Skip links

Life After Teaching

Ideas, Advice, & Inspiration for Teachers Leaving the Classroom

Making the Transition

Making the transition out of the classroom can be tough... but so rewarding! Here's a collection of great tips for making the transition a little easier right off the bat.

Reader Questions: Do I Need An Advanced Degree to Leave the Classroom?

By

Life After Teaching - Do I Need An Advanced Degree to Leave the Classroom?

Welcome to another edition of “Reader Questions”! Here’s a questions from Terry that he left on the 50+ Jobs for Former Teachers link roundup. Do you have a question? Leave a comment on this post or contact me!

Hi Sarah,

I’ve been following your blog now for a few months and I have a question regarding the skill set needed for say an Instructional Designer position. I have been watching LinkedIn, Glassdoor and Indeed job sites for job openings and many of those jobs under IDS say things like Captivate, Wimba, iSpring, LAMS among a host of other Learning Management Systems are necessary to perform designated job duties. How does one become proficient in these software systems that are prohibitively expensive?

Having conducted a few informational interviews with trainers and designers, they all say get the ATD (formerly ASTD) certification (also very expensive). Does one really have to spend money on either training or certification to become a skilled Instructional Designer? I spent a bit on my Masters and don’t want to set myself back any further. As a long-time EFL teacher ready to bring the family back home, any advice on building a portfolio or updating the résumé would be helpful as well.

Thanks for your time Sarah and I hope that my question helps others looking for similar answers!

– Terry in USA

Hi Terry,

Thanks so much for stopping by with a comment! Like all things career, the answer to your awesome question is complicated and takes a little gambling. Here’s how I see it:

1. Yes, Hiring Managers Like Degrees

An advanced degree will almost always help you get an interview and then possibly get the job. A degree or certification not only indicates knowledge and experience, but it also indicates commitment. That allows hiring managers feel safe knowing you’re a professional. (Keep in mind, though, that an advanced teaching degree such as a Master’s in Arts in Teaching counts as an advanced degree! My husband once got the interview for an ISD job based on his Master’s in Arts in Teaching degree and by doing a few of the things listed below.)

2. But That’s Not All They Like

…However, an advanced degree is not the only way to establish knowledge, experience, and commitment! It’s just the easiest, and that’s why it’s so expensive (It can be done good, fast, or or cheap, but you only get to pick two, right?).

I deeply believe that anyone can put together a self-education path using free and low-cost resources online that will establish them as a professional in a given field. (See also: The Personal MBA at http://personalmba.com/manifesto/).

For the example of ISD, you’re absolutely correct that the technologies are prohibitively expensive. But there are a few workarounds to get *some* experience on your resume: each of the platforms offers a free trial, so you could download one per month over the summer with a book from the library and throw yourself into creating sample lessons and learning experiences (a spec portfolio). For bonus points, you could also time the trial for when you have an interview so that you could custom create a learning experience for the company you interview with.

You could also get in touch with a nearby library or college library and see what technology they offer (for free) on their onsite computers (AKA the local library where I live has a digital media lab with a 3D printer and other crazy things I don’t even know about). So… it’s definitely not easy, but it’s doable if you wanted to hack it.

3. You Can Cherry Pick Your Job Applications

You may not qualify for a job at a company that prefers the creme de la creme experts with advanced degrees, but that’s fine because you don’t need a job there, you just need a job to get your foot in the door.

When you’re taking the self-educated path, I would focus on smaller businesses like start-ups that want the skills but can’t pay big bucks for the education and experience. They’ll be more likely to 1) not care that your degree is in something related but not specific, or 2) that you created your portfolio on spec (they just want to see your work). They’re also less likely to do the impersonal form application, which is a real pain and unlikely to lead to a job (the majority of people still find jobs through good old fashioned personal acquaintances).

4. Everyone Loves a Hard Worker

Self-education and hard work may not be as sexy to some hiring managers as an advanced degree, but it is darn attractive to most realistic ones!

Think about it in terms of what people want to see in a job candidate. A genuine, hard-working person who is committed to ISD and can explain how his teaching career lead him to realize that he was meant to be an ISD (with a great self-made portfolio) would definitely hold sway.

Finally, I have it on good authority from a director of HR friend that a self-educated candidate who put the time into building the portfolio and could demonstrate the necessary skills for a job in his interview/portfolio/sample work would be an attractive candidate for a job.

I hope this helps, Terry! The #1 thing is to be persistent once you know what you want. I know the process is difficult and frustrating, but “the world will get out of the way for a man on a mission!”

