About Diversified Roles for Teachers
If you have to put someone on a pedestal, put teachers. They are society’s heroes.
– Guy Kawasaki
This quote shows the importance and necessity of teachers to create a better future. Talking about teaching as a profession, it’s noble. A teacher is someone responsible to help students not only in academics but beyond just syllabus, exams, and results. Teachers create the future of the nation and even humankind. They shape students’ future and make them better human beings too.
If we take a look at the role of a teacher in a student’s life, it is diverse. They help students in so many ways and guide them to build a better future for themselves.
As a teacher, you can diversify your role in different ways. Some of them are mentioned below:
School Principal: After gaining expertise and enough experience as a teacher, you can opt for the role of a school principal. The school principal is responsible for running various school operations, making admission decisions, maintaining discipline, upskilling teachers and more.
Assistant/Vice-Principal: Being a teacher for years, you can also go for the role of a vice-principal. Assistant/Vice-Principal works closely with the school principal.
Superintendent: Becoming a superintendent is also a good choice. Being in this role, you will be responsible for making decisions regarding every aspect related to the school.
School Dean: Being an experienced professional in the education industry, you can go for the role of a school dean. A dean focuses on student affairs, faculty development, and more.
Career Counsellor: As you know that nowadays, there are various career options available for students. Therefore, it becomes difficult for them to steer their career in the right direction.
Being a teacher, you could help these students in finding the right career path. You can help them choose the best career that suits their talent, skill and give them the best platform to expose themselves without any inhibition.
And how can you do it? By becoming a career counsellor.
Now, the question arises how? So, the answer is by upskilling yourself. There are progressive schools that prefer teachers knowing about career counselling. These schools choose educators/ teachers who know different career options and how to guide students towards the right career path over others. The teachers who master the art of career counselling and help students beyond the syllabus are the preferable professionals.
Career Prospects
Depending upon the type and level of training and a relevant degree, a professional has vast opportunities to work as a teacher and beyond. There are multiple roles available for educators/ teachers:
If talking particularly about career counselling, the scope is huge for teachers. India has the largest student population across the globe i.e. over 350 million students. The nation needs a whooping 1.4 million career counsellors to maintain the student-to-counsellor ratio. This provides a wide scope for career counselling professionals.
Now, imaging, teaching + career counselling skills. It’s a huge impact on your resume. Schools look for such professionals and welcome them on board with open arms.
There is an inherent advantage of being a teacher and having mastery in career counselling skills.
There’s no need to compromise with your teaching job as it is an additional role for you. There are two options that you can choose from:
Teaching + Career Counselling: This is the first option that along with teaching, you can also counsel students. For this, you don’t need to leave your teaching job behind, you can continue with both roles. You can reach your school students beyond just academics and help them choose the right career path. For instance, if your student is good at history. So, in the teacher-parent meeting, you can explain it to his/her parents. You can make students and parents understand what could be a good career direction.
Independent Career Counselling Practice: Career Counsellors are the ones who help students choose the right career path. The process is ideally suitable for students from grades 8 to 12. Hence, you can start counselling students independently. As a teacher, you already have a good student base. Therefore, it is easier for you to opt for a career in career counselling.
Jobs & Salary
Different Jobs Available for a Teacher:
As mentioned above, a teacher can work in diverse roles such as:
The average salary of teachers in India is between Rs. 16,000 to 25,000 per month. No doubt, government teachers receive more salary comparatively. As per the 7 Pay commission, teachers in government schools get about Rs. 35,000 to 40,000 per month in the beginning. However, when the teachers diversify their roles, their salary also increases accordingly.
Talking about a teacher having career counselling skills gets more than the regular ones.
Pros & Cons
There are multiple roles available for teachers in the education industry. From a reputed job to a good salary, there are plenty of benefits for teachers. However, where there are pros, there are some cons also mentioned below:
Pros:
Cons:
Testimonials
Sonia Achantani
Career Counselor at DreamAchievers, GujaratI have been working as an educator for the past 11 years. It feels very satisfying when students approach me for career advice. They ask which subjects and career options to choose. They share their dreams with me and I help them in finding the right career path.
Sona Kanal
Global Career Counsellor, MumbaiI have been working in the education industry for over 2 decades. I believe every student has his/her own strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, teachers should be skilled enough to guide students in choosing a suitable career.
Mamta Bhutani
Founder, Ikigai Careers, ChandigarhHaving spent more than 25 years in the education industry as a teacher, I come across various students struggling with making the right career choices. Working as a teacher, I realized how necessary career counselling is for students. Therefore, I entered into the career counselling field.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are the different roles that every teacher can fulfil?
As mentioned above, teachers can become school principals, school vice principals, school counsellors, School Administrators, Superintendents, School Deans, Career Counsellors, etc.
Why is it important to have diverse roles for teachers?
Being in the same role could be monotonous sometimes. Diversification of roles gives teachers exposure; exposure of knowledge, earning opportunities, and more. Moreover, they can expand their horizons and help students at different levels too.
Are teachers good counsellors?
As teachers know each and every habit of students, they know their academic grades, their interests, strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes. Therefore, teachers can become great career counsellors. They have a certain equation with students and their parents. Also, they can understand the requirements of students and parents, and guide them accordingly.
Can a teacher become a counsellor?
The problems and difficulties students face in career planning can be solved by developing educational counselling competencies among teachers. Teachers can upskill themselves and help their students beyond the syllabus. As they are familiar with the personality traits of students, their interests, likes and dislikes, they are the best professionals to guide them in selecting the right career path.