Alternative/Special Education Services
• Education Management Organizations
• Charter Schools
• Private Tutoring
• Learning Centers

FAQ Related to ‘How to Become a Teacher?

Are teachers paid on an hourly or monthly basis? 

Most elementary, middle, and high school teachers receive a monthly salary. They can work as tutors for an hourly wage.

Is it possible to pursue a profession as a teacher without a degree?

Most countries mandate that K–12 public school teachers possess a bachelor's degree in elementary education, secondary education, or for older grades, majoring in a content area like math or science.

Can I still become a teacher without a degree in education? 

Although having a bachelor's degree in education or a related discipline is more common, people who want to become teachers can still do so after passing a licensing exam with a bachelor's degree in a different subject.

 For instance, if you have a degree in mathematics and want to teach high school arithmetic, you'll need to pass a teacher certification exam that gauges your academic prowess and subject-specific content understanding.

Can a teacher change what they teach? 

Teachers are permitted to change subjects. Certain countries may, however, require the completion of further training and studies before changing disciplines.

Is it challenging to find work as a teacher? 

This may vary depending on the teaching post an applicant is seeking. Since they are the hardest to fill, Math and Special Education frequently have openings, whereas Social Studies (History) is more complicated.