I'll just give you a quick overview of my own experience and hopefully this will help. For background I am currently a Maths and IT teacher.
When I did Year 12, the highest level of maths I did was Further and at that stage, my score wasn't great (at 27 raw, one would be shocked to think a teacher could achieve that and confidently teach it in a classroom). To this day, other teachers at my school are really surprised when I tell them that's what I achieved back then because you wouldn't picture it now. My goal was to always be a teacher - just my method areas were up in the air. I originally went with Business and IT because I really enjoyed them in high school, only to realise that this did not reflect reality. The subjects I did at uni that were business-related were boring, dry and lacked anything interesting or relevant to me.
As part of my IT degree, I was forced (at the beginning) to undertake a statistics unit and the lecturer who taught that was so engaging and inspiring (should've been a high school teacher tbh, was amazing). So much so that three things occurred as a result:
a) I achieved a high 80's for that subject - a subject where you'd think somebody with a score in high school like that probably wouldn't do too well in.
b) I chose further statistics subjects as a result (voluntarily, through elective choices).
c) I decided to ditch Business as my future teaching method and go down the Maths/Stats option
Also important to note that while I managed to get a minor in stats, I did do other units e.g. discrete maths as well.
The point I am trying to make above is that you shouldn't solely rely on your school experiences as a means of deciding whether you can do x or y in the classroom. Skills are taught and learnt over time. Just because you were crap in high school does not automatically mean this will translate into your own classroom teaching practice.
One of my key roles now is supervising student teachers that come through on placement rounds and we get quite a few from Monash (among other unis). I personally can say I've seen some really dodgy high-achieving teachers - those who have scored really well who can't even get the fundamentals right e.g. controlling a classroom. I give the same advice to anybody thinking about becoming a teacher - consider whether it is REALLY right for you. Knowing content is a good start but it is minor in comparison to the other things you need. Teaching is an extremely dynamic profession - don't go into teaching thinking you'll just teach VCE, because this is not the reality and you are often asked to do things that require more than just academics such as strong discipline and emotional intelligence particularly in those lower years. Without knowing your students or building relationships with them, the 'knowing your content' part becomes meaningless. It's important, sure, but relationships and being able to differentiate your teaching rather than the 'one fits all' approach is absolutely critical. People often base their own interpretations and understanding of what a teacher's role is and the requirements of it based on their experiences as a student, which only is one perspective (and a restrictive one, by the way).
In terms of placements as well, you aren't automatically given a class to teach for example. If it's your first placement, this usually is observation with the teaching of a class here and there. It's important to note that you aren't thrown in the deep end automatically, most mentor teachers are understanding and will have a discussion with you about what you would like to teach and what they think is best for your development. Some VCE teachers will be quite hesitant to allow a pre-service teacher to take their class due to deadlines, SACs, having to teach things properly etc.. My first placement was at an independent school and my mentor (luckily) was quite understanding of the fact that Maths wasn't my main area (Digitech is) and that I wasn't really comfortable teaching VCE at that point in time. We worked through it and I ended up teaching a Year 8 class instead and that was a fantastic introduction for me. On my last placement, I did end up teaching VCE General Maths for that placement and I think that progression is really important.
Given I am a maths teacher (and Digital Tech is my primary method area), I often am quite hesitant to take on something like Methods or Specialist for the reasons outlined previously. I have found that I have learnt alot of what I have needed to fill the gaps in my own understanding on the job - teaching the lower year levels has really helped with this and I can now connect things together that I wasn't able to when I was in school.
I think it's worth noting that at school and university environments are two completely different things - i'd start to be concerned if you do maths etc. at uni and are still not improving or witnessing success.
I would also say that the statistics on out-of-field maths teachers is shocking, so being qualified in this discipline means you've got a 1 up on quite a number of current maths teachers.
Also has anyone actually seen the content you do in teaching? It's not even practical and so much boring theory in it.
Yup. I did my Masters at Monash a few years ago and I wasn't impressed. I would say that your most valuable experiences in a teaching degree are the placements as this reflects the real-world relevance of what you'll face when you graduate. It also provides an opportunity for you to network and build relationships needed for a career. I viewed the degree as a ticking the box exercise but the placements were the most beneficial part. If you have to take one component seriously, it'd be those placements because they make or break teachers (either through self-realisation that it isn't the right thing for them or the fact that they are technically longer-term job interviews and allow you to showcase your practice to potential employers). By the end of the first few days you will know whether you're in the right place or have made a terrible mistake.
I have learnt most of what I know today from my own experiences through placement and employment. I don't doubt that I probably integrate alot of what I learnt theoretically into my own practice automatically without knowing explicitly, but my pedagogy, teaching philosophy, ways I interact with students etc. has all been devised by me through practice.
I'll end by saying sometimes it's a good thing to be thrown in the deep end (within reason). If you feel comfortable as a teacher, chances are you aren't doing enough. From my very first role as a teacher I was thrown in the deep end as a curriculum leader and sole teacher of a discipline (as a graduate lol) and I reckon I am so much better for it. I now have a formal responsibility position in just my 3rd year of teaching and at 25 I reckon i've done pretty well so far. Be willing to be adventurous, know your limits (and whether you're just going to say no because you're fearful) and you'll be amazing.
Happy to ease your nerves or answer any more q's you may have, feel free to PM me anytime.