Are you thinking about getting out of the teaching profession?
Teaching jobs are tremendously demanding. It is easy to feel unsupported and overwhelmed with workloads. Or you may just feel that being a teacher no longer serves you well.
It sometimes feels easier to cling to our jobs when the future is uncertain, or we fear regret. Perhaps you feel like you are past the age of retraining, or simply cannot afford to.
But remember that you are not alone in this fear! While there are many factors to consider, many people have successfully pivoted their work lives (sometimes multiple times!) and you can, too.
Build Your Career Change Kit
Before you resign from your teaching post, it’s good to have some idea of what comes next. If you’re fortunate enough to have the resources to be unemployed for a while, you can take the plunge before you have all your ducks in a row.
For most of us, we need to have the next few steps figured out before making a big decision like quitting our jobs.
Here’s what you need to figure out before you leave your work in the teaching profession.
Research Different Career Paths
To get the ball rolling, it’s a good idea to really take a look at yourself in terms of character and employability.
- Do you still want to work in education or leave it altogether?
- What characteristics make you an asset?
- What excites you about the world?
- What certifications and skillsets do you already have?
- Can you afford (monetarily and time-wise) to pursue further education and certification?
- Do you want to stay where you are or move/travel elsewhere?
- What kind of salary and hours do you require?
- Do you need a position that allows you to get promoted up the ladder?
For extra help, try taking career and personality tests or utilising a career service to see what jobs might be a good fit.
Now that you’ve already completed your degree, had a job, and learned more about life in the real world, you are much more suited to choose a new career path that you will enjoy more.
Many people choose an initial career that sounds amazing to their teen selves, and then realize they don’t actually enjoy the work when they get there. It’s unfortunate, but you aren’t alone if you feel this way.
Have faith that you know yourself and the world better now. You are able to make better-informed choices to positively impact your life.
It is not as much about who you used to be, as it is about who you choose to be. -Sanhita Baruah
Narrow Down Your Choices & Make A Plan
Once you have a direction or two to aim for, come up with a plan for how you will seriously pursue these options.
You may discover that the thing you don’t like about teaching right now is the facility where you work, the subject you teach, or the age of the students.
If you would rather stay in teaching, see if you can change these factors to better conditions and rekindle your love for the classroom.
If you really want to get out of teaching for sure, prepare yourself and your family for this change. Talk it out with them and see if you’ll need to make changes in your lives to support you in your career pivot.
This might look like different childcare arrangements, selling or purchasing a secondary vehicle, shifting responsibilities around at home, and researching social programs that offer financial support.
Revamp Your CV and Cover Letter
Research or utilise an employment service to help you curate your application documents for new work positions.
Ensure that you are highlighting all the skills you’ve gained as a teacher in ways that match the different roles you’re applying for.
If it’s been a while since you’ve been in the job market, take extra care to make sure you’ve brushed up on modern job application conventions. Many people have personal websites these days, so it may behove you to make your own and showcase your skills if appropriate.
Prepare for Additional Training
There is a good chance you’ll need some additional education for many different positions out there. It may look like a 3-hour certificate course or an 18-month study program, or any other arrangement.
Research well what you need to have before you apply or begin a new role. Some employers will sponsor or provide you with the courses you need to do your new job well, so check your options for this route as well.
Best Alternative Education Careers for Teachers
These jobs are widely considered to involve a lot of the same elements of work in the educational system but can be drastically less stressful and demanding than teaching.
Student Learning Support
If you feel as though you're an enthusiastic person with a passion for getting students motivated and helping them through their educational experience, then there are various supervisor roles available within the world of learning support for talented teachers.
This is a very broad career path and can range from non-profit youth groups to guidance counselling, all aimed at supporting pupils with their homework, exams, and even aspects that might affect their school lives, such as personal and social issues.
Possible roles in this area include being a special education teacher and even working as a substitute teacher.
Private Tutor
You might decide that teaching is your one true passion, but the traditional classroom isn't the way you like to teach.
