Washington Post ran a story about a car salesman who changed with the times. Instead of lamenting the loss of use of handshakes and in-person sales talk, he focused on using Zoom and text messages. During test drives, he was with them virtually using FaceTime. As a result, he sold 58 cars in May 2020 compared to zero in April. This car salesman changed with the times and succeeded. Will you?
Go with the Changes or Opt Out?
I know teaching in a school district is different. We have to follow whatever the administrators decide. That's why I left the classroom. I want a job where I can change my approaches without being micromanaged. If you can do it in your school, I applaud your district. If not, then it might be worth your while to find some options outside the classroom. In this post, I will discuss employment options for teachers who want to leave the classroom. If you will refer to my Teacher Career Change Options Framework teaching will fall under services. In this post, I will give you some ideas on how to find work in the same or different industry that will hire former classroom teachers. That means using the same skills you developed as a teacher but outside the classroom.
Where to Search - Start Where You Are
I believe in looking for jobs where I already know something about the organization. So I started looking at school districts near my own. I work in the DC Metro Area where parts of Maryland, Northern Virginia and Washington DC are connected by freeway and public transportation. One of the highest paying school district in the area is DC Public Schools. Instead of looking for a teaching job, look for other jobs within the same district.. On DCPS site, it is the 4th option, "Central Office Support." Take a look at the jobs and you will be pleasantly surprised that you might qualify for one. If you don't find a job you like, you can search your own state's career site. DC has its own DC Government Career Opportunity site. Use the keywords 'trainer' or 'education specialist' and a few jobs might show up. You can do the same in your state, just make sure you click on a [dot].gov site.
How to Expand Your Search to Different Industries
So how can you find a job in another industry as a former (or current) teacher? Well, part of teaching do you enjoy? Planning? Simplifying complex ideas? Managing your classroom? Zero in on a task. For example, I like creating lessons and presenting it to the class. That means I can be a trainer in another industry. Same skill, different industry. If you do not know what skill you have can be transferred to another industry, go to the US Department of Labor's Career One Stop site. It is free and answers the question: **"Want to know what careers you can do with the skills you already have?" **Way below are the links to match your skills with jobs:
- Skills Matcher lists 40 workplace skills and lets you rate yourself as beginner, basic, skilled, advanced to expert. It is quite helpful because it gives simple skill examples for most of the rating.
- My Skills, My Future is quite useful to find another career that has similar skills. I entered "Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education" (they use the Dept. of Labor data so it is specific). It listed other teaching positions for other grade levels but added Adult Literacy Instructors, Instructional Coordinators, Tutors and a surprisingly new (at least for me) position: Self-Enrichment Education Teachers.
- O*Net Data - Department of Labor's list of skills and interests that they match with occupation.
Next Step
Hopefully, this will give you an idea on what you can do if you decide to leave teaching. Take some time to look at the links I gave you and see the skills they are looking for. Then, list your own skills and rebrand them for that job. If you want to be updated please follow my page at Ko-Fi or in Facebook.