
Teaching as a career
Why join the teaching profession?
Have you ever thought about teaching as a career? People are drawn to teaching for all sorts of reasons, such as:
- making a positive impact
- embracing a balanced lifestyle
- being part of a supportive community
- sharing their passion and knowledge
- experiencing a role filled with variety
- specialising in an area of interest.
We asked AISNSW staff members to share what inspired them to become teachers and what keeps them passionate about their work.
Being a Visual Arts teacher
Adele Lockman is currently a Learning Designer at AISNSW, formerly a Visual Arts Teacher at Australian Christian College and William Clarke College. She was inspired to become a teacher not only because her mother was a teacher, but also because of her experience with her own Visual Arts teacher.
When speaking about her decision to join the teaching profession, Adele says: “how awesome is it to have a job where you’re supporting others and helping them with their passions?”
Inspiration comes from the home
“Teaching gave me a chance to contribute to shaping well rounded, thoughtful young people who can take their place with confidence.”
Margery Evans, Chief Executive at AISNSW used to play teacher with her siblings growing up, as did Chris Morris, Education Consultant: Teaching and Learning at AISNSW. Chris also grew up playing “schools” with his friends and neighbours. Chris would lend out books to his neighbours, as if he was running a school library, each book with its own check-out card.
Margery Evans
Chief Executive, AISNSW
Chris Morris
Education Consultant: Teaching and Learning, AISNSW
Becoming a career-change teacher
Dr Shani Hartley, Senior Research Specialist at AISNSW left a job in corporate finance to pursue a career in teaching. Shani describes part of the change as “instead of making people rich, I was making children’s lives richer.”
Advice to future teachers
We also asked AISNSW staff what advice they would give to people thinking about becoming teachers.
“Be prepared for every eventuality and be resilient.” – Andrew Gregg, Policy and Compliance Consultant.
“Know your students and who they are.” – Kelly Borg, Association Chief Executive: Teaching and Learning.
“When you become a teacher, you become part of a community. So, embrace that community and make the most of every opportunity.” – Kim Barry, VET Consultant.
“Be prepared for the challenges but be open to the incredible rewards that come with witnessing your students growth and successes.” – Margery Evans, Chief Executive.
“Find someone that you can talk to, (…) someone who you can build a relationship with that you can go to ask questions.” – Samantha Kourakis, Education Consultant: Student Services.
Are you ready to start looking for education employment opportunities? Discover rewarding teaching jobs or leadership positions through our recruitment portal. Set up job alerts to get up to date job advertisements that suit your needs.
You may also be interested in reading Migrate to Australia to Teach, Why become a teacher? and Education as a Second Career
References
Five reasons to become a teacher. (n.d.). Flinders University. https://www.flinders.edu.au/study/articles/five-reasons-to-become-a-teacher
Queensland Government. (2019, May 3). Why teaching is a rewarding career. Teach Queensland. https://teach.qld.gov.au/become-a-teacher/why-teaching-is-a-rewarding-career