Why teaching is one of the fastest growing careers amongst Millennials - Margaret Buj - Interview Coach

Why teaching is one of the fastest growing careers amongst Millennials Born between 1982 and 2002, the Millennials are the generation who will take over from the Baby Boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964, as they retire. But, experts and commentators are telling us that the Millennials are unlike any other generation that has proceeded them. And this is one reason among many why NCC Home Learning’s Teaching courses are becoming increasingly popular with this generation. But why teaching? When you realise the five factors that make Millennials a dynamic generation, you will understand why teaching in all education sectors is fast becoming the career of choice: Millennials do not believe in being shackled to location nor tradition Instantly, you may think that teaching is not the right career because, surely, if there was ever a career steeped in tradition and patterns of thinking, it is education. But times have changed, and so has an education. Rather than the teacher asking questions and guiding learning, learners are being encouraged to ask their own questions, steer their paths and so on. And, there is no one prescribed method of learning. With the advent of the internet, the boundaries of what makes for suitable material has all but been blown away. Smart technology â€" phones, tablets, interactive whiteboards, videos, vines and so on â€" are all perfect mediums for learning and something that Millennials will be using every day, in all kinds of situations. Less face time, but with more value Millennials are not anti-social, neither are they socially inept but, endless rounds of meetings are not the way they want to do business. Thus, lectures, tutorials, and class-based lessons are better, or so they say, when there is less of them. In effect, they are self-driven, and although the education system stipulates that each learner must have so many hours each week of education, translating into so many weeks in any given academic year, it may be that some of this face-to-face time will be reduced when the Millennials begin to climb to higher echelons. And when face time does happen, it needs to be of the highest possible value. Learning is not signified only by a piece of paper Remember those days when we were told and pressured into qualification after qualification? When something that interested you or you enjoyed meant completing an almost nonsensical course because, ‘that piece of paper’ was the most important thing ever. The piece of paper was meant to catapult the learner to a better-paid job. It did happen but through hard work rather than just that piece of paper. Millennials are not paying as much heed to the degrees, and the pieces of paper, not to say that they do not value formal education. Teaching is, of course, all about formal education and yet, Millennials are looking to this field for a career. They are bringing a new sense of value to the formal education sector, where experience and skills will be just as coveted as the formal piece of paper. Time will tell how much formal education across the sectors will change. They learn from others too Millennials value learning â€" across all dimensions â€" and no more so than learning from others. They seek the wisdom and actions of trailblazers, they pick the brains of more experienced people and so within the sphere of teaching, they enjoy the mentoring process from senior, more experienced colleagues. They will possibly use this as a method of teaching too. Life over work. Every time. We read and hear a lot of the workload of teachers which is now seen as being too much to bear. Hours teaching in the classroom is far outweighed by the hours spent marking, feeding back, forming filling and box ticking. It leaves little room for life and as such, many teachers are leaving the profession, worn out, stressed and utterly burnt out from the pressures placed on them. On one hand, people say ‘what is the world coming to?’ but others will find this an enthralling challenge. And this is possibly how Millennials will see the teaching profession: an exciting opportunity, a chance to make a change but, the pressures could begin to change and decrease. Is teaching right for you? Education is an exciting place, full of mysteries waiting to be discovered and talent to be nurtured. Guiding, helping and teaching students a new skill or subject is exciting but is it the right career move for you?