Primary school teacher
Primary school teachers teach children aged about five or six to eleven or twelve, usually covering most subjects with one class.
What can you do with an education degree?
Also called: Education studies · Teacher education · Bachelor of Education (BEd) · Pedagogy
Updated How we use data
Quick answer
An education degree studies how people learn and how teaching, schools and education systems work. Some programmes train you as a qualified teacher, while others, often called education studies, focus on theory and policy. Many graduates become primary, secondary or early years teachers, and others work in learning support, training, libraries and education policy.
Careers with an education degree
Most education graduates become teachers in early years settings, primary schools or secondary schools, and some teach languages to children or adults. The degree also leads to work outside the classroom, for example as a librarian, an instructional designer, a careers adviser or an education officer in a museum or charity. Many teachers later move into school leadership, special educational needs support, teacher training, education policy or educational research.
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Secondary school teacher
Secondary school teachers teach one or two subjects to students aged about eleven or twelve to eighteen and prepare them for national exams.
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Early years teacher
Early years teachers help young children, usually from birth to about five or six, learn and develop through play, talk and structured activities before primary school.
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Language teacher
Language teachers help children and adults learn to speak, understand, read and write a new language.
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Librarian
Librarians organise information and help people find, use and evaluate it.
Other roles graduates go into: Teaching assistant · Special education teacher · Instructional designer · Careers adviser · Education officer · School administrator
What you study and the skills you gain
Typical topics
- Educational psychology and how people learn
- Child development and early learning
- Curriculum design and lesson planning
- Teaching methods and classroom management
- Assessment and feedback
- Inclusive education and special educational needs
- Education policy, history and sociology
- School placements and teaching practice
Skills you gain
- Planning lessons and explaining ideas clearly
- Managing groups and creating a positive learning environment
- Assessing progress and giving useful feedback
- Adapting teaching for learners with different needs
- Researching and evaluating evidence about learning
- Working with parents, colleagues and other professionals
How the degree differs around the world
Routes into teaching differ widely between countries. In many countries, including the UK and Australia, you can take a three- or four-year Bachelor of Education that combines teaching theory, subject study and school placements and leads to a teaching qualification. Another common route, especially for secondary teachers, is a degree in a school subject followed by a one- or two-year teaching qualification. In Canada, the Bachelor of Education is often taken after another degree. Finland expects school teachers to hold a master's degree, and in Germany university study is followed by supervised training in schools. Teachers in state schools usually need a licence or registration from a national or regional authority.
How do education graduates do?
Earnings and employment by country
The OECD compares graduates by field of study. This subject falls under “Education”. The first column compares the median earnings of tertiary-educated adults in this field with all tertiary-educated adults (100 = average).
| Country | Earnings index (all graduates = 100) | Employment rate, this field | Employment rate, all graduates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Costa Rica | 107 (2023) | 74.5% (2024) | 79.2% |
| Luxembourg | 99 (2023) | 92.5% (2024) | 85.7% |
| South Korea | 92 (2023) | — | — |
| Romania | 89 (2023) | 95.7% (2024) | 91.5% |
| Australia | 88 (2020) | 87.8% (2024) | 88.4% |
| Finland | 85 (2022) | 89.0% (2024) | 88.8% |
| Canada | 85 (2020) | 81.1% (2021) | 80.4% |
| Switzerland | 84 (2023) | 90.3% (2024) | 89.5% |
| Slovenia | 84 (2020) | 87.9% (2024) | 90.8% |
| Mexico | 84 (2023) | 80.0% (2024) | 81.5% |
| Estonia | 83 (2023) | 89.8% (2024) | 89.2% |
| Austria | 83 (2023) | 86.0% (2024) | 86.4% |
| United Kingdom | 83 (2020) | 82.6% (2021) | 84.6% |
| Denmark | 81 (2023) | 90.5% (2021) | 87.8% |
| Sweden | 79 (2023) | 90.6% (2024) | 89.6% |
| Norway | 78 (2023) | 89.9% (2024) | 89.3% |
| Latvia | 74 (2023) | 86.4% (2024) | 87.7% |
| Germany | 73 (2020) | 88.4% (2024) | 88.7% |
| Portugal | 70 (2020) | 91.9% (2024) | 90.7% |
| Chile | 70 (2023) | 85.5% (2022) | 85.7% |
| United States | 65 (2023) | 80.1% (2017) | 84.3% |
| Iceland | — | 92.2% (2016) | 93.6% |
| Croatia | — | 91.1% (2024) | 89.7% |
| Slovakia | — | 91.1% (2024) | 90.5% |
| Netherlands | — | 89.9% (2024) | 90.6% |
| Hungary | — | 89.7% (2024) | 76.2% |
| Belgium | — | 89.1% (2024) | 88.5% |
| France | — | 88.6% (2024) | 87.3% |
| Lithuania | — | 88.6% (2024) | 90.4% |
| Poland | — | 86.7% (2024) | 91.6% |
| Czechia | — | 86.6% (2024) | 88.4% |
| Ireland | — | 85.8% (2021) | 86.9% |
| Italy | — | 84.4% (2024) | 84.7% |
| Peru | — | 83.3% (2024) | 81.7% |
| Spain | — | 81.9% (2024) | 83.9% |
| Greece | — | 78.0% (2024) | 82.3% |
| Türkiye | — | 71.1% (2016) | 72.9% |
Source: OECD, Education at a Glance. Adults aged 25–64 with tertiary education; latest year available, full-time earners where published. Values are for the whole field of study, not this subject alone.
