I thought this might be a good thread because I know there are a lot of teachers wanting to leave, and this might give others some ideas.

I will say I originally got my teaching certificate to move up in my former field of environmental education. However, it was quite valuable when I got laid off from a job and needed to have a job (I'm certified in Math and Science).

I was able to leave teaching, as I was recruited by my wife's firm. However, that did not work out, and I am back teaching (trying to leave permanently - taking some graduate classes so I can eventually teach on the community college level).

Following....

We have a family member in the D/FW area who left teaching this fall and is still searching for a job. She has a masters degree, experience running her own speech business, experience working with disadvantaged children, and as prep for leaving teaching, got a project management certification. It's ugly out there.

Any tips/advice are much appreciated.

I'll chip with my experience. Taught and coached for 4 years. While teaching/coaching, worked on my masters degree in a STEM field. Was not married at the time and did not have kids yet, so I had to do everything I wanted.

During the first three years of teaching/coaching, go nowhere with career fair and big settings. Ended up discovering the services at the career center and light bulbs went off. Had a few offers within the next year, and ended up at a very well-known consulting firm.

Looking back at my experience, two aspects stick out: leveraging my network and having experience with an immediately useful skill set. I was fortunate that many of my co-workers and their spouses were open to meeting me for coffee chats about other careers outside of education. Also, I could program in various computing languages and had actual work/project experience doing such from a capstone course in my masters.

Highway6 said:

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Following....

We have a family member in the D/FW area who left teaching this fall and is still searching for a job. She has a masters degree, experience running her own speech business, experience working with disadvantaged children, and as prep for leaving teaching, got a project management certification. It's ugly out there.

Any tips/advice are much appreciated.

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Why not pursue the speech business again/pick that up again?

I'll tell you, it's rough in teaching right now. It isn't what I thought I would want to do or what I thought it would be, but I also fell like I made the mistake of transitioning without doing enough real investigating into the job, what it's like now, etc. I am finding that it is one thing to want to leave a job you do not like very much, but another to actually do it and land in a field or practice/position where you indeed find the satisfaction. It's totally possible, but knee jerk reacting with a change for the sake of changing isn't the best way to do it. I got into teaching b/c they pretty much are always hiring and there is a huge need for teachers. But that doesn't mean it will be what you are looking for either. It hasn't been for me. That is why I am being more careful as I start working towards my transition out of teaching. One issue is the whole "use your skillset" thing to find your next job. The problem is, if you don't like what you are doing now or have done, using skills you've obtained alone is like driving with your hands on the rear view mirror. This process takes time and one needs to do a lot of soul searching and just getting out there by networking and working with others to find a good, smart transition. And do not be afraid to get some outside coaching or counseling. It can really help clarify things. I have a job, so I can afford to transition smartly. I get others NEED work now. But that doesn't mean you have to stay there forever at all.

I am currently working through all of this with the hopes of having something new before the end of the semester, if even by the summer but I want to be smart about this too. I am working with a career counselor through all of this. I am done relying on myself to figure this out. I doubt I end up in anything related to education, but we will see. In the end, I will be working by the fall somewhere. Teaching still if I have not landed some place yet, or at a new position. For once, I am actually excited to see what the future brings regarding my next career move.

zooguy96 said:

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I thought this might be a good thread because I know there are a lot of teachers wanting to leave, and this might give others some ideas.

I will say I originally got my teaching certificate to move up in my former field of environmental education. However, it was quite valuable when I got laid off from a job and needed to have a job (I'm certified in Math and Science).

I was able to leave teaching, as I was recruited by my wife's firm. However, that did not work out, and I am back teaching (trying to leave permanently - taking some graduate classes so I can eventually teach on the community college level).

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What are taking grad courses in? Do you really even like teaching? What are some other areas of interest you might have and do you have any particular career fields you are interested in exploring, even if you are "not qualified" currently? Have you considered working with a career counselor or service and the A&M Career Center? They have services available themselves or can refer you to ones that could help if you are stuck. Paul with the Career Center posts here often even.

Capitol Ag said:

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zooguy96 said:

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I thought this might be a good thread because I know there are a lot of teachers wanting to leave, and this might give others some ideas.

I will say I originally got my teaching certificate to move up in my former field of environmental education. However, it was quite valuable when I got laid off from a job and needed to have a job (I'm certified in Math and Science).

I was able to leave teaching, as I was recruited by my wife's firm. However, that did not work out, and I am back teaching (trying to leave permanently - taking some graduate classes so I can eventually teach on the community college level).

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What are taking grad courses in? Do you really even like teaching? What are some other areas of interest you might have and do you have any particular career fields you are interested in exploring, even if you are "not qualified" currently? Have you considered working with a career counselor or service and the A&M Career Center? They have services available themselves or can refer you to ones that could help if you are stuck. Paul with the Career Center posts here often even.

