cadetjay02 said:

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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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My sister says the same things as the OP. She says she fails them for not doing homework and the parents complain. She is in supposedly one of the best districts in DFW.

Same as mentioned above: I see a lot of teachers go into real estate, education based businesses (like Pearson), and research.

If I ever left the classroom or district, then I'd still work for the TEA or a Region center until retirement.

My wife is a teacher who had many of the same issues you're experiencing. She jumped to a private Christian school and now makes more money and has none of those problems. When the parents are paying extra for it, they tend to take their kids' educations seriously. The biggest issue is with the parents that get too involved. There are some politics with keeping big donor parents happy, but my wife can usually pass parental overreach up to admin and let them handle it.

If this isn't an option for you, or you just want out of teaching, you should look into non-destructive testing. NDT is a group of techniques used for evaluating the properties of an object without damaging it. Entry level (NDT level I) jobs are going to pay about what you're making now, but you should move up to level II pretty quickly and then you should be able to get $75k+. Level III can take a while to get but will easily pull six figures. You would most likely work in a welding or machine shop, but it's actually a pretty easy job once you know what you're doing. I'm a quality engineer so I work with NDT technicians frequently and I've never met one who hated their job, in fact most really enjoy it.

I am definitely in the "wrong" district. However, the "right" districts tend to hire from within and also don't have openings that often. I'm not really feeling having to endure 2-3 years of bad admin/parents/culture in order to luck out for a position with a quality district. I feel after 6 years I have passed the stage where I feel I need to bide my time and work my way into a quality position. Call it burnout, or whatever. It's just not worth it to me.

And to the guy who says teachers have it good... that is bogus. Some teachers have it good. Some do not. Yes, we have holidays and summers off, however we need those... I heard a coach the other day talking about a student whose dad called to complain that his kid was not informed that there would be practice on a Friday that was their bye. The coach literally responded with a screenshot of the Remind message he sent out the previous Monday to the entire team. This was after the Campus coordinator and Athletic Director had already called the coach to gripe him out for "not communicating well with parents and athletes." They immediately took the parents' side without even taking his side into account. This is the new norm, and a million of these trivial issues adds up to run good educators out of the profession. We NEED the summer after 10 months of this stuff every day. We are also burdened with contracts and the threat to bar us from getting hired in our profession ever again if we want to quit. Administrators threaten to hold our credentials if we choose to leave a district mid year. God forbid a hostile work environment or one that is not conducive to our mental health {drives one to drinking) is one that we are allowed to just quit and leave. Any other profession you can give a two weeks notice, or even thirty days and walk out. Not teaching.

In no other profession are you required to check your dignity at the door for the duration that teachers do. We check it day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. All to not have the support of our admin who is likely just concerned about keeping their superiors and parents happy so that they can get that next promotion. Yes, the business world is dog eat dog, but in education the teachers are expected to be sheep, not dogs.

Rant. Over.

zooguy96 said:

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Totally agree. Even though I'm not on the crap list at my school, I could be at any time. And to stay off of the crap list, I have to do stuff that I don't want to like enrichment classes , teach math (I should take this off of my certification, but then I'd be on the crap list), etc.

Non-teachers say we have it "so good". If they worked the job, they'd understand.

All to make poverty-level pay (I'm in TN - they pay way less) compared to the education you have and when they can let you go at any time for any reason and you have no recourse (year to year contracts - tenure doesn't mean much anymore here, and is based on test scores - and if you work at a lower socioeconomic-economic school, you're screwed).

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This right here... If you work in a lower socioeconomic school it makes it really hard to get out. Better schools often don't consider your experience because they fell that being at a lesser school doesn't count as experience. Last I checked teaching kids was teaching kids, no matter what size school, income level, or location. But they don't see it that way, then there is the crap list. Ass soon as admin finds out you want out, you are on the crap list.

What about going HVAC? There was a recent post where the company will pay for training and even help you along the way with starting your own business.

Just a heads up...I would hesitate to join a high education environment and expect it to be much different. The struggle with higher ed is you often make lots less than that $49K and when students skip and screw up they're legit ruining their future. It's a lot of pressure and heartache... you have to REALLY want to care and love what you do. Just my 2 cents.

Quote:

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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.

