How to become a teacher

Quick facts

Starting salary

£30,000 - £33,000 (UK, NQT)

Mid-career salary

£36,000 - £45,000

Senior salary

£50,000 - £75,000 (leadership)

Work environment

School, lots of contact time + planning

Time to entry

1 - 4 years

Degree required

Yes + PGCE or equivalent

Category

Education, Science and Research

Compare pay across careers in the UK salaries by career report. Also in: Stable careers, Career change.

What a Teacher does

Plan and deliver lessons, mark work, and help young people develop.

• Primary Teacher - Teach all subjects to children aged 5-11.
• Secondary Teacher - Teach a specialist subject to ages 11-18.
• SEN Teacher - Teach pupils with special educational needs.

How to become a teacher in the UK

The most common route is a 1-year PGCE following an undergraduate degree, leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). Alternatives include the salaried school-led training, the postgraduate teaching apprenticeship, the Teach First leadership programme (salaried training in schools in disadvantaged areas), and undergraduate BEd degrees. All routes lead to QTS, then the 2-year Early Career Teacher (ECT) induction in your first post.

1. Check you have GCSE English and maths at grade 4 (C) or above, plus a science GCSE if you want to teach primary in England.
2. Get recent classroom experience by arranging school visits, volunteering or working as a teaching assistant, so you can talk about real lessons at interview.
3. Choose your age range and subject, and check whether your subject attracts a bursary or scholarship, which in England go mainly to shortage subjects.
4. In England, apply through the GOV.UK Apply for teacher training service for a PGCE, a school-led course or a salaried postgraduate teaching apprenticeship.
5. If you do not yet have a degree, look at a three or four-year undergraduate degree with QTS, or a teacher degree apprenticeship in England.
6. After gaining QTS, complete the two-year Early Career Teacher induction in your first post, with a mentor and a reduced timetable.
7. In Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, follow the local route, such as a PGDE and GTC Scotland registration, or registration with the Education Workforce Council in Wales or GTCNI in Northern Ireland.

How long it takes

If you already have a degree, you can qualify in about a year: most postgraduate courses start in September and you gain QTS the following summer, then complete the two-year ECT induction in your first job. Without a degree, allow 3 to 4 years for an undergraduate degree with QTS.

Teacher salary in the UK

Classroom teachers in England follow a structured pay scale: ECT year 1 starts at £32,916 (outer London £38,215, inner London £40,317), rising annually to £45,352 at the top of the main scale (M6) and £51,048 at the top of the upper scale (UPS3). Leadership scales (heads of department, deputy heads, heads) range £50,000-£130,000+ depending on school size and location. Scotland, Wales and NI use slightly different scales.

Is teacher a good career?

Teaching is a strong career if you genuinely care about young people's development and you can sustain energy in a high-demand environment for years. The structure (pay progression, pension, holidays, clear progression to leadership) is unusually generous compared to most professional careers. The trade-offs are real and well-documented: workload (50-60+ hours per week is common in term time), behaviour management, and the emotional load of caring for 30+ children at once.

Key skills

• Communication
• Patience
• Subject knowledge
• Classroom management

Will teachers be replaced by AI?

Moderate exposure. No. AI can take on lesson planning, resource creation and some marking, but the core of teaching (managing a room, safeguarding, motivating a child who has given up) needs a person. Expect the paperwork to change long before the classroom does.

What AI already does in this job

• Lesson plans, worksheets and differentiated resources
• Marking of objective and short-answer work
• Report-writing and routine parent communication
• Generating practice questions and revision material

What stays with a person

• Behaviour management and reading a room
• Safeguarding and pastoral care
• Motivating pupils and building relationships with families
• Adapting in the moment when a lesson is not landing

Use the tools to cut planning and marking time; the DfE now publishes guidance on doing that safely. The most protected teaching roles are the most human ones: special educational needs, early years and pastoral leadership.

Careers that reuse your skills with less AI exposure

• SEN Teacher - one of the most human-centred teaching roles
• Educational Psychologist - builds on classroom experience with specialist assessment
• Careers Adviser - guidance work that relies on one-to-one trust

More on AI and work: check another job, jobs AI will replace, AI-proof jobs.

