Education degree

[isitme111]

Hi, Can anyone advise of careers which a degree in Education may lead to other than teaching. DD has looked at a few unis for this and is interested in the modules but doesn't want to become a teacher so so I'm wondering if there are any other job roles where a degree in Education could be useful.

Which modules sound interesting to her? There's lots of jobs within education that aren't teaching, although having no classroom experience might be a barrier.

She could look at a combined degree with another subject.

Why does she want to do an Education degree? Other broader degrees have modules on education. I know it's an interesting opic but , as a degree, it's narrow.

What do the uni prospectuses themselves say about career paths?

Admin in a university or journalism or the civil service. Personally I wouldn’t recommend an education degree unless wanting to teach.

How about education and psychology?

She's interested in most things about it - history, policies, human development. The prospectus states it can lead to roles such as counselling, social work, educational psychology but I know all of these roles would need further study. It does also mentions admin roles in education but I'm not sure what these could be and like a pp said would it be difficult to enter the admin side without teaching experience.
Combining may be something she can consider. Our local Uni doesn't offer this but I guess it may be worth looking further afield.
Thanks everyone

I was looking at the Nottingham course and well over 50% of their graduates go on to do a primary PGCE.

My understanding about Ed Psychs is that they have psychology degrees or postgrads and I think they also have to have teaching experience (but it's not my field).

I am coming from a place of bias, I will admit, but there is noting worse than people in educational jobs who have never taught! Museum education/ journalism/ publishing is a possibility but they tend to like ex teachers.

Does she have a career, even vaguely, in mind? Is she currently doing A Levels? What are they?

counselling, social work, educational psychology

If she likes the sound of one of those, she’d be better off going straight into training for it-I think a three year Education degree would be an unnecessary and expensive path to take.

If she fancies being an EP (and accepts it’s a very long, academic and potentially expensive path with a doctorate that lots of people never get on the course for), then I’d suggest a psych degree. If she wants to be a counsellor-do the training. If she wants to be a social worker-look at routes and degree courses for that.

Agree with others, an education degree is an unusual choice if you have no interest in becoming a teacher.

What does she want to do? If she knows it's not teaching, does she have some idea? Most of the alternatives suggested on this thread would indeed be better approached from a different angle (journalism for one!).

My next door neighbour’s son did an Education degree at Uni of Leeds. He wanted to be a primary teacher. When he started his PGCE he hated it and left. He really regrets not getting some experience working in a school before choosing this degree and wishes he’d studied something else. He really can’t see a use for it.

@isitme111
Its very difficult to become an Educational Psychologist. The best ones were teachers. They had years of teaching experience but I would be wary of doing a psychology degree and then trying to an Ed psyche. Very very competitive.

Education admin is usually finance if you want to earn reasonably well. So business degree? This gives far more options. However jobs are often term time only. Social work degree. Work always available but limited use elsewhere.

Or: do History. Going local limits options. What are her A levels? You can primary teach after lots of degrees if she still wants that. Or do loads of other jobs.

If your daughter is interested in remote work, an Education degree can be quite useful too. While the focus is often on teaching remotely, there are other roles like virtual education consultants, curriculum designers, and training coordinators that could be an excellent fit. I recently stumbled upon an article that talks about the best degrees for remote work at https://www.bestonlineuniversities.com/what-are-the-best-degrees-for-remote-work/ and while Education may not be the first one you think of, it offers a lot of transferrable skills that can be applied in remote settings.

I hope this provides some useful insights for your daughter as she explores her options!

I’ve never met an education consultant or adviser who hadn’t reached a senior position in a school. You cannot be a consultant straight from uni.

I do the Education degree at Goldsmiths university. Around half of the cohort train to be teachers afterwards. It’s generally quite similar to other non vocational degrees like Sociology, Anthropology, History etc.

I’m biased but I think it’s a fantastic degree and it can open the door to lots of different fields of work. Some examples would be: journalism, civil service, learning, development and training in a business, HR, a support role in a school (e.g attendance officer), working for the local council.

Personally, I’m hoping to do a masters in Mental Health and Wellbeing in Education and then work in Widening Participation in Higher Education.

I can’t speak for every university, but it’s a genuinely fascinating, interdisciplinary subject and I’d recommend it to anyone with a passion for it, even if teaching isn’t for them.

Some good unis for Education are UCL, Bristol and York if she’s interested.