Teacher Quits: I’m Tired of Getting the Buck Passed to Me

By

Please enjoy this Real Story guest post by Katie, an itinerant teacher serving children with hearing loss. 

Everyone has heard the term “pass the buck”. Everyone has a pretty good idea as to what it means. And forgive me for using a quote from to Wikipedia, but the definition hits home for teachers:

“The act of attributing to another person or group one’s own responsibility. It is often used to refer to a strategy in power politics whereby a state tries to get another state to deter, or possibly fight, an aggressor state while it remains on the sidelines.”

Do you know where it is done a lot? In the schools. Do you know who generally gets the brunt of it? The teachers. Do you know who loses the most? The student. If there isn’t a more clearer example of how “trickle-down economics” doesn’t work, I don’t know where else you can find it.

Where Does the Buck Start?

Educational regulations and rules get decided by the legislature, and it’s up the schools to enforce it. But it’s not that simple. Schools that are ill-equipped to implement the new rules leave the lion’s share of the responsibility of implementing them to the teachers, who are already limited in what they can do. In the end, the students are left scrambling for an education, unsure of what to expect or where to go.

Teacher Quits: Buck Passed to Me

Photo Source

Sure, the new regulations and standards have a great end goal in mind: maximizing students’ success and eliminating the achievement gap. But the trick is always implementing it, and most of the time, it is just not feasible. There is very little consideration in how each school district has its own unique set of challenges, and there seems to be a dogged determination by the government that one set of standards fits all.

Modern Teachers: All the Responsibility, None of the Power

I felt the brunt of the responsibility throughout my teaching career. I work as an itinerant teacher in my state. This means that I travel in between school buildings and school districts. I serve a group of students who are in a small minority: children with hearing loss.

My training is specialized and what I do is specialized. I provide individualized instruction that is geared to help my students overcome their gaps in being able to hear and understand our language, and still become successful students. I rarely am able to teach a lesson the same way to two different students because their skill levels, language development, and degree of hearing loss are all different.

If the standards placed upon the school districts are difficult for mainstreamed students to meet, it is crushing for my students to meet. They don’t learn/hear the same way that their peers do, but yet they are expected to perform the same way on standardized tests. Talk about a disadvantage!

Nearly ten years into my otherwise fulfilling career in education, I’m feeling the crunch. I need a new fresh breath of air, something to renew my passion in educating those with hearing loss, educating others about hearing loss, and teaching everyone how they can advocate for themselves in today’s world.

Teacher Quits: Passing the Buck

Photo Source

I’m ready to accept responsibility in an environment that is conducive to learning. I am ready to stop getting the buck passed to me, and instead stand up and figure out where this buck came from in the first place.

For me, this takes the form of a career as a freelancer, teaching others about advocacy, education and hearing loss. I launched the website It’s Hard to Hear Up Here to cover these topics, as well as the fun and lighthearted moments that are the spice of life.

I learned about the world of freelancing through a friend of mine, Gina of Horkey Handbook. She started freelancing while working full-time, and after watching her experience success in her new endeavor and finding renewed passion in what she wants to do, I felt inspired to do the same.

PSST… Interested in freelancing? Sarah just launched a new eBook called Five Figure Writer, which details how she replaced her full time income working a bit less than full time (real numbers included!). Learn more here.

I am excited to enter this new world of entrepreneurship filled with passionate people like Gina and Sarah (the writer behind Life After Teaching), and I can’t wait to join the ranks of former teachers out there taking control of their own destinies.

If you enjoyed this story, please take a moment to share it with your personal network on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. If you’d like to share your story, message me using the contact form.

50+ Exciting Jobs for Former Teachers (The Ultimate Link Line-Up)

By

You worked your butt off to get into the classroom and educate the next generation. So what do you do when it doesn’t work out?

No matter why you decided to leave teaching, don’t let the unknown scare you. There are tons of jobs for former teachers out there. You just need to get creative about how you talk about your experience and get specific about what you want.

50 Jobs for Former Teachers -- The Ultimate Link Line-Up -- Empower your job hunt with in-depth, expert career advice!

Before you read through the list, maybe it will help inspire you to read about other teachers who have made the leap out of the classroom and are loving it!

Ready for the List? Here’s 50+ Jobs for Former Teachers

Here’s my mega list of jobs for former teachers based on your subject level and what you love (or didn’t love!) about teaching.

Please keep in mind that this is not a list of jobs that are totally easy and fast to get.

This is only a list of brainstorming ideas to help you see the possibilities for your skills and your background.

Some of these ideas require new education, which might be the last thing you want to do when you’ve dropped thousands of dollars to get the degree you have now. But other jobs on this list? They just require a passion, creativity, and persistence.

