The route into secondary school teacher

A real and respectable destination, and biology teachers are in demand.

Three to four years, with a laboratory or research year common and worth taking.

Chemistry teaching is in shortage in most countries, including here.

Three to four years, with four-year integrated master's routes standard for research-bound students in the UK.

A real exit for clinicians who want the science without the clinic.

Five to six years, clinical from early on. Independent practice follows almost immediately, unlike medicine.

Clinical education and training, which is where a large share of experienced paramedics move.

Two to four years depending on whether you take the diploma or the bachelor's, plus an internship year in the Saudi system. The choice between them sets your classification for the whole career.

Mathematics teachers are in shortage in almost every country, which makes this a genuinely reliable route.

Three years in the UK, four in the Kingdom and the US; four-year integrated master's routes are common.

English and media teaching, a common and stable destination.

Three to four years, with placements and student media effectively compulsory in practice if not on paper.

Clinical education and teaching, inside health systems or in schools.

Three to four years, roughly half of it spent on clinical placement rather than in lectures, plus an internship year in the Saudi system.

Physics teachers are in shortage almost everywhere, which makes this route unusually reliable.

Three to four years, with four-year integrated master's routes standard in the UK for research-bound students.

Physical education and health teaching, and clinical education inside health systems.

Four to five years plus an internship year in the Saudi system; three to four years in the UK. Some countries, notably the US, now require a doctoral-level qualification.

A common and well-suited destination, in psychology and in related subjects.

Three to four years for the degree. Clinical practice requires postgraduate training on top, typically three or more further years and highly competitive.

Cambridge natural sciences; most universities require no test for biology.

• July to SeptemberUCAT testing window, sat at a test centre.
• September to JanuaryLNAT testing window for most law courses.
• OctoberMost Oxford and Cambridge subject tests — TMUA, ESAT, PAT, TSA.
• JuneSTEP, sat alongside A-Levels as a condition of a Cambridge or Warwick offer rather than for shortlisting.

The Saudi admission composite for science and health colleges.

• Several periods across the yearQudurat (General Aptitude Test), open from Grade 11. Computer-based and paper sittings both run.
• Final months of the school yearTahsili (Scholastic Achievement Test), sat near the end of Grade 12 once the syllabus is covered.
• Spring and summer of Grade 12University applications through the unified admission portals and each university's own portal.

Required by most UK dental schools, on the same timetable and with the same September booking deadline as medicine.

• July to SeptemberUCAT testing window, sat at a test centre.
• September to JanuaryLNAT testing window for most law courses.
• OctoberMost Oxford and Cambridge subject tests — TMUA, ESAT, PAT, TSA.
• JuneSTEP, sat alongside A-Levels as a condition of a Cambridge or Warwick offer rather than for shortlisting.

A heavy component of the Saudi health-college composite.

• Several periods across the yearQudurat (General Aptitude Test), open from Grade 11. Computer-based and paper sittings both run.
• Final months of the school yearTahsili (Scholastic Achievement Test), sat near the end of Grade 12 once the syllabus is covered.
• Spring and summer of Grade 12University applications through the unified admission portals and each university's own portal.

Sat by every applicant regardless of track.

• Several periods across the yearQudurat (General Aptitude Test), open from Grade 11. Computer-based and paper sittings both run.
• Final months of the school yearTahsili (Scholastic Achievement Test), sat near the end of Grade 12 once the syllabus is covered.
• Spring and summer of Grade 12University applications through the unified admission portals and each university's own portal.

The US graduate-entry dental admission test.

An absolute requirement in every system, and one people forget to plan for.

This job involves lifting people in bad positions. Back and joint conditions can be disqualifying, and the medical standard is real.

Governs scope and pay, and follows the qualification — which is why the diploma-versus-bachelor's decision matters far beyond the extra two years.

Required or advantageous at Cambridge, Imperial, Warwick, LSE and Durham — and now Oxford, which retired the MAT from 2026 entry.

• July to SeptemberUCAT testing window, sat at a test centre.
• September to JanuaryLNAT testing window for most law courses.
• OctoberMost Oxford and Cambridge subject tests — TMUA, ESAT, PAT, TSA.
• JuneSTEP, sat alongside A-Levels as a condition of a Cambridge or Warwick offer rather than for shortlisting.

Usually an offer condition at Cambridge and Warwick rather than a shortlisting test. Genuinely hard; begin a year early.

• July to SeptemberUCAT testing window, sat at a test centre.
• September to JanuaryLNAT testing window for most law courses.
• OctoberMost Oxford and Cambridge subject tests — TMUA, ESAT, PAT, TSA.
• JuneSTEP, sat alongside A-Levels as a condition of a Cambridge or Warwick offer rather than for shortlisting.

Not required by every programme and required by every employer. School newspaper, a blog, a podcast, published pieces — start at fifteen, because this is the only credential the industry reliably reads.

English-language journalism programmes abroad often want a higher score than the university minimum, because the degree is written work.

• Weekly, year-roundIELTS and TOEFL both run frequently at centres across the Kingdom; Duolingo and PTE can be sat at very short notice.
• 3 to 13 days after the testResults, depending on the test. IELTS computer-delivered is among the fastest; paper-based is slower.
• Autumn of Grade 12 at the latestWhen to have sat it by, leaving room for one repeat before offers are decided.

Nursing regulators in the UK, Australia and the Gulf often require a higher English score than the university did — check the regulator's requirement, not just the university's.

• Weekly, year-roundIELTS and TOEFL both run frequently at centres across the Kingdom; Duolingo and PTE can be sat at very short notice.
• 3 to 13 days after the testResults, depending on the test. IELTS computer-delivered is among the fastest; paper-based is slower.
• Autumn of Grade 12 at the latestWhen to have sat it by, leaving room for one repeat before offers are decided.

Oxford's physics and engineering test.

• July to SeptemberUCAT testing window, sat at a test centre.
• September to JanuaryLNAT testing window for most law courses.
• OctoberMost Oxford and Cambridge subject tests — TMUA, ESAT, PAT, TSA.
• JuneSTEP, sat alongside A-Levels as a condition of a Cambridge or Warwick offer rather than for shortlisting.

Not a formal test at most programmes, and a genuine requirement of the work — this is a physically demanding profession and the placement year makes that clear quickly.

Not a test, and the real gate for clinical training. Assistant psychologist and support work posts are what competitive applicants have, and they take years to accumulate.