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Getting out of Teaching?

8,791 Views | 64 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by FarmerKeith
90s kid
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Anybody know of jobs that recruit teachers looking to get out of teaching?
oscar9
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AG
Wouldn't be any teachers if there were. The teachers I know of want out as well
90s kid
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Maybe I should change the question to ask of master's programs that would be a good fit for teachers trying to get out to another field? Grad programs that just require a degree in anything and some job experience rather than requiring specific undergrad requirements?
powerbelly
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AG
You should think about what you want to do first, and then decide if grad school is how you get there.

What do you want to do?
skippythemagnificent
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AG
One job I know of is stay at home mom. Doesn't pay anything, but you lose your weekends and summer too.
skippythemagnificent
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Serious answer, an MBA at the right school could open some doors if you apply yourself. Could be a big investment though. I had a couple teachers in my program.
PneumAg
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Of the teachers I know who transitioned careers, two quit and went to law school. One quit and got an MBA and ended up being a land tech for an oil company. One was recently able to get into an admin/assistant office manager role, but upward mobility is pretty limited in the near term just due to the fact that she only has an education degree and is clueless about how a business in the private sector operates. The first three all incurred quite a bit of debt. It's definitely tough just based on what I've seen.

The only other person I know of who did it was a girl i dated for a while at A&M. She graduated with an education degree, taught in Fort Worth for one year, and said eff this. She re-enrolled at A&M, got a geology degree, and basically just hit the reset button on her career.
CoachRTM
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Corporate training seems like a natural fit.

When I transitioned out of teaching/coaching, the job offers I got were entry level type jobs. I would find the job/industry you want to be in, and then find posted jobs further down the ladder to get your foot in the door and prove your capabilities.
TRM
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What's your degree and what do you teach?
m48xhp
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where are you located? We've had former teachers transition to our company in the past very well

take a look at the openings we have: https://spectrumam.recruitee.com/
:insert random comment here:
90s kid
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Get ready to laugh..... History.... But with a focus in environmental history and environmental policy. Never finished the environmental degree because an extra year in school meant extra student loans.
SwissAgg
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90s kid said:

Maybe I should change the question to ask of master's programs that would be a good fit for teachers trying to get out to another field? Grad programs that just require a degree in anything and some job experience rather than requiring specific undergrad requirements?
If you like math and computers, a data science master might be good for you.

TRM
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Is environmental policy interesting to you? Lab experience? If so, you could look for a government job if you just want to get away from teaching maybe something in the TCEQ.
Like others mentioned corporate training or maybe HR.
zooguy96
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TRM
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It's all about meeting people and selling yourself. I went from O&G(3 yrs)->teaching(3.5 yrs)->insurance/actuary. After getting laid off in O&G with the 2015 downturn, I knew I wanted to switch to an actuarial career - less risky and still good money. I took some of the career exams to show I was serious about the career and went to regional conferences to meet and network with people in the industry to learn. Eventually, someone remembered me and reached out about a position I was perfect for.
Richierich2323
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I am in the education world as well and have seen many of my friends go on to other and better things. This is some of the things they have done.

- sell real estate
- sell medical supplies
- manages a retail store
- flight attendant
- went back to school to become a nurse
- became a counselor and now has their own clinic
- Works for Edward Jones
- Sells Insurance
- Lawn-service
- Moving Service


They are all much happier than they were teaching and most of them make more money than what they did teaching.
Woods Ag
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You have a degree. That's all you need to do 75% of jobs.

You haven't answered the most important question. What do you want to do?

There isn't a job, no matter your degree where you don't start at the bottom and through hard work get to the job you want. So, decide what you want to do. Think about what the hiring manager would
be looking for in a person for that position . Tailor your resume to fit that. Look for those kinds of jobs, do your research and beat down the doors of the hiring managers until you get an opportunity to interview.

Most people stay in jobs they hate because they're too scared to do what it takes to be happy. Don't be that person. Jump.
tomtomdrumdrum
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PneumAg said:

The only other person I know of who did it was a girl i dated for a while at A&M. She graduated with an education degree, taught in Fort Worth for one year, and said eff this. She re-enrolled at A&M, got a geology degree, and basically just hit the reset button on her career.
I did the same thing. Went back to A&M and got a second undergraduate degree (computer science), which only took ~2 years because all I had to do was major coursework. Because of prerequisites, I was limited to taking only a few classes at a time for the first couple of semesters. That enabled me to work nearly full time at a school in town to help pay for my education.

3.5 years after graduating with a CS degree, and I'm making 3x what I would have been making as a teacher. So the cost of giving up a few years of a full time teaching salary has already been paid off. Money aside, I'm much happier with my work now - teaching just wasn't for me.
nonameag99
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Be an operator at a plant on the Gulf Coast
OregonAggie
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Plenty of former teachers working sales roles these days. I'm in pharmaceuticals and there are lots of former teachers in my industry.
scd88
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My wife just left teaching 8th grade math in CS and will be an advisor for the Dept of Mechanical Engineering at A&M.
one MEEN Ag
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scd88 said:

My wife just left teaching 8th grade math in CS and will be an advisor for the Dept of Mechanical Engineering at A&M.


