Is Teaching Fashion a Pipe Dream or a Viable Career?

If you are deeply passionate about any subject, then it is only natural to want to share your passion with other people. Lots of people have a particular subject that they aren’t just passionate about, but also hugely knowledgeable in. Whether this knowledge takes the form of an encyclopaedic memory of facts and figures, or a highly-refined set of skills, sharing it with other people can be a deeply satisfying and enriching experience.

You might be surprised by the range of subjects that modern universities offer. If you look through their entire prospectuses, you will find that just about every subject that you can think of has a university degree to its name, and that absolutely includes fashion. In fact, there are a number of different fashion-related degrees available across UK universities today.

If fashion is your thing and you have a burning desire to share your passion with other people, it is worth considering a career teaching fashion to other people. Below is some of the key information that you need to know before you embark on this path.

What Skills Do You Need To Be A Teacher?

Teachers can work in a variety of different contexts, they aren’t always known as teachers, though. For example, lecturers, instructors, and researchers can all be responsible for teaching other people to some degree. Regardless of the setting that you teach in, you will need to have the following skills:

    Communication: It doesn’t matter what you are teaching or where you teach it, you will need to be a good communicator in order to effectively share what you know.
    Patience: Teaching in any scenario is valuable work and many teachers report an accordingly high sense of satisfaction with their work. However, teaching is also a demanding undertaking and it presents a number of challenges that can be frustrating to overcome. Patience with your students is essential if you are going to be an effective instructor.
    Curiosity: Learning is a lifelong process and the best teachers are those that retain their sense of curiosity throughout their lives.

Do You Need Any Qualifications To Teach Fashion?

Yes and no. If you want to lecture at a university then you will need to have a bachelor’s degree at a minimum, some universities will want a master’s. You will also need to either have a PhD in the relevant field or significant real-world experience working in the field. You do not need a separate teaching qualification, but having one will certainly prove useful.

Universities will often allow you to study for any of these qualifications while you are working as a lecturer; if the opportunity presents itself then you should grab it with both arms. However, if your university doesn’t offer you the option of studying for a master’s in education or similar degree, you can take the initiative yourself and study a masters in education UK distance learning course online through a UK university.

University lecturers will do more than just give lectures and mark assignments. Lecturers will be expected to get involved with research and undertake all the necessary administrative duties while also providing their students with the education they need. Even if you are passionate about fashion, being a university lecturer is an often-demanding job; you can get a lot out of it, but you will need to invest in it – you get out what you put in.

What Kind Of Experience Do You Need To Be A Teacher?

The more experience you have of actually working in fashion, the better it is for you as a teacher. It stands to reason that with more experience comes a greater database of knowledge to draw from and share with your students. The best experience for you will depend on the context that you want to teach in, as well as the exact subject that you want to teach.

Many teaching roles will require you to have some kind of prior experience in the field. For example, if you want to become a university lecturer than it is generally preferable to have a reasonable amount of professional experience.

What Are The Benefits Of Teaching As A Career?

There is a lot to like about teaching as a profession, such as:

    Job satisfaction: One of the most appealing aspects of being a teacher is the consistently high levels of job satisfaction. Teachers play a vital role in shaping the future of the children that they are responsible for. Depending on the context in which you teach, you can also indulge your own passions at the same time as helping others. Despite the difficulties of the job, teachers consistently report high levels of satisfaction with the work that they do.
    Apply your experience: If you have worked in a fashion-related job before, teaching fashion is a chance to put that experience to use helping to inspire the next generation of fashion professionals.
    Shape the future: As a teacher, you will have a unique opportunity to play a role in the development of the fashion industry by helping to guide the next generation. The satisfaction of helping other people to rise to their full potential can sometimes be just as great as the satisfaction of succeeding yourself.

Teaching is always a noble pursuit. Regardless of the specific subject that you end up teaching, it is an opportunity to help your students to discover their strengths, weaknesses and even their long-term dreams and goals. The next generation of fashionistas will bring their own ideas to the table, but they will also need some guidance from the previous generation in order to understand the fundamentals. As with any industry, there are some things that can only be learned from experience, if you have experience working in fashion then this will add value to your CV.

Teaching fashion can absolutely be a solid career move. If this is a subject that you are passionate about and you want to share that passion with other people, it is well worth considering investing in a teaching qualification. A teaching qualification will teach you numerous valuable skills and will enable you to provide your students with the best educational experience that you are capable of offering.