Becoming a college lecturer??

scottishgirl87

I have an ordinary BA degree in a Business discipline and I'm quite interested in teaching, however, I don't really know if I'd be cut out for high school teaching. Have thought about looking into college lecturing but don't quite know how to go about it? In order to become a lecturer do you have to do a secondary teaching degree anyway?

I currently have a job in relation to my degree but it's only part-time and I feel I need a change

Emmzi

to do business studies at college it'd be far preferable to have real life business experience to draw on - those are the really great lecturers.

do you have a careers guidance worker at your college?

susiejq

Hi,
In order to become a college lecturer you will need to have a degree or level 5 specialism in the subject you will be teaching plus a teaching qualification. The qualification starts with the PTLLS (Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector) - which normally takes about 12 weeks and is then followed by a 2 year DTLLS (Diploma in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector). In order to study on the DTLLS you will need to be teaching. A common route is therefore to pass the PTTLS and then try and find a College who will take you on and allow you to teach and study at the same time. This is much harder than it used to be, jobs are fewer, people are staying put and funding to all FE Colleges is being cut year on year. It's a very challenging job, often working with difficult people and having very demanding targets set for attendance, retention of students and success. There is a constant need to do more with less. It can also be a fun, rewarding job (although not usually financially) working with great staff.
Good luck

payless

Your degree (level 6) covers the level 5 requirement

If you have industry experience as well I think you will find colleges that will start you on a PTTLS course at the same time as you start teaching. You may need to accept Temp posts initially though.

You could instead do a PGC in post comp ed at a university, they will usually find you a placement

Oldernotwiser

You can do a post 16 PGCE which would be funded but you could also go into FE teaching with a Secondary PGCE which would give you a much wider choice.

Having been a college lecturer for a large part of my career I would give serious thought to secondary teaching as it's far better paid and there's far more chance of career progression. Nowadays I wouldn't recommend anybody to go down the FE route as the advantages of doing so are long gone.

dizzyrascal

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

You can do a post 16 PGCE which would be funded but you could also go into FE teaching with a Secondary PGCE which would give you a much wider choice.

Having been a college lecturer for a large part of my career I would give serious thought to secondary teaching as it's far better paid and there's far more chance of career progression. Nowadays I wouldn't recommend anybody to go down the FE route as the advantages of doing so are long gone.

Sorry to disagree but it wouldn't be a funded PGCE without a good honours degree and for 11-18 secondary you would need to do a business studies PGCE and there are not as many places to study that subject as for there are for say Maths or English. You can check the availability of courses on the gttr website. http://www.gttr.ac.uk/students/coursesearch
Might be worth doing the extra credits to get the hons part of your degree as it could be a struggle to get on a course without it.

scottishgirl87

Thank you all for the replies. Unfortunately, I think it's back to the drawing board as I really don't think I have the grades for either

Oldernotwiser

dizzyrascal wrote: »

Sorry to disagree but it wouldn't be a funded PGCE without a good honours degree and for 11-18 secondary you would need to do a business studies PGCE and there are not as many places to study that subject as for there are for say Maths or English. You can check the availability of courses on the gttr website. http://www.gttr.ac.uk/students/coursesearch
Might be worth doing the extra credits to get the hons part of your degree as it could be a struggle to get on a course without it.

Sorry and thanks. I missed the fact that he doesn't have an honours degree.:o

saintjammyswine

You dont need an honours degree to be a college lecturer, especially an experience based subject such as Business. It may be a desirable trait for colleges but not essential. Also regarding the teaching quals, these can be acheived while 'on the job'. Contact your local college for advice, the HR dept will advise on their criteria.