Dear friend, teaching is a very noble profession and the good news is that it isre-emerging as a popular and incredibly rewarding profession.Teaching can be done at different levels and inavariety of settings.When wetalk ofa "teacher" it includes everyone from nursery teacher to university level technical teachers. For every level of teaching there are some common skills which are required. However for every level of teaching one has to have a specific set of skills too.Common skills include good communication skills,a presentable personality and a thorough knowledge of the subject matter.For teaching one also needs to have passionfor exchanging ideas and a certain level of patience,whether it is teaching at school or atcollege level.

Education: To become a teacher in a higher secondary school in a conventional discipline one has to acquire a degree or diploma. Following are some of the diploma and degree courses which one can consider for school level teaching:

1. Diploma of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE/ NTT/equivalents) for teaching at pre-primary level.

2. Diploma of Elementary Teacher Education (ETE/ D.Ed/ BTC etc.) for teaching at Elementary level.

3.Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) with B.A./ B.Com./ B.Sc. etc. for teaching at Secondary level.

4. Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) with M.A./ M.Com./ M.Sc./ equivalents etc. for teaching at Senior Secondary Level.

For teaching at degree level or higher, Ph.D. has to be done or UGC-NET test has to be cleared.

Doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.)/ National Eligibility test/ State level eligibility test(SLET) in any discipline is required for entry level of College/ university teacher/ lecturer/ AssistantProfessors.

For those who would like to teach for professional or technicalcourses at certificate, diploma and degree levels;apart from having a minimum level ofeducation in the trade/ course of study himself one needs clear eligibility exams for teaching like NET or SLET or should be Ph.D.

The demand for quality teacher is on the increase.The deserving candidates can expect good remuneration, specially those who have good command over their subject and fulfil the eligibility criteria. Howeverlike any otherprofession teaching also presents certain challenges. Teaching is a profession which requires one to do many activities like explaining, demonstrating, questioning and motivating.