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I'm taking graduate courses in Biology to eventually teach on the community college level. I enjoy educating - but on the college level (I used to teach at Austin Community College in Adult Education). I was in a high school position (I wasn't looking for a job at the time), and was recruited for a position with my wife's firm. I couldn't handle the extreme micromanagement - that was the main issue.

In the short term, a high school position would be ok (not the best, but ok). In the long term, I'll continue applying more effectively for jobs (I tailor my resume for each position) and keep networking (which is how I got the last job - my wife's boss knew that at one time, I had been looking).

I'm currently only looking in the environmental, higher education, and training and development fields.

I started this thread mainly to get other people's experiences as to what they've done so that people who are looking to leave teaching could get some ideas.

I'm curious as to how teaching at the CC level is different. Obviously it is. Just want to hear your thoughts. On the surface it sounds like not dealing with the immaturity of HS students, the parents and administration level issues at the grade school level would be freeing. But it obviously has to have it's own set of circumstances no doubt.

Capitol Ag said:

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I'm curious as to how teaching at the CC level is different. Obviously it is. Just want to hear your thoughts. On the surface it sounds like not dealing with the immaturity of HS students, the parents and administration level issues at the grade school level would be freeing. But it obviously has to have it's own set of circumstances no doubt.

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At Austin CC, the students wanted to be there. The biggest thing is not having to deal with immaturity, parents, and testing in that order (for me). Also, having to teach to a variety of IEP's, SPED, etc. is also challenging. I have several students who an barely read.

There were of course issues - but they were much easier to handle.

HS is not the ideal job for me - but, I can handle it much more easily than middle school (less maturity issues - more laziness issues). But, the only position open when I was looking was a middle school position, so here I am.

zooguy96 said:

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Capitol Ag said:

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I'm curious as to how teaching at the CC level is different. Obviously it is. Just want to hear your thoughts. On the surface it sounds like not dealing with the immaturity of HS students, the parents and administration level issues at the grade school level would be freeing. But it obviously has to have it's own set of circumstances no doubt.

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At Austin CC, the students wanted to be there. The biggest thing is not having to deal with immaturity, parents, and testing in that order (for me). Also, having to teach to a variety of IEP's, SPED, etc. is also challenging. I have several students who an barely read.

There were of course issues - but they were much easier to handle.

HS is not the ideal job for me - but, I can handle it much more easily than middle school (less maturity issues - more laziness issues). But, the only position open when I was looking was a middle school position, so here I am.

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Agree about that order. The accommodations are hard. Granted, I am glad that certain things are now recognized vs. when I was in school and far less things qualified one for 504 or SPED. But it's becoming almost impossible to make sure accommodations are fully met given the amount of various things that now are accounted for. It isn't sustainable unless you have a specific person who only does that for the teachers. I had that at my first position. Not all schools have that luxury so it is on the teacher to make sure that their lessons are accommodated. I started as a full time sub for one campus in MS, then went to HS once certified. I know what you are saying about the MS student. There is good and bad, but the middle schooler is just at times no where near as mentally developed to always behave properly vs the high schooler who does usually know how to act but just chooses not to do the right thing. Still, dealing with the immaturity is a big issue in HS, for me.

I've often thought about doing this in the college setting.

Capitol Ag said:

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zooguy96 said:

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Capitol Ag said:

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I'm curious as to how teaching at the CC level is different. Obviously it is. Just want to hear your thoughts. On the surface it sounds like not dealing with the immaturity of HS students, the parents and administration level issues at the grade school level would be freeing. But it obviously has to have it's own set of circumstances no doubt.

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At Austin CC, the students wanted to be there. The biggest thing is not having to deal with immaturity, parents, and testing in that order (for me). Also, having to teach to a variety of IEP's, SPED, etc. is also challenging. I have several students who an barely read.

There were of course issues - but they were much easier to handle.

HS is not the ideal job for me - but, I can handle it much more easily than middle school (less maturity issues - more laziness issues). But, the only position open when I was looking was a middle school position, so here I am.

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Agree about that order. The accommodations are hard. Granted, I am glad that certain things are now recognized vs. when I was in school and far less things qualified one for 504 or SPED. But it's becoming almost impossible to make sure accommodations are fully met given the amount of various things that now are accounted for. It isn't sustainable unless you have a specific person who only does that for the teachers. I had that at my first position. Not all schools have that luxury so it is on the teacher to make sure that their lessons are accommodated. I started as a full time sub for one campus in MS, then went to HS once certified. I know what you are saying about the MS student. There is good and bad, but the middle schooler is just at times no where near as mentally developed to always behave properly vs the high schooler who does usually know how to act but just chooses not to do the right thing. Still, dealing with the immaturity is a big issue in HS, for me.

