Are you in the process of putting down your UAC preferences or contemplating what type of job you’d like after you finish a Bachelor in Education?
Although the most common pathway is to become a teacher, there are actually quite a few career choices with a Bachelor of Education under your belt!
If you want to know a little more about what a Bachelor of Education actually entails, you can have a read of some of the articles below about studying this area at various universities:
- University of Sydney
- Macquarie University
- University of New South Wales
- Western Sydney University
- The University of Notre Dame
- The University of Newcastle
- Australian Catholic University
For today we’ll look into 20 jobs you can have with a Bachelor of Education, keep reading to find out!
Teaching Roles
Counselling and Guidance
Resource Development
University
Other Roles
Teaching Roles
#1: Primary School Teacher
These first few are the main jobs you’d probably have in mind when first considering a Bachelor of Education for further study.
As a primary school teacher, you’re not only teaching younger aged students, but your role in fostering the basic social skills and interactions tend to override the academic content, particularly with the younger year levels.
If you love the curiosity in children and want to help their minds develop, primary school teaching is likely a great choice for you.
JobOutlook: Estimate of $1,801 per week with strong future growth.
#2: High School Teacher
Unlike primary school, the role of a high school teacher is further orientated by content, particularly for the senior year groups (Year 10 to 12).
If you were really passionate about a certain subject area in Years 11 and 12 — maybe you took all the history subjects, or every single science option that was available — you might just enjoy teaching these subjects as well!
As a high school teacher, there are also often more opportunities to move up into a faculty head role.
JobOutlook: Estimate of $1,914 per week with strong future growth.
#3: Special Education Teacher or Teacher Aide/Learning Support Officer
If you enjoy being able to work with children one on one to help them learn new skills that might otherwise be easier for other students to learn, being a special education teacher or teacher aide might just be your calling!
Both these roles tend to work with students who have disabilities such as autism and ADHD or learning disabilities like dyslexia.
To become a special education teacher you need to have completed a Bachelor of Education with a major in Special Education.
On the other hand, you don’t need any specific qualifications to become a teacher aide, but having completed a Bachelor of Education (with any major) will make you more employable.
JobOutlook: Estimate of $1,941 per week with moderate future growth for special education teachers and $1,094 per week with very strong future growth for teacher aides.
#4: EAL Teacher
EAL is short for English as an Additional Language, and often students who aren’t completely fluent in English are placed into an EAL class or learning group to ensure they understand the class work.
EAL teachers are all about helping students improve their English in areas of reading, writing and speaking. Students who are not confident in their English skills are found to refrain from participating in class which hinders their learning.
The role of an EAL teacher is to help them find that confidence and build on their English skills so they can be caught up with the rest of the class!
As Australia is a multicultural country, many students are migrants, or are growing up in migrant families. So EAL teachers will always have an important role in supporting students’ learning!
JobOutlook: Estimate of $1,402 per week with stable future growth.
#5: Private Tutor
When parents realise that their child is struggling in a particular subject, or aren’t achieving their best at school, private tutors play an important role in that student’s life! Tutors provide one-on-one support for students and tailor learning specifically to their areas of weaknesses.
No qualification is required to become a tutor, however, having studied a Bachelor of Education will make you more reputable to clients.
JobOutlook: Estimate of $1,122 per week with strong future growth.
Interested in becoming a tutor at Art of Smart? Find out more!
#6: Sports Coach
If you’re someone that enjoys sports and teaching sports, then perhaps this specific job in education is for you! If you are planning to go into education to become a PDHPE teacher, then you could also consider becoming a sports coach, especially if you’ve done a lot of training in a specific style of sport your whole life.
Maybe you were really good at soccer, but an injury took you out of the game, or perhaps you competed in athletics for many years, and are passionate about sharing the techniques required in each game.
#7: Homeschool Teacher
Homeschooling is becoming increasingly popular in Australia. Although parents commonly take on the role as teacher when homeschooling their children, there are also instances where parents are working during the day and need someone to teach their children.
As a homeschool teacher you would work closely with the student/s and tutor them in every subject.
Note that the difference between homeschooling and distance education is that homeschooled students are not part of a school, therefore parents or homeschool teachers are accountable for marking and grading papers.
With distance education, students are required to send their work to the distance education provider for marking and feedback from a teacher.
#8: Music Teacher
Like sports coaching, if you have a passion for music and enjoy learning and teaching instruments, becoming a music teacher could be a great option. As a music teacher you can take solely music lessons in a high school and be dedicated to teaching students how to play instruments alongside conducting a school band or music ensemble!
If you’re more focused on one type of instrument, such as the piano, or saxophone, you could become a teacher at a music school and teach students music as their extracurricular. In this job you don’t necessarily need your Bachelor in Education, however having studied this degree and knowing about different teaching methods or how to adapt to different students, you’ll be seen as much more employable by music schools.
JobOutlook: Estimate of $1,122 per week with strong future growth.
Counselling and Guidance
#9: Careers Adviser
A school environment requires staff beyond academic and creative arts teachers. Careers advisers are prominent within high schools and are focused on helping students plan out the next couple of years after high school.
This often involves helping students decide on what career they want to enter, or if they already have a clear idea of what they want to be, it’s a matter of tracking back and finding the correct pathways of getting into the job. This includes advising university degrees, college pathways and TAFE courses that would be suitable to prepare them for the desired role.
To become a careers adviser, you need to have completed a course or qualification that has been supported by the Career Industry Council of Australia. This is often completed externally to the Bachelor of Education.
JobOutlook: Estimate of $1,584 per week with very strong future growth.
#10: Wellbeing Teacher
Wellbeing teachers have been recognised to have a growing role in schools, particularly in high school, for senior students who are dealing with high levels of stress when it comes to the HSC or other major exams.