Graduate earnings in the UK
The UK government links tax records to university records to measure what graduates earn. These figures are for “Teacher training” first-degree graduates who were employed in the 2023–24 tax year.
| Time since graduating | Median | Lower quartile | Upper quartile | In work or study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| After 1 year | £27,400 | £22,300 | £27,800 | 94.5% |
| After 3 years | £30,700 | £25,300 | £31,800 | 93.0% |
| After 5 years | £34,400 | £26,400 | £37,000 | 91.7% |
| After 10 years | £33,300 | £22,300 | £41,000 | 88.6% |
Source: UK Department for Education, Graduate labour market outcomes (LEO), tax year 2023–24. Earnings are annual and include only graduates in sustained employment. More UK detail on CourseToJob.co.uk
Is an education degree right for you?
It may suit you if
- You enjoy explaining things and helping other people understand them.
- You are patient and interested in how children or adults learn.
- You want a career that is needed in every community and country.
Think twice if
- You feel uncomfortable standing in front of a group and leading it every day.
- You want a job that stays within set hours, as planning and marking often continue in the evenings.
- You want to teach one subject in secondary schools, where a subject degree plus a teaching qualification is often the more common route.
Further study
Graduates of education studies degrees often take a one-year teaching qualification if they want to teach. Qualified teachers can take a master's degree in education, school leadership or special educational needs, and in some countries a master's helps with promotion. A doctorate in education leads to research and to teacher-training posts in universities. Short professional courses continue throughout a teaching career.
Questions about studying education
What jobs can you get with an education degree?
Most graduates become primary, secondary or early years teachers, or language teachers in schools and language centres. Others work as teaching assistants, special education teachers, librarians, instructional designers, careers advisers, education officers in museums and charities, or policy officers in government. Experienced teachers often move into school leadership or teacher training.
Do you need an education degree to become a teacher?
Not always. In many countries you can become a teacher with a degree in another subject followed by a teaching qualification, which is the usual route for secondary teachers. A Bachelor of Education is more common for primary and early years teaching. Rules differ by country and region, so check with the teacher registration authority where you want to work.
Is an education degree the same as a teaching qualification?
Not necessarily. Some education degrees include supervised school placements and lead directly to a teaching qualification. Education studies degrees focus on theory, policy and research and usually do not qualify you to teach on their own. Before you apply, check whether the programme is recognised by the authority that registers teachers in the country where you want to work.
Can I teach in another country with an education degree?
Often, but it takes planning. Each country or region sets its own rules, so you may need to have your qualification assessed, pass extra exams or complete a period of supervised teaching. International schools and language schools are common first steps abroad, and many of them hire teachers who qualified in other countries.
Related subjects
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Psychology
A psychology degree is the scientific study of the mind and behaviour: how people think, feel, learn, develop and relate to each other.
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English literature
An English literature degree teaches you to read, analyse and write about novels, poetry, plays and other texts written in English, from medieval writing to the present day.
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Sociology
A sociology degree studies how societies work: how groups, institutions and cultures shape people's lives, and why inequality, crime, migration and social change happen.
Sources
- OECD — Education at a Glance, labour-market outcomes — Earnings and employment by field of study, adults 25–64
- UK Department for Education — Graduate labour market outcomes (LEO) — CAH CAH22-01-02 — Teacher training
- UNESCO — ISCED-F 2013 — ISCED-F 0113, 0114
How to cite this page: CourseToJob (2026). What can you do with an education degree? Jobs and salaries. https://coursetojob.com/subjects/education/ (accessed September 26, 2026)