For more information about rewriting your resume to get these jobs and tackling awkward conversations within your interview, download the guide.

Math

Science Teachers

English & Language Arts Teachers

Reading Teachers

World Language Teachers

History and Social Science Teachers

Physical Education Teachers

Family and Consumer Sciences

Other Kinds of Teachers

The best part? This list is NOT comprehensive! There are so many kinds of jobs in the world that — as teachers working in a non-profit industry — we don’t even know exist. Don’t limit yourself to your personal experience. Step outside your comfort zone and consider all the different kinds of careers that exist when you consider all of the skills you have.

New Year, New Habits, New Job!

By

NewYear NewHabits NewJob

 

It’s time to celebrate a New Year! Are you in the mood?

If you’re still teaching and you aren’t excited about it, heading into a New Year might seem like a downer. For many teachers, it means heading back to school after two weeks of sleeping in, seeing family, and (finally) reading a good book.

Instead of falling back into your old habit of wishing you weren’t teaching but trudging in every day, I have a challenge for you. Can you start this new year with just one new habit that can help you transition out of teaching? Here are ten ideas to pick from. Just pick one and move towards your goal with baby steps!

Resume Ideas

  • Break out your resume and update it using the guidelines in Life After Teaching. Translate your teaching skills for your target job. Research online to find a simple, clean resume format. Create a new resume every three months to keep practicing these skills.
  • Customize your “Key Skills” for each and every job. If the job description wants project management, focus on how teaching gave you project management skills. If it wants technology, focus on the technology you used as a teacher.
  • Send out at least one resume per month. When you first get started, don’t be too picky about the job so long as it’s one you’d be interested in. The more interview experience you get (both in the form of interviews, offers, and rejections) the more you’ll learn.

Networking Ideas

  • Head to Meet Up and find a local group you like. It doesn’t have to be career-related, but it’s fine if it is. Attend one session every three months to get to know the people. Connect with them online to build your social media literacy.
  • Network where HR managers are, not where your peers are. If your goal is a new job, go where someone could hire you. That means seeking out HR managers where they network and where you can make an impression.

Social Media Ideas

  • Create or sign into your LinkedIn account. Upload a professional photo and write up a clear and concise bio. Then spend 20 minutes connecting with people you know because you’re only as valuable as your network. Do this once a month, if not more frequently. (But don’t sent more than 20 invitations at a time or you could be blocked as a spammer.)
  • Sign up for BufferApp and set up a buffer. If you aren’t all that active on social media, sign up for a BufferApp account and buffer some posts. Just once a week is fine to start, but that will get you out there and involved in the social community.

Do these sound like things you can do during a slow snow day? Let me know in the comments!

Updating Social Media For A Job Hunt Without Being Obvious

By

Updating Social Media For A Job Hunt Without Being Obvious

Hi, Sarah–

I recently downloaded your e-book. I can’t wait to print it out & dive in! Since you have been down this road before, I have a question for you.

I know that the way to network effectively is through social media. While I do have a LinkedIn account, it’s not 100% forthcoming on my objectives & my posted resume still looks “teachery”. The one I’m sending out in response to ads is geared toward the position. My question is about how a teacher dives in to using social media without colleagues/boss finding out your intentions. Should someone look me up I’ll be found out per se. I guess that’s why I haven’t joined your FB group yet. I am afraid of my teacher friends & colleagues finding out my intentions. It seems like we have to be shrouded in secrecy. How do other teachers do it?

I am looking to transition into HR. I am planning on taking an Intro to HR course through my local university in Feb. It is the first course in a series leading to an HR certificate. I’m bummed that I will most likely have to take a pay cut to transition even though I have two bachelors & one masters degrees. Sigh. However, I’ve gotta get out.

I look forward to your response.

Thanks!
S. in U. S.

Hi S.,

Thank you so much for your email!

Your question is a very realistic one — to network efficiently you have to completely immerse yourself in it… but to completely immerse yourself in it throws a red flag to your peers and boss!

I’m not sure I know what the perfect answer is because I’d hate to recommend you “go for it” and then have consequences at work (my husband still teachers and I understand first hand how word can spread and people can pressure you or question your committment).

I can say that often we think more people are watching than they really are, and that social media privacy control can be very helpful. For example, when you make an update or change to your LinkedIn profile, you can click a button to not have the change announced to your network. That might be a way to add more HR-related things to your profile without drawing attention to them, but you’d want to be careful about it.

