Last updated on October 4th, 2023 at 01:46 am
What other professionals can engage 20 five-year-olds sitting in a circle on a rug in a read aloud of a giant picture book half falling off an easel with a singsong voice and a pointing stick while acting completely serene and nonchalant about it even though Billy has removed his shoe and is about to pour out all his playground sand onto the rug?
In which other vocations would a person be able to teach, inspire, collect data and grade the essays of hundreds of high schoolers?
Don’t underestimate yourself– there are dozens of high-quality, transferable skills you may have as a teacher. Skills that are highly prized in other industries. Now let’s see where those assets could take you.
First– though not an immediate full-time career, I share details in another post on private tutoring as a way for teachers to bring in income, and it’s something they can start right away. I would definitely recommend using this gig or any other side job as a temporary padding of revenue while you’re job searching and refining your workplace skills.
Now, I’ll guide you through alternate career ideas based on the categories of entry-level and upskilling. For the entry-level ideas, these jobs pretty much require no additional degrees or certifications and are open to career-changing teachers. These are subject to vacillate with the changing winds of the industries, but at least that’s how the jobs seem to be now. (Please let me know if job requirements change.)
The upskill category of jobs will require some training, learning and even maybe passing certain qualifications or tests. Don’t let this deter you– these upskill jobs can offer either greater pay or better work/life balance or could just be jobs you enjoy more for any number of reasons. It may just be worth putting in the extra work, time, study and even finances to develop and hone skills necessary for these kind of jobs.
Entry-level jobs that are good fits for resigning teachers
Use an entry-level job as a rung in the ladder, a non-teaching waiting place while you save money or upskill. Or just relish in the job with no plans of switching. At least it’s not teaching.
- Office and clerical work, administrative assistant
- Virtual assistant
- Nanny
- Home health aide
- Bank teller
- Medical receptionist, billing/coding assistant
- Legal assistant
- Restaurant manager, server, bartender
- Sales
- Customer service
- Content creator, social media content manager
- Small business owner
- Private instructor: art, music, sports, etc.
Fitting jobs for resigning teachers that require extra knowledge or certification
- Real estate
- Human resources specialist
- Curriculum development
- Instructional design
- Graphic design
- School district subject area coach, instructional coach, curriculum specialist
- Training and development specialist
- Marketing and promotions
- Photography: family, food, business, real estate, product staging
- Web development
- Video/media editor
- Writer, copywriter, copyeditor
- Educational consultant
See? If you’re thinking of quitting teaching, you have all kinds of options. I hope this imparted some fresh inspiration. A writer for LinkedIn puts it wonderfully in his article on the teacher exodus: “Overall, K-12 teachers are finding that their core skills — empathy, strong organization, a positive in-person presence and a flair for explaining new concepts — can transfer beautifully into a wide new set of roles.”
Check out the other posts in my Leaving Teaching series for more details to guide you through.
Those who have already made a career switch: Have any ideas to add? Let me know in the comments! I’m rooting for you.