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If you're serious about doing something dramatically different with wonderfully different results, take me up on my offer, above.

It's been almost a month since last you posted. Have you found a new job? Anything on the horizon? Have you been interviewing? Are you getting any interviews?

Your posts upon this thread echo what many times I've heard from teachers. Surely you know you're not alone in your circumstances, and I'm wondering what is your plan. Are you going to stick it out until retirement? Do you desire to transition your current and historical experience into a career that satisfies both your employment gratification and pocketbook?

In this thread there are some great posts with employment recommendations, and some are based upon personal experience. Have you considered what do you REALLY want to do, and if your knowledge, skills, abilities, and experiences align with that/those objectives? That exercise will take careful self-consideration and personal introspection. A career transition for a teacher is attainable, but when applying for a job you have to be prepared to present yourself in a manner that reconciles with those opportunity job descriptions including candidate requirements and qualifications, and the job tasks and functions. You should be presenting yourself in a manner that inspires an employer to connect with you. That's all you want: The Connection.

Best wishes on your pursuit.

As a last resort, how about teaching on a military base? I'd imagine the kids would be held to a higher standard along with the parents...

I know insurance is always tossed around jokingly in these discussions but I'd seriously consider the industry. You don't have to sell it to make good money either.

I'm coming up on 10 years in the industry with the years evenly split between claims adjusting and large account underwriting. I have a lib arts undergrad degree.

After 10 years, my salary is around $120k, 10-20% annual bonus, really good benefits. Two days WFH, 5 weeks PTO, rarely work more than 40 hours a week.

I came out of school making $49k a year as a claims adjuster trainee. Adjusting can give you the outdoor exposure you're looking for but is a grind. Underwriting is equal parts sales/marketing and numbers/analytics. Job security is solid as we provide a product companies are either legally obligated to buy or can't afford to be without.

*End sales pitch*

We're running into an issue on the underwriting side where a lot of senior folks are hitting retirement age and insurance isn't sexy enough for most gen z grads. This means there is a lot of opportunity right now.

With no industry experience I'd start looking for training programs in your area at major commercial carriers(Travelers, Chubb, Zurich, Liberty Mutual, Hartford, Berkeley, Arch, etc.). I can probably tell you what they want to hear if you find something you like.

OTJ training. You have to have an adjuster license to handle claims so you'd be hired in as a "claims rep trainee" at $XX,XXX salary. Recent grads are generally the folks in these positions so they don't expect you to know much about insurance.

I'd expect to have to travel a bit for the first year to wherever the company's home office is going through training on various topics. Coverage training will take up most of it.

Feel free to reach out if you want more info. I'll happily tell you the pros and cons of whatever you think you want to do.

insuranceag10@gmail.com

Unfortunately I'm in the same boat, OP. I am ready to make a career change. It isn't impulsive, something that has weighed on me for a few years now. I am good at what I do and feel like a lot of the traits and skills that have allowed that would translate into success in other fields...I just don't know which field. I don't really know where to start, but I've got to start somewhere. Don't mind starting toward the bottom and working up long as I don't take too drastic of a pay-cut and as long as it is a career that I can grow in. I hate the uncertainty I feel right now knowing that in 3 months my 12 year education career will come to an end and I don't have a defined exit strategy, but I have 2 little girls to take care of and one way or another I will do what it takes to give them all of the opportunities I can. My wife is staying in education so we will have her stable salary and benefits while I make this move, but I really want to make a transition as seamlessly as possible and not put us into a bad position. I'm in the Ft. Worth area.

And yes, I might need a new handle soon.

We recently relocated to Austin and in doing so my wife left her teaching position in Houston. So was looking for a way out so this was a great opportunity to do so while I took on a higher paying job. She's still thinking of what she wants to do, so far admin specialist jobs seem to be in abundance here in Austin so she's tailoring her resume and LinkedIn towards that.

2012Ag said:

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We recently relocated to Austin and in doing so my wife left her teaching position in Houston. So was looking for a way out so this was a great opportunity to do so while I took on a higher paying job. She's still thinking of what she wants to do, so far admin specialist jobs seem to be in abundance here in Austin so she's tailoring her resume and LinkedIn towards that.

