Some Information On Becoming A Teaching Assistant, And What You Should Expect To Get From This Somewhat Challenging But Fulfilling Role.

A Teaching Assistant is someone who aids a teacher within a class in many ways. There are a few different types and levels of teaching assistant Careers offered, and here we are going to check out some of them. I have done some research on becoming a teaching assistant as it has been one of my Career ideas for some time now, and I have also finished a course and gained a level two qualification. Here I want to share my own experiences and findings when looking for New careers related to this job, to see if I can assist people who are perhaps considering this amongst other Career ideas.

There are 3 levels to the Teaching Assistant qualification, each advancement providing you with a greater chance at getting a job. Only getting the level 1 qualification won’t give you much chance of acquiring a job as a teaching assistant – make sure you aim for at least the level 2 course, but always go for the level 3 course if possible. I had to do the level 2 course as at the time I undertook the course as the level 3 was not offered in my area. I do often see advertised Teaching Assistant roles that only require level2. Level 3 however, will of course enhance your chances, open up access to jobs that demand level 3, and also support a better salary.

When becoming a Teaching Assistant, it is worth knowing that much of the work offered is working with children with special educational needs, as these are the areas where the added help is most likely going to be helpful. The advantage of this is that these Teaching Assistants do tend to get paid more compared to a Teaching Assistant that is assisting in a standard mainstream class. However, the position is a great deal more challenging as you can end up having to cope with more difficult situations. Having experienced it myself however, I would say it is very much worthwhile – for my course the work experience I undertook was in a schools special educational needs class, and whilst I did find it quite taxing, it was also good fun, and the children were good to work with, if sometimes difficult! Teaching assistants typically work in primary schools, but can also be found in secondary schools, and higher education establishments like colleges and 6th form schools.

Once you become a Teaching Assistant, your average beginning pay will be approximately £14,500, although this does improve with experience. However it is worth realising this figure is pro-rata – Teaching Assistants usually do not get paid for the time off through the school holidays, so you ought to make sure you take that into account when first starting out. Generally speaking, the older the children you work with, the higher the level of pay you will receive. You will have loads chances to enhance your skills outside of school time, and you may consider doing a part-time degree to become a Teacher, if you find you love the job a lot.

Tagged as:  career · Career Change · Career opportunities · career training · New Career