To think about Doing a pgce 7 years after degree

[Moomoomango]

Hi all,

Am I nuts? I’m looking at career options and looking to do a pgce as a business studies teacher but finished my degree 7 years ago and have solidly raised kids since then. Would I be totally out of my depth or would it all come back to me ?!

Has anyone else done a part time pgce? Is it manageable with children?

I did a PGCE over 20 years after my degree. I have a great middle management role in a fabulous independent school. I trained as a single parent. It was tough, but I managed it.

Where are all of these part time PGCEs? All I could see were full time courses when I applied last October.

I wouldn't fancy doing a PGCE around children. I've stopped teaching because it squeezed my family life too far and I was struggling to meet my children's needs.

Check if there is demand and opportunity for business studies. The narrow pool of subjects valued for their GCSE results and lack of budgets in schools means that subjects like business studies are easy ones to drop from the curriculum.

7 years after a degree isn't a problem. I applied after a gap year and was expected to plug gaps from my degree myself. The PGCE does contain academic writing so revision of writing style and subject knowledge wouldn't go amiss.

I don't think there's anyone over 40 teaching at our huge 3 form local infant school. And not very many at the huge junior...

The PCGE was the easy part!

If you have maths A Level and your business degree had a significant mathematical component then you might consider maths.

There are SKE (Skills and Knowledge Enhancement) courses you can do in maths - online study - and bursaries available for them (about £400 a month, I think - designed to help you find the time, e.g. by paying for extra childcare so that you can study in peace). PGCE providers who accept non-mathematicians often stipulate that you must do one of these.

Go for it! 🕺🏼

The pay and job opportunities are much better in maths.