It’s always more fun to focus on positive actions though! It seems like a great approach would be to actively network and particupate in HR forums and blogs (the school you’re attending should give you access to at least some) and even in-person HR networking events where no other teachers will be. You can be yourself and show interest in HR in person without any consequences to your digital/teaching life.

Hint for networking: aim for networking events where you’ll meet other HR people, not necessarily generic networking events. That’s going to include “Best Practices” and “Continuing Education” type events where HR people have to go or want to go as a part of their job.

If you plan to write a blog or network in that way, maybe go by an abbreviation of your name and use an avatar as your photo so that you aren’t immediately recognizable. I used this one to make an avatar for a pen name for some of my articles, but you can google around to find a style you like.

From hanging out with a dear friend who is an HR director, I’d also love to offer this other tip: the sooner you can specialize in a certain kind of HR, the better. For someone shopping around to hire an HR person, they don’t want to hear that you have a passion for any and everything because then they’ll focus on your teaching background. Instead, they would want to hear that you were teaching, learned X, and then passionately pursued a very narrow field of HR because you’re dedicated to it (for example, medical practices, startups, finance industry, etc).

Obviously you’d want to wait to specialize until you know for sure that you love a particular industry, but once you do be sure to shout it from the rooftops!

Christmas Presents Teachers Really Want (Especially When They’re Job Hunting)

By

Christmas Presents Teachers Really Want (Especially When They're Job Hunting)

It’s that glorious time of year when teachers around the country desperately shift into “Survival Mode” to live out the short weeks between Thanksgiving Break and Christmas Break.

If that’s you right now… I feel you!

I, too, lived in that in-between space where you try to figure out if you can finish off a given unit in time for the holidays, given that tons of students are absent. Planning the test so that there’s enough time for re-takes and grading before the holiday… but not so soon that there’s dead time that will get you in trouble with your department head or principal.

(PSST… if you teach 9th grade English, I had a lot of success with “story diagramming” episodes of Spongebob Squarepants. ;-))

Anyway. Here’s a post for you to send to your family members to help them shop for you this Christmas (or for picking out some special somethings for yourself).

For staying happy in the classroom…

Fred Jone’s Tools for Teachers

Hands down the best discipline book you can find. It’s the only one I ever read that has actual practical tips that you can walk into the classroom with TOMORROW and feel more confident and in control. It also has long-term ideas for improving your classroom discipline, but when things are bad it’s more important to have immediate relief.

 

Dr. David Burn’s Feeling Good

Sadness strikes everyone at some time or another. This book will help you approach stress and emotional depression with mental tools so that you can pull it together for those important days (and get a sub for mental health days!)

 

 

 

Dr. Cloud and Townsend’s Boundaries

People who choose to teach are natural givers. So it’s no wonder they end up burnt out, tired, and emotionally destroyed. Sometimes they give too much! This book will help you figure out your values and learn how to say “No” to things that suck up your energy.

 

 

 

For super-classy interviewing…

Classy, thick pens

Leave your Bics at home. Get some nice, thick, black-ink pens so that you feel business-like when you jot down interview notes. Works great for phone interviews, too! These are my absolute favorite pens… I recommend the .7mm or the 1.0mm for thick, wet-looking writing.

 

 

 

A simple leather portfolio folder

Even if you don’t bring anything to the interview, successful people are always prepared to write something down. Bring paper, pens, copies of your resume, and busniess cards in a simple, classy portfolio to appear more polished than you feel. (Don’t feel polished? Keep reading interview advice).

 

 

A printer to print samples, samples, and more samples

Good interviewers show their stuff, with as many numbers and charts as possible. (Think: test scores, student club members, etc). And that means you’ll need a nice printer, paper, and ink so you aren’t running to FedEx all the time.

 

For relaxing at home…

Melatonin-regulating glasses

These are going to make you look super-hilarious walking around your home, but they’re FANTASTIC for helping you calm down and de-stress after a long day at work. These glasses block the blue UV light from lightbulbs and electronic devices (think TV, laptop, iPad, smartphone) to let your brain slowly wind down at the end of the day. Magical.

 

Epsom salts (and/or essential oils)

You’re bathing for sure, so why not make it a 30-minute hot bath with a good magazine? Adding lavender (or coconut butter, or an oil of your choice) will also help make it a spa-like experience. Throw in some candles, too.

 

 

Relaxing sounds

We’re basically just trying to recreate a spa atmosphere, so relaxing spa CDs are awesome, too. I also love this 3HR relaxing tones YouTube video and listen to it a few times a week when I’m really stressed.

 

 

 

Is there anything else on your Happy-Teacher, Job-Seeker wishlist?