Our rating judges how much of the role's everyday work current AI tools can already do or draft; it measures exposure, not job losses. Occupation findings are from the Department for Education, The impact of AI on UK jobs and training (November 2023).

How to retrain as a teacher

If you have a degree, you can usually qualify in about a year through postgraduate teacher training, leading to qualified teacher status (QTS). Career changers are common in teaching, and many schools value the experience they bring, particularly in shortage subjects like maths, physics, chemistry and computing.

Routes for adults

• Postgraduate teacher training - Around a year full-time, university- or school-led, often with a PGCE. Fee-paying, with student finance available.
• Salaried teacher training - A school employs you while you train. Competitive, and more common in shortage subjects.
• No degree yet - You need a degree first: an undergraduate degree with QTS, or any degree followed by teacher training.

Paying for it

Tuition fee and maintenance loans are available for postgraduate teacher training, and tax-free bursaries or scholarships are offered in some subjects. The amounts change every year, so check Get Into Teaching for the current figures.

Retraining at 40 or 50

There is no upper age limit, and people regularly start teaching in their 40s and 50s. The bigger question is whether you can manage a year on reduced income and the workload of the first years.

Can I afford to retrain? · Advanced Learner Loans · Free Skills Bootcamps

Teacher interview questions

Expect to teach a short observed lesson, meet pupils, and face a panel interview with safeguarding questions.

1. How do you know pupils have learned something in your lesson? What they are looking for: Assessment for learning: questioning, checking understanding and adapting as you go.
2. How do you manage behaviour in a difficult class? What they are looking for: Clear routines, consistency with the school's policy and high expectations.
3. How would you adapt a lesson for a pupil with SEND? What they are looking for: Concrete adaptations and working with the SENCO and teaching assistants.
4. What would you do if a pupil made a disclosure to you? What they are looking for: Correct safeguarding procedure: listen, record, report to the DSL, no promises of secrecy.
5. How did your observed lesson go, and what would you change? What they are looking for: Honest reflection. Panels value it more than a perfect lesson.

If you are changing career: Schools often value career changers' experience. Connect your previous work to the subject and to managing people, and be specific about why teaching rather than training or tutoring.

Teacher CV

Schools use application forms rather than CVs because of safer recruitment rules, with a personal statement that matters more than the form. A CV is still useful for agencies and teacher training applications.

What to lead with

• Your qualified teacher status (QTS) or training route and subject
• Teaching placements: year groups, what you taught and what you contributed
• Extra-curricular contributions: clubs, trips, interventions

Career changer CV: Put subject expertise from industry up front. Industry experience in a shortage subject is a real advantage, so show it.

Still deciding whether this is the move? The Career Change assessment works out how big a change you actually need before you start applying.

Teacher FAQs

How do I become a teacher in the UK?

The standard route is a 1-year PGCE after your undergraduate degree, leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and the 2-year Early Career Teacher induction. Alternatives include School Direct (salaried), Teach First (leadership programme), and undergraduate BEd degrees. All lead to QTS.

How much do teachers earn in the UK?

In England, ECT year 1 starts at £32,916 outside London and £40,317 in inner London (2025/26). Classroom teachers reach £45,352-£51,048 at the top of the main and upper scales. Leadership roles (heads of department, deputies, heads) range £50,000-£130,000+ depending on school size and location.

Can I become a teacher without a degree?

You need a degree (or equivalent Level 6 qualification) to gain Qualified Teacher Status. Some apprenticeship routes now exist for postgraduate teaching qualifications, and undergraduate BEd degrees are an option if you haven't yet completed a first degree.

Is teaching a good career in the UK?

Yes for people who genuinely connect with young people and can sustain a high-workload role over years. Pay structure, pension and holidays are strong; the trade-offs are workload (50-60+ hours in term time), behaviour management, and emotional load. Career Compass, our one-off career direction assessment, shows how closely it matches your interests and priorities.

Is Teacher right for you?

Career Compass ranks careers from your interests and priorities and explains every suggestion, with UK routes and trade-offs. See how well Teacher actually fits you. £19.99 once, full report included.

Get Career Compass

Not sure teacher is the right career for you? A good career test narrows the field before you spend money retraining.