Teaching Credential Dilema

So I can't get to work for the life of me so instead I am writing a dilema that I am in.

As of right now I have 3 main options as to what to do with my life in order to become a teacher. The issue is, I don't know which one of the three is the best one for me to take. Some I am being forced not to take, due to the fact of me not knowing what to do, while others I don't want to take, but may need to.

1) Go straight into teaching. This of course is the simplest one to explain. I personally would not mind this idea and seems to be the most prominent one that I have. This is difficult for me because this means that I would need to find a school in the UK that is willing to hire me, in an area that I like. This is difficult because I don't know the UK very well, like my English counterparts do. I don't know that essex is not going to be the best place to teach. I don't know where are nice areas to live, and I don't really have the money to go and see other places in order to make my decision. The hiring part cannot be too difficult due to the fact that they are looking for maths teachers, but I wonder if I will get paid less if I am not qualified. I could also take this option until I can afford to go and get my qualification, or find a way to qualify myself during the nights. Those are options here.

2) Go to a PGCE programme here in the UK and get qualified. In order to do this I unfortunately need money though. I would need to pay the 9,000 GBP tuition that is required in order to go there. This is not including the rent and food and everything. Basically, I would go into crazy amounts of debt in order to achieve this. There is a slight possibility that I may get a grant/scholarship since I am trying to be a teacher, but the chances are slim since I'm international. Like this I could study in Leeds, but again would not be able to look around and see where would be the best places to live and such. During this time I will also have to get a job so I am not completely broke, and will also mean I have to start paying back my loans to the states, which is extra debt in the UK.

3) Go into a Teacher Credentialling programme in the states. There is a problem with this one also. Since I am over here it is difficult for me to get my hands on the information needed to get into grad school. I need 3 letters of recommendation, and also I apparently need to take the GRE. Being in England makes it difficult to take the GRE. The next one is actually on the 3rd of November, but I am too late to sign up for that one. The one after that is in April, which would be too late for Grad school applications. Also, in order to get the CSET exemption I would need to get into grad school this coming year, or else I need to take the CSET, which is a $210 exam which you are almost guaranteed to fail the first time, and there are almost no study guides out there to help you pass it. So I could wait a year and do it then.

Now most of this sounds almost impossible, but there is a plan to make numbers 2 and 3 much more reasonable and doable. If I were to take a gap year next year and just do work for a whole year, I could potentially save up to $7,000 in one year. (This is assuming a $40,000 a year job with expenses as follows: $1,000 rent a month, $300 a month for food, $500 a month for personal expenses, $1,000 per month for loan repayment). So after one year the $7,000 would be more than enough to finance my next year at a UC school. I would also have all of that year to take and retake the CSET exam until I pass it. I could also end up taking that $7,000 and go and study in England. The money would pay off my housing, and I could easily get loans and such to afford my tuition (Assuming I get no scholarships).

So that is my dilema basically. Do I take a chance and try and turn in an application for UC Davis grad school, do I take a year off and work to save money, or do I go straight into teaching without knowing anything?

[Note: $40,000 a year was based off the fact of: $20/hour income working 40 hours per week. This may not seem doable, but remember I would be willing to take up 2 or 3 jobs in order to make the 40,000 a year. I could also end up working for agilent for a year and make a salary. I could also be an accountant for a year and make money that way. I could also decrease spending by living at my parents house during this time (even though I don't think they would want me to live there, and it would also take away my californian status).]

So the battle has begun. Which crazy scenario will Aram pick?

Confuzzled beyond belief,
Aram the Garmo