 

Interview Advice: How to Talk About Leaving Teaching In A Professional Setting

By

How to Talk About Leaving Teaching In A Professional Interview

In this real story of life after teaching, we hear from S in the UK and her mini-interview with a CEO about why she is leaving teaching. Please note this is not a photo of S. 

Hello Sarah,

I have been in contact before and have brought your E-book.

Just reaching out for some advice really– since leaving teaching, I have been temporarily working for a company. The CEO is interested in talking to me to see my potential for staying within the company. He is particularly interested in finding out what I have left teaching. I am not sure how I can professionally re-word– I hated the life style of being a teacher!

Any words of advice?

-S. in U.K.

Hello S,

That is so, so exciting to hear! Congratulations!

Which industry the company is in will help you identify the best way to reframe your answer. For example, when I first left I was going from teaching English to a job writing and editing. My response was that I was proud of the work I’d done with my students, but I loved English, words, and language, more than I loved the educational process or working with students, and that I wanted to leave to give someone else a chance to teach if they enjoyed it more.

For the job, that was very appropriate because the work I was doing would change from student-focused to English-focused. (I also very, very lightly touched on not enjoying the state of education and teaching requirements, but I kept it professional).

Whatever your answer, here’s the thing: 1) It’s not lying if you avoid saying you want more money or you hated the students. It’s just looking at your experience in a different way and a way that will help the CEO understand your reasons, and 2) Stay positive like crazy. You can always share teaching horror stories after you’re hired ( 🙂 ), but being negative in an interview situation will unfortunately exaggerate your negativity.

Focus on being proud of what you did accomplish as a teacher, share that there are experiences you’ll miss (maybe one, right?), but that you are so excited about this new industry that you feel good about your decision every day and look forward to a long career in it.

If you can find a way to tie in this new job with your ultimate purpose or skill set (such as, I didn’t get to do as much [project management, computer skills, administrative stuff, etc] as when I was teaching, and I really enjoy that now).

It also might help to think about where this person is coming from– is he worried you washed out of teaching or did something to be fired? If so, emphasize how sorry your principal was to see you go or that your students were sad to see you go (whatever is true). Normalize your transition to him so that it doesn’t seem like he’s picking up someone who wasn’t successful in a different career– in reality, he’s picking up a hard worker who knows how to make tough decisions and risks!

Questions about how to talk about leaving teaching? Leave them in the comments!

Agree/disagree: “The only way you’ll get hired is if you have a friend who will hire you or get you in.”

By

Has anyone ever told you, "Agree/disagree: "The only way you'll get hired is if you have a friend who will hire you or get you in"? This post is for you #lifeafterteaching #teachers

When I have interviews, things go well, then they look at my resume and start asking me things like: So why don’t you become a principal? Have you considered private schools?

I do my best to extinguish those kinds of things since I am working on my MBA but my efforts have been fruitless. I even went to a colloquium about job searching and the likes and the head speaker asked me what I did. I told him I used to be a teacher and I am looking to get into management or corporate training.

He told me to my face in front of everybody,

“The only way you can do that is if you have a friend who will hire you or get you in.”

I then stated that i was working on my MBA to which the speaker told me, “That is good and all but you don’t have a business background.”

Help!

-P.

P. left this heartfelt comment on the post “How to Keep Hiring Managers from Pigeon-Holing You As An Educator.” And while this had to be an upsetting experience (I don’t even know what I would have done in his position!), I firmly believe you can learn from anything and anyone (including jerks).

There are only two logical responses, but luckily both can lead to positive results.

  1. You’re right, Mr. Speaker, the only person who will hire me is a friend or connection. So I’m going to network like crazy to meet that person who will launch my career. And newsflash, Mr. Speaker, everyone starts every career by making friends and connections. What do you think is happening in that interview?
  2. You’re wrong, Mr. Speaker, and here’s why…. [enter why you’re passionate about a given industry]. Use that passion in your cover letter, interview, and blog to make a job for you. Because if you get the interview, that means the company wants to hear your perspective. And they don’t want job-hopers, they want people who have changed course and completely recommitted themselves to a new field.

Ready for the lame kitten poster slogan? Don’t give up!

I can’t believe a speaker would be rude enough to say that to someone in a big crowd. But you know, they get paid for being memorable and providing “in your face” advice (whether it’s right or not).

While there are some HR people who WON’T hire you.. you only need one who will! And you can still get in on the tiny bit of good advice in there: keep networking and making those friends who will hire you or get you in ;-).

Have you run into any naysayers yet? Is it fueling your fire or bringing you down?