Advice on taking HDip

DeadlyByDesign

Hi guys,

I have been thinking about going into secondary school teaching for a few years now. I am in my early 30s and graduated college many moons ago with a cert in electronics and computer programming. I would love to teach history as I have a genuine interest in it. The problem is I hear that I can only take a hdip if I have come out of college with a degree? Am I scuppered here? Or is there a way around this?

Any advice is greatly appreciated

solerina

You need a degree in a teaching subject to teach it, if you want to teach history then you need to do a degree in history.
Just a word of caution...there are thousands of unemployed teachers out there and History has always been one of the hardest subjects to get a job in....you would also need a second teaching subject to have a realistic chance of getting a job so you need to factor that into your decision also.

DeadlyByDesign

Thanks for the info, ill have to pursue this so. Do you think I may have left it too late in life to pursue this (32 at the mo)? A degree is what 4 years? Thanks for the advice much

MollFlanders

You could look into Oscail DCU and consider taking a BASM in History ~ you would need to complete 5 modules I think in order to meet the Teaching Council requirements and then complete a HDip in Education. You could do your initial degree part-time or you could go down the full-time route which could be expensive depending on your circumstances.
Like the OP said history is a difficult subject to get a job in as it is oversubscribed at the minute. Good luck!

rainbowtrout

MollFlanders wrote: »

You could look into Oscail DCU and consider taking a BASM in History ~ you would need to complete 5 modules I think in order to meet the Teaching Council requirements and then complete a HDip in Education. You could do your initial degree part-time or you could go down the full-time route which could be expensive depending on your circumstances.
Like the OP said history is a difficult subject to get a job in as it is oversubscribed at the minute. Good luck!

The OP will need a full degree to apply for the PDE (HDip) and will only be considered by the Teaching Council for add on subjects if they are registered with a recognised degree first. The OP cannot just take 5 history modules and do the dip.

MollFlanders

I misread the original post. My advice is incorrect OP apologies ~ you need to complete a recognised degree first which will take 3/4 years full-time or more part-time. Then you need to complete the HDip. It would be a long road with no guarantees of a job at the end of it. On average it is taking teachers 7/8 years to get some sort of CID and then it is not always a full contract. Good luck with your decision.

CATSEYES8787

I'm in the same position, I'm very much considering undertaking the Oscail BA hist&eng. Online applications open tomorrow and I know the first open evening is on May 9th.

CATSEYES8787

Besides, I have read the Teaching Council regulations for registration as a post-primary teacher and it does say the applicant requires a degree carrying 180credits + a PGDE (former Hdip). I am just wondering where the 5 module myth is coming from (I have seen it mentioned several times accross the forum) and if anyone registered with the TC under these conditions?

dory

Two events that happened in our school recently that you should bare in mind:

We advertised for a teacher of History and Irish to the end of the year. With summer exams we only have 5 weeks left of teaching. No applicants with Irish but were inundated with potential history teachers. Scary amount of them still looking for employment in April.

Teacher who is here 6 years, with two subjects got a CID for 10 hours. She, and everyone else, were celebrating how wonderful that is. To put it in perpective for you - if you start now it's €30k per year IF you get 22 hours. Her 10 hours, which is standard starting out, would net you €15k a year. Make sure you can live on that or something between 15 and 20k.

RealJohn

CATSEYES8787 wrote: »

I am just wondering where the 5 module myth is coming from (I have seen it mentioned several times accross the forum) and if anyone registered with the TC under these conditions?

I presume people think that because (as I understand it) you can take five modules of history (for example) through Oscail and add a subject to your degree that way that they think doing the five modules of history and then a PDE will qualify them as a history teacher. There's an understandable logic to it if you don't actually look into it in any depth.