Being a private tutor means you can pick your own hours and your own rates. You can work from your own home, in your student’s home, in a professional office or in an agreed public place. You will be able to really help students who want to learn and use your talents to provide an individualized learning environment for each student and help them achieve academic success.
Another route is to work through an agency, which can provide excellent visibility for tutoring in your local area and also online – but can also often entail fees and commissions.
Trainer / Corporate Learning & Development
Perhaps you’re passionate about pedagogy and want to train other teachers to be good leaders.
As a trainer, you will design courses and programmes based on the needs of your students. The students may typically be managers in a company or government organisation who are learning new management skills. They might also be teams of people in a company who want to build their communication and team skills.
Your programmes would teach them how to be more effective communicators, delegators, and managers in their departments.
"Don't limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe you can achieve." -Mary Kay Ash
Best Academic Careers for Teachers
If what you love about teaching is finding solutions to problems, you may want to stay in a career that allows you to research and develop ways to help people and make a tangible difference in an academic sense.
Publishing and Authoring
You may pursue becoming a textbook author if you want to stay within the realm of education, or you can pursue becoming a writer in another genre.
You could also look at what freelance options are available in the world of publishing. Using agencies or freelance websites is a great way to start, and you can start exploring the various writing or editing jobs that are involved in publishing.
Academic Adviser
For school-age children, especially those choosing their NCEA subjects and thinking about further schooling, making decisions about the future can be daunting.
This is exactly what makes the role of academic advisers so vital.
Academic advisers work in schools, colleges, universities and in the local community to provide academic guidance to students.
Their wealth of experience working in education and advising students themselves is what makes ex-teachers perfect candidates for advisory roles.
If you enjoy getting to know students one-on-one, academic advising provides a fantastic opportunity to listen closely to students' current dilemmas, hopes and aspirations before helping them find the ideal path towards their goals.
Museum Work
Museum work can involve anything from being a curator, where you would be responsible for the management of artefacts and collections at the museum, to being an educator, where you would work on the visitor experience and making information accessible to people of all ages.
Making the information about museum pieces accessible and interesting for visitors is a challenging and rewarding job.
Many museums also have children-focused special events that allow youths the chance to learn even more in a fun way.
Best Careers for Former Teachers
As a teacher, you gained a wide variety of valuable skills. There are many positions where these skills will allow you to flourish!
Human Resources
Regardless of the age of your students or the type of educational establishment you work in, you are certain to gain valuable transferable skills during your teaching career that can serve you elsewhere, such as in HR.
HR is a sector in which it is essential to have good interpersonal skills and enthusiasm as you motivate others to make the most of their own skills in the workplace.
Teaching and human resources may seem worlds apart, but both professions are about making others aware of their personal attributes and helping to make the most of them whilst also developing new skills.
Administration
As a profession which is all about organising, ex-teachers are perfect candidates who can bring skills as well as years of relevant experience.
Being an admin isn't just about logging details, creating Excel spreadsheets and organising data. Working in administration can mean anything from business administration, where you would likely be in charge of a group of employees, to being a personal assistant to a CEO, where it would be up to you to organise their appointments and be in charge of their daily schedules.
Youth Worker
Knowing how to interact with children and pique their interest by making learning fun is a fantastic perk for ex-teachers who want to impart their wisdom outside of the classroom.
Youth work is all about making sure that children and young people feel supported as well as giving them new opportunities to blossom and discover what really interests them.
Becoming a youth worker is a great option for teachers who still want to be able to get involved with young people and help them navigate the world.
Youth workers typically have a more fun-feeling relationship with the children they work with, versus the stiff, formal separation of teacher and student in schools.
As a youth worker, you'll not only be expected to participate in the running of youth clubs and centres but also in the organisation of community projects and outdoor activities like:
- Leading hikes
- Community gardening projects
- Community service projects
- Games and outings
Youth work is a demanding job, however, if you're passionate about helping young people have great experiences and guidance, it could be the perfect role for you.
No matter your reason for a career switch, you can be sure that you are not the only one who has done the same thing. So take comfort in not being alone, and that it really is possible for you to find a new job that you love!
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