I'm guessing you will go through CSU to do your Teaching component? It only takes 18mths-2 years to do that full time and you can do that via distance. But seeing as how you live near the campus you could do it on campus as well. Teacher's aide work can be hard to get - most schools will have their lists of people to call and the work is only there if they have students that have qualified for the aide hours and therefore the funding to pay for an aide. There is a TAFE course you can do to become a qualified teacher's aide, but it would take nearly the same amount of time as what your teacher diploma would. Being a teacher's aide would give you a good feel for whether you really want to be a teacher though - see how schools work etc and the work involved. I would be speaking to the schools in your area and see what's out there. I got work just by asking at my kid's school, but then I've also nearly finished my Bachelor of Education as well. This year I've been working 4 days a week doing TA work which has been great. But the downside is that you will probably only work about 3 hours a day - kids who qualify for aide funding usually only have enough funding for a few hours a day, so it's not a full day of work and child care will be the killer - the average pay for a TA is $25 dollars per hour and if you're only working 3 hours a day that's $85, most of which will be spent on child care. I couldn't do it last year because the cost of child care would have voided anything I'd earn, so had to wait till this year when my last one went to school. It's certainly worth looking into though sand if you can get work as a TA and then do your teaching diploma, then it may get your foot in the door for a teaching job later on.