Your wife needs to become good friends with Kim Moses. She started as MEEN counselor and is now over all of engineering counseling. Very nice, very smart and well respected. Best of luck to your wife.
scd88
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Thank you! I will pass that along.
RG20
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Quote:

What do you want to do?
This is the hardest part, and you wouldn't believe how many people out there including myself can't answer this question. Sometimes, what you want to do won't pay the bills...
90s kid
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Something outside. I have looked into environmental jobs, but they want engineers... Considered outdoor ed, but those jobs are far and few in between and don't pay the bills.
RG20
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Why do you want to get out of teaching?
zooguy96
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90s kid
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Kid doesn't do their work. Continually plays on phone entire class period. Then kid skips all the time. Parent has access to parent portal so they know that their kid hasn't gone to school or turned in any work. Parent complains that I only called them once three weeks ago (first week of six weeks) and their kid is now knee deep in zeros in the 4th week and doesn't have a chance to recover. Multiply that by 50 kids.

Kids are no longer responsible for being students. Parents are no longer responsible for answering for the fact that I in fact did call them 3 weeks ago to tell them their kid has been skipping and doesn't turn their work in. (let alone the fact that they have been contacted by administrators and truancy officers as well)

Its always the teachers' fault. I mean, it's totally my fault that the kid's attendance is non existent. Again, multiply this by 50 kids. Its not physically possible to call 50 parents each week, plan QUALITY lessons, and grade papers at the same time. Gotta eat food, use the restroom and sleep at some point.

Then throw on administrators that are complacent and just want parents to be happy so they can sit on their high salary and ride it out to retirement.

I know there are good administrators out there, but the bad ones will do anything to protect their own positions and allow them to continue in their complacency, including keeping you from leaving the district. (That would mean they have to spend their summer, and I mean entire summer, searching to fill teaching positions because NO ONE wants to work in this district.)

All for $49k a year.
texan12
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Why is there no in between with home schooling and public schools, without the high cost of going private? Just poach the kids with good parents that don't like the environment of public schools; have a class size of ~15 and set up shop. Are government regulations that strict, because I'm pretty sure plenty of middle class families would put up 5k a year for this.
one MEEN Ag
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AG
At the end of the day, teachers have a pretty good gig and I think every teacher that is 'trying to leave teaching, but can't' is in the process of figuring that out. Yes admin sucks and so do the kids, but the pay is good and the time off is great. I do recognize that those two benefits are eroding while the kids and admins continue to suck more each year. But when faced with the reality that the non government job market wants A) to push teachers into sales, B) will result in more hours, less vacation, and immediately less pay there is a lot of second guessing about leaving.

I know school teachers medical plans always suck, but the job market as a whole is struggling to negotiate good medical benefits. You can't escape bad medical plans by jumping into most industry jobs.

Go look at 'high paying jobs' lists. Everyone is always being paid for doing something that others aren't willing to do/can't easily obtain the skills.

-High paying blue collar jobs usually require extremely long hours, being put in harms way, some technical knowledge. You pay for these jobs with your back. (highest paying is refinery operator, but you can make a killing being in a trade)
-High paying professional jobs require years of schooling (doctor, lawyer, engineer, therapist)
-High paying non technical, non professional school jobs usually represent getting paid by client based commissions. (residential/commercial real estate, sales)


Also most large corporations operate by sucking up new hires out of school and then picking off experienced hires as need be. This is why going back to school is such a powerful job transitioning play. You gain more skills and enter into a large marketplace of companies who want to hire 'new'

I think anyone's golden ticket into getting out of an industry they don't like is going to be learning to code/going back to school/opening a side business that grows into a full time job/joining a trade. The problem is that its not just teaching holding an individual from taking the next step, but their current role in the family and a families desire to move.

Just my 2 cents from friends who are teachers







powerbelly
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90s kid said:

Something outside. I have looked into environmental jobs, but they want engineers... Considered outdoor ed, but those jobs are far and few in between and don't pay the bills.
Consider starting a lawn business on the side and see if you can grow enough to pay the bills. I know a few guys that have left other careers and now run several crews that do pool/lawn/sprinkler systems/Christmas lights and seem to make good money.
FarmerKeith
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We've got a world of opportunity for the right kind of person who wants to build something special as part of an independent insurance agency. Two of my last three hires have come from the world of education (one teacher and one principal) and they're both crushing it.

Email me at careers at rolloinsurance dot com if you'd like to talk.
Ag 11
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What district do you work in?
90s kid
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I'd rather not say.
cadetjay02
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You're in the wrong district. I've been in Frisco ISD for 12 years and I have no idea what you're talking about because I have zero of those issues. Our administration annoys me by working hard and over-innovating because they want to move up, but then when they're promoted, a new one comes in and re-invents the wheel so they can move up. Yet they generally all support the teachers and hold kids accountable for their behavior.
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