10 Tips For Getting
Hired as a Teacher

Teaching Job Resources

Assistant Teacher Jobs

An assistant teacher’s job usually involves working part time in a school or nursery and providing support to a teacher in a classroom setting. A language assistant teacher’s job may take you away from your home to teach your mother tongue in another country and may demand that you take full responsibility for the learning experience. Each of these two manifestations of an assistant teacher’s job has specific skills requirements so if you have any relevant qualifications, make sure these are mentioned as well as saying how you have used them in previous jobs you have held.

As you may imagine, the most common qualification looked for in applicants to assistant teacher jobs is proof of previous experience in the classroom. However, this is not the only thing sought. There are many skills acquired in everyday life which are relevant to the assistant teacher’s ability to do a job well, not to mention formal qualifications.

A language assistant teacher will obviously have to demonstrate a full knowledge of their language as well as some ability in terms of imparting their knowledge. Language assistant teachers are usually either university graduates or third year university students themselves. Be aware that you may be expected to pay for your own travel arrangements as well as board and lodging. One area that you must not skimp on is health care insurance. In some cases you will be offered somewhere to live but it is vital to research your country and the school or college you are going to thoroughly. Do make sure you know what is expected of you and what your pay will cover, what notice you need to give if you want to leave and how much time they have to give you. In some cases, you may be expected to take on a class in its entirety and be responsible for the whole learning experience. Language assistant teacher jobs are advertised either in the local press, on teaching job sites online or through the consulate of the country or countries where that language is spoken.

In terms of the classroom Teacher Assistant, the skill set is much broader and the opportunities for specialisation are much greater. These are usually local jobs advertised in the local press. The qualifications required for a Teacher’s Assistant job range from none at all to very specific and high levels of training. In the greater part, experiences which are relevant to this job will relate exactly to the needs of the students however, there are things that any Assistant Teacher needs to know how to do. One is administrative skills that will enable the assistant to relieve the teacher of some of the burden of bureaucracy; another is experience of the age set in the class and the third is a proven ability to work effectively as part of a team and be supervised but also be able to work independently when necessary. There are many ways these skills can be demonstrated.

Any previous work as a teacher’s assistant, any teaching experience, any voluntary or other work in a school setting or with vulnerable or young people and raising children, any setting within which you have had to show effective team work, including sports, etc. Interpersonal skills, empathy and compassion are important as is a fair sense of discipline and patience.