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If she has her Masters, she can teach at ACC. My wife taught developmental reading and study skills, and made $4k/class. She also taught Adult Education (GED). I can put you in touch with the people she worked with if you'd like.

I went to a career counselor in Houston. I knew that I was going to need to go back to school for my next step, but the pool of jobs was pretty daunting. The career counselor really helped narrow down my areas I should focus on, in terms of jobs and fields. She was pricey, but helped me to find the best fit for me.

From that point, it was put back in my hands of finding which of the top 10 jobs for my personality and likes would be the best fit for my family and where we were currently in her career. I chose an online accounting program, finished in a year and am on my way to a new career.

As an educator, whatever job you end up in or career you choose, know that the soft skills you have honed while teaching will help you out in whatever job and field you decide to try out next. As many have said on this thread, the main thing is to figure and determine where you want to be and then get a plan to make it happen.

I taught for 6 years. You can make the change if you want to.

Dang. Haven't been on this board in awhile, but this thread really hits the spot in regards to where I'm at. I'm currently an assistant varsity baseball coach in the Metroplex (live in FW), but in lieu of teaching, I am the head athletic groundskeeper. It's not a bad gig - I get paid slightly less than a teacher, but not by much. However, I don't want to teach (for many reasons listed above), but I also don't want to work on fields my whole career either. It's my fourth season coaching here, and long story short I'm the second longest tenured male coach at the school. So much turnover for various reasons, many political. I'm just burned out on it.

I am in the middle of the application process for a fire department. I will know a lot more about that in May, but it's stressful to think about what I would do if it doesn't work out - it's obviously a very competitive process. My wife makes good income in accounting, so we aren't in dire straits or anything, but we are looking to buy a house in the summer, then hopefully start on babies. So obviously my income would be important. Like OP, I am an outdoorsy person (username checks out), and also have interest in the financial sector. No real experience other than my own research, but post-college it's an area I have become very interested in. The previous post with Edward Jones piqued my interest.

Go be a counselor. Wife noticed some counselors in her district coming of retirement age soon. She took online/night school classes for a couple years to get her Masters in counseling - got a job in the same district she taught in for several years with a pay bump of about 15k per year to start.

zooguy96 said:

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2012Ag said:

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We recently relocated to Austin and in doing so my wife left her teaching position in Houston. So was looking for a way out so this was a great opportunity to do so while I took on a higher paying job. She's still thinking of what she wants to do, so far admin specialist jobs seem to be in abundance here in Austin so she's tailoring her resume and LinkedIn towards that.

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If she has her Masters, she can teach at ACC. My wife taught developmental reading and study skills, and made $4k/class. She also taught Adult Education (GED). I can put you in touch with the people she worked with if you'd like.

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She only has her bachelors but we'll keep this in mind, thank you for your offer!

2012Ag said:

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zooguy96 said:

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2012Ag said:

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We recently relocated to Austin and in doing so my wife left her teaching position in Houston. So was looking for a way out so this was a great opportunity to do so while I took on a higher paying job. She's still thinking of what she wants to do, so far admin specialist jobs seem to be in abundance here in Austin so she's tailoring her resume and LinkedIn towards that.

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If she has her Masters, she can teach at ACC. My wife taught developmental reading and study skills, and made $4k/class. She also taught Adult Education (GED). I can put you in touch with the people she worked with if you'd like.

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She only has her bachelors but we'll keep this in mind, thank you for your offer!

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She would still be able to teach GED classes

Teaching is different now

You definitely need to find something else. I taught for almost 2 decades in Frisco ISD and when I wasn't 100% passionate about it, I chose another profession. It's not fair to the the kids if your heart isn't into it any more. I am now in Sales.

Not to derail, but which school(s) did you teach at and when?

• If you have an entrepreneurial spirit with an amazing work ethic
• If you are capable of learning a LOT for the purpose of being able to educate others
• If you are willing to dig-in and become a hyper-active member of your community
• If you are a good networker and/or have a good network
• If you want to impact peoples lives and make a GREAT living
• If you want unparalleled flexibility

Email me: careers@rolloinsurance.com

Whether you're a captive looking to go independent, or a professional looking for a new industry, we're building something special at Rollo. We've hired multiple educators recently and they're crushing it.

It never hurts to talk, right?!