Do You Need Qualifications to Become an IT Teacher

Do You Need Qualifications to Become an IT Teacher How to Become an IT teacher without IT Qualifications? Chapters IT Courses: What Qualifications do Superprof’s Tutors Have? How Can You Teach IT Tutorials without a Degree? IT Tutorials: Qualifications Affect Salary How Can You Prove the Value of Your IT Tutorials? The 7 Qualities of a Good IT TutorDo you have IT skills and know your way around digital technologies?Would you like to give face-to-face IT tutorials or online computer classes?It’s a growing market. New technologies can be seen in almost every market.  Nearly 9 out of 10 households in the UK have a computer.Smartphone ownership is increasing across all age brackets and you could argue that the computer is the biggest invention of the 20th century.  While plenty of people in the UK have digital devices, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are skilled users or have the necessary computer literacy to work with a desktop computer in an office. With a modern workforce needing to at least learn computer basics, the number of people wanting to learn even basic computer sk ills is constantly increasing.What things are indispensable when looking for students for private tutorials?Do you need a degree to teach private computer classes?What computer knowledge do you need to teach?We’re here to answer the question.A quick search for IT tutors on the internet will reveal that there are plenty of different backgrounds for those who teach the subject. There are plenty of different types of IT tutorials and, as a result, plenty of different types of IT tutors. Some have a degree in IT or Computer Science (either a Bachelor’s or a Master’s degree), others have studied up to A Level, and some don’t have any formal IT qualifications and learnt about computers on their own.That said, there are plenty of different aspects to IT like:Programming or codingTypingComputer basics or an introduction to computersCyber securityNetwork administrationInternet basicsApp developmentWeb developmentOffice IT skills and common tasksComputer training for businessesHow to use Microsoft Office (spreadsheets with Excel, word processing with Word, and editing presentations with Powerpoint)Using social networksManaging databases with Microsoft AccessDigital literacy for senior citizens or those new to computer technologyCreating web sitesAre you a graphic designer? You'll probably find students quite easily. (Source: pixabay.com)The courses they offer are also as varied as their backgrounds. You can also find:Programming students looking to teach on the sideSelf-taught experts who are passionate about new technologies and digital solutionsIT techniciansDigital project managersProgramming analystNetwork adminsSo you don’t need a formal qualification to give private IT tutorials. However, you probably need to be very familiar with your computer and know more than just the basics. This doesn’t mean that beginners can give IT or computing tutorials since you have to have the necessary computer skills as well as teaching skills if you want to offer comput er courses. How Can You Teach IT Tutorials without a Degree?Teaching IT without a degree or certification is more than possible. You don’t need to be a qualified university tutor in order to become an IT tutor.  While private tutorials are the most obvious solution, there are also other places where you can teach.  There are certain training centres that don’t require you to have a teaching qualification or an IT qualification.Discover how to set your private tutoring rates for IT lessons...An IT tutor needs to know how to lead their students to autonomous learning. (Source: pixabay.com)Becoming a Teacher in a Training CentreYou can apply to work as an IT instructor in a training centre. What are the advantages of this type of work?  For one, you’ll be surrounded by a teaching team so you’ll learn to teach and improve your own teaching skills and how to effectively transfer your IT knowledge to your students.There are specialist schools that also want to employ industry expe rts to teach their students about IT. If you’ve got a lot of experience in the industry, you could look at working in these types of places. Students can take a computer class where they learn basic skills like using the mouse and keyboard or fundamental business skills for those new to computers like making a spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel or a presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint.Work for Academic Support OrganisationsThere are also specialist organisations for private tutorials who hire private tutors and will  also help you find students for your tutorials. This means that you won’t be freelance, either. You’ll be an employee of the organisation.There are a few of them and each of them has their own hiring policies. You should have a look around and get in touch with a few of them.Open an IT Training CentreWhy not consider opening your own IT training centre? You can do this even if you don’t have a degree in the subject. You could start by making a classroom in your hou se with a personal computer for private tutorials or, if you're really serious, you could buy a property.However, remember that investing in a dedicated centre, computer hardware, and multiple licenses for