To become a wellbeing teacher, you technically only need your Bachelor in Education, however completing additional courses or qualifications would make you seem a better fit for the role, especially if the school you are working at is hiring internally. You could also choose to specialise in Educational Wellbeing at university.
#11: School Counsellor
As a school counsellor you are providing help and guidance to students from a variety of backgrounds to remind them that school is a safe space for them. Often students may be having a hard time at school, personally, or at home.
The role of a counsellor is to provide students with the immediate help necessary, so that they are not disadvantaged with their learning.
Unlike a wellbeing teacher, to become a school counsellor, you need to have either a full or provisional registration as a psychologist. You would also need to complete courses approved for psychology and/or school counselling.
So if you know that you want to become a school counsellor, it would be a good idea to plan ahead and complete the required courses during your university degree.
JobOutlook: Estimate of $1,584 per week with very strong future growth.
Resource Development
#12: Textbook Writer
There are actually a lot of job opportunities for teachers in roles outside of the classroom and school grounds. If you’re someone that really enjoys the academic side of teaching over the role of making sure students behave and listen to you, a job in education as a textbook writer might be perfect!
As the name suggests, a textbook writer, or author, creates teaching materials for textbook companies.
Having a degree in education means that you will have a thorough understanding of the curriculum for specific subject areas and will be able to write suitable material for textbooks. This involves everything in a textbook, from readings to summary questions, examples and practise tests.
#13: Test Developer
Speaking of tests, you could also be a test developer. This is more prominent for secondary and tertiary education.
As a test developer, you work in designing exam content for specific subjects and also work with different testing softwares. The rise of online testing makes this an increasingly important job!
JobOutlook: Estimate of $2,020 per week with very strong future growth.
#14: Before and After School Care Programmer
With both parents working in the average household, a lot of primary school students are placed into before and after school care programs. Previously being a simple supervision group, before and after school care programs have started to take on teaching roles and ensuring that children are receiving help with their homework and providing after school snacks.
So if you’re more interested in the child psychology and behavioural aspect of education, a job in education as a before and after school care programmer might just be the thing for you!
JobOutlook: Estimate of $953 per week with very strong future growth.
#15: Curriculum Developer
If you like creating lesson plans, and are interested in organising subject content for students, a further role as a curriculum developer is a job with increasing demand. With the rise of 21st Century learning skills, changing job landscapes and subjects on offer, a curriculum developer needs to ensure that the content taught in classes are relevant to the changing world around us!
This could mean you work for the state education department to work on board approved courses, or for a private tutoring company. You could also become a curriculum developer at a university or a specific workshop company, such as coding and computing courses.
JobOutlook: Estimate of $2,020 per week with very strong future growth.
#16: Lesson and Instructional Design
Similar to a curriculum developer, the next stage is lesson and instructional design. This means that you would work with the set curriculum to develop classroom activities, assignments, homework tasks and powerpoint slides to deliver content to classes.
Although many teachers will take on these activities independently, there are various organisations that focus purely on lesson and instructional design for schools to purchase packages from.
University
#17: University Tutor
Of course, there are plenty of jobs in education in the context of tertiary studies. More specifically, you could become a university tutor! Not only will you be teaching students who have most likely chosen to study a specific subject area, but you will be able to focus your time and energy into your niche field of interest.
If you’re studying a Bachelor of Education because you want to teach, not because you want to help students improve their behaviour or to discipline them, being a university tutor means that you’re working with independent young adults. So, you can really focus on the academic aspect of education!
JobOutlook: Estimate of $2,511 per week with strong future growth.
#18: University Professor
Like a university tutor, pursuing the career of becoming a professor allows you to expand your knowledge and understanding of a specific subject area. You will not only continue studying yourself, but you will play a large role in delivering content and educating cohorts in the field of study that you are passionate about.
You will also take on the role of developing the course structure and assignments for the subject area that you would lecture in.
JobOutlook: Estimate of $2,511 per week with strong future growth.
Other Roles
#19: Museum Educator/Tour Guide
Do you have a passion for history, science or art? Do you love visiting museums, interacting with showings and reading the little cards that explain the exhibit?
A job as a museum educator or tour guide would be perfect for you! You’ll be able to be in museums everyday, see the exhibits first hand, share your interest and passion about the topic area and spread this knowledge to visitors day in and day out!
With an understanding of how people learn and respond to information you would have the necessary skills to become a museum guide. Further, you’ll be teaching people who have come to learn for fun, and have a genuine interest and passion in the same areas as you!
JobOutlook: Estimate of $1,374 per week with strong future growth.
#20: Corporate Trainer or Development Professional
At the end of this list is corporate training. If you’re wanting to branch away from younger students and delve into the business world, this might just be the role for you.
You will still hold a career as an educator, however you’re working in a more practical sense and ensuring that people are achieving the appropriate qualification for their job.
This job in education is closely aligned with a role in training and development professionals, where you can specialise in vocational education or even airforce, army and naval training.
JobOutlook: Estimate of $1,742 per week with stable future growth.
So there you have it!
20 different jobs that you could pursue with a Bachelor of Education. You may find that after graduating you want to take on a job as a school teacher, but after a few years in this role you could be looking for ways to broaden your horizon and try something new!
Nandini Dhir is a Content Writer at Art of Smart and is currently studying a Bachelor of Arts (majoring in Marketing) and a Bachelor of Advanced Studies (Media and Communications), as a Dalyell Scholar, at Sydney University. She enjoys covering local issues in her area and writing about current events in the media. Nandini has had one of her pieces published in an article with the Sydney Morning Herald. In her free time, Nandini loves doing calligraphy, ballet, and sewing, or is otherwise found coddling her cats.