software like Microsoft Word and other computer applications can be rather pricey.Find out all you need to know about building an IT lesson plan...Generally speaking, you can be an IT tutor without having a degree, but you’ll probably have to accept that you’ll get paid less than those who have one. However, you can use your experience to offset this effect. This is why so many employers offer pay based on experience.A lack of a degree in this case will probably limit the maximum salary you can demand, though. This is generally true for those giving private IT tutorials or working in a training centre.Do you want to give private IT tutorials? IT training could help. (Source: rawpixel.com)On Superprof, if you look at some of the profiles of the private tutors, you’ll see that the lowest rates are usually offered by new tutors without qualifications. How Can You Prove the Value of Your IT Tutorials?If you want to command better rates, you’ll need to prove yourself and your skills. If you have a lot of experience, you should highlight it and show how it makes up for a lack of qualifications.Don’t hesitate to mention on your CV any other professional experience you have in the field:Programmes you’ve masteredIT maintenance skillsApp developmentProgramming languages (Java, Python, C+, etc.)Digital project managementEtc.This can help prove your credibility and also justify the rates you’re charging for your private tutorials. It’s also true that in an industry that changes as quickly as IT, it’s better to work with a professional with experience in the industry rather than someone who studied the subject a number of years ago at university.If you’re looking at becoming an IT tutor, there are also qualifications cheaper than a degree that you ca n get to prove your skills in a given area. This means you needn’t pay an arm and a leg for a piece of paper and still gain experience.There’s something that a degree in IT doesn’t prove: your teaching skills.If you want to offer a good service as a tutor, you need to have teaching skills. It doesn’t matter how much you know about your subject if you’re incapable of transferring this knowledge to your students.Have you thought about doing a teaching qualification to prove yourself as an educator?There are several ways you can learn how to become a better teacher. It will also help you better plan your tutorials. You’ll discover ways how to adapt your courses to students of different levels and ages.Follow these tips for finding students for your IT classes!There are plenty of different ways to learn (night classes, distance learning) including:Short training courses offered by private organisations that comes with their own qualifications.Longer courses that you can stud y either full or part-time. These generally last 6 to 9 months.Private tutorials for teaching. You can learn how to teach from another teacher. Teacher training tutors tend to have a lot of experience in teaching and training others.Like all fields, a private IT tutor needs to continuously train themselves.If you're thinking about getting our of teaching in schools, sign up as an online tutor with Superprof. Home tutoring offer great jobs for ex teachers.Depending on your skills, you can give specialised IT tutorials. (Source: pixabay.com) The 7 Qualities of a Good IT TutorQualifications aren’t everything. A good teacher also needs to have several other qualities. Teaching is a passion. You therefore need to be motivated and open-minded.Here are the 7 qualities that every IT tutor should have:Dynamism: A good teacher can make their tutorials more interesting by being dynamic.Involvement: A good tutor needs to care about their students and their needs.Patience: Students will someti mes find certain concepts challenging. You’ll need to be patient and explain things several times in several ways.Listening: To improve, a learner needs to overcome certain challenges. Their tutor needs to listen to them in order to work out what they can do to help them.Creativity: In order to adapt your courses to the student, you’ll need to think creatively. This doesn’t mean you can explain concepts as quickly as possible, but rather means that you can explain things in interesting ways.Adaptability: Ever student’s different and you’ll need to keep this in mind so that you can change your approaches and your lesson planning so they benefit from a personalised approach.Communication: Knowing how to explain things clearly and rewording certain explanations isn’t always easy. A good tutor has to explain complicated concepts in a simple way. You'll also need to be fairly social if you're going to do a bit of networking in order to find potential customers.Whether you’r e a coder, statistician, IT technician, web designer, or a web developer, you’ll need to make sure that you know how to share your experience with your students. Those who are self-taught often have a passion for what they’ve learnt. Don’t hesitate to show potential students your passion for your subject.Computers are constantly changing and new technologies are constantly being developed. This means that there are always people who need to learn more about them. If you're just starting out, consider offering free computer tutoring for every student's first hour so they can get to know you.Now learn all you need to know to become an IT tutor...