I've often thought about doing this in the college setting.

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Community College for me is the sweet spot. No maturity issues, but you also don't have to do research or have your PHD.

My wife and I both taught at ACC - and loved it. My MA is in education, so pointless for teaching on the college level - erego have to get the extra 18 hours to be able to teach science.

Former high school teacher here. I am now a college academic advisor. I use the skils I got from teaching to advise college students on how to complete their degree. In addition, I also teach a freshman seminar class where I teach freshman college students on how to be college students. Definitely feel much better about my current career.

AggieTFA06 said:

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Former high school teacher here. I am now a college academic advisor. I use the skils I got from teaching to advise college students on how to complete their degree. In addition, I also teach a freshman seminar class where I teach freshman college students on how to be college students. Definitely feel much better about my current career.

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What did you do to transition to academic advising? (I.e. network, just apply, etc.).

I see those jobs posted all the time.

zooguy96 said:

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AggieTFA06 said:

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Former high school teacher here. I am now a college academic advisor. I use the skils I got from teaching to advise college students on how to complete their degree. In addition, I also teach a freshman seminar class where I teach freshman college students on how to be college students. Definitely feel much better about my current career.

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What did you do to transition to academic advising? (I.e. network, just apply, etc.).

I see those jobs posted all the time.

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I started out by just applying. In my case, I originally applied for a temporary academic advisor position, but was retained after my temporary appointment ended. I then worked my way up. If you are a teacher with no academic advising experience, you could probably start out by applying for "academic advisor 1" positions which is an entry level position. That's where I moved into after my time as a temporary advisor. I know of multiple teachers (elementary, middle, and high) who are fellow academic advisors working with me.

I am not a former teacher but I just hired one.

Right of Way work, he didn't even know what this type of work was before I hired him.

Found him by telling a person I knew who knows everyone in the area in which I was needing an employee. She put word out to the cool kids network and he chimed in that he was interested. Next time I was in the area I had dinner with him and gave him an offer a week or two later. We had to wait for him to finish the semester since he was a coach, but now he is on board and all if going great

I made the decision to leave education last Spring. I was a teacher/coach for 13 years. All at the middle school level, the last 7 as a Middle School Athletic Coordinator.

My wife works in construction and a few of her co-workers sat down with me at different times to talk about their industry. I ended up interviewing with a competitor of her company through some connections and started in July as a Project Engineer. Best decision I've ever made.

After 13 years teaching and coaching my salary for an entry level position was already pretty comparable, especially when you throw in a monthly car/cell phone allowance and bonuses.

I had my end of year review recently and that went great. The skills I have from teaching and coaching are transferring well in this line of work. It's a lot of organization and being able to talk to people and have crucial conversations. At our company we probably have 10-15 PEs, I'm definitely the oldest by far, but I can tell that I have skill sets that set me a part. Kids right out of college don't want to pick up the phone and call people or talk to them in person.

The only thing I hate is that I didn't start sooner. Most people my age at our company are Senior Project Managers or higher. I did love my time in education, but it no longer became sustainable with a family from a time commitment vs salary comparison.

20ags08 said:

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I made the decision to leave education last Spring. I was a teacher/coach for 13 years. All at the middle school level, the last 7 as a Middle School Athletic Coordinator.

My wife works in construction and a few of her co-workers sat down with me at different times to talk about their industry. I ended up interviewing with a competitor of her company through some connections and started in July as a Project Engineer. Best decision I've ever made.

After 13 years teaching and coaching my salary for an entry level position was already pretty comparable, especially when you throw in a monthly car/cell phone allowance and bonuses.

I had my end of year review recently and that went great. The skills I have from teaching and coaching are transferring well in this line of work. It's a lot of organization and being able to talk to people and have crucial conversations. At our company we probably have 10-15 PEs, I'm definitely the oldest by far, but I can tell that I have skill sets that set me a part. Kids right out of college don't want to pick up the phone and call people or talk to them in person.

The only thing I hate is that I didn't start sooner. Most people my age at our company are Senior Project Managers or higher. I did love my time in education, but it no longer became sustainable with a family from a time commitment vs salary comparison.

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So, no issues so far? Sounds interesting.

No issues so far.

I think the best parts have been super simple things that a lot of people maybe take for granted that have never been a teacher. Like being able to take your toddler to the doctor without having to find class coverage or use a half day and make sub-plans. Or go to lunch with your project team and be gone from the job site for an hour.

And it's honestly helped my marriage. During football season I was working 80 hour weeks and my wife was responsible for so much and it made things difficult. She saw how hard I was working and how little I was making. Being able to help take our son to daycare and appointments has lifted a huge weight off of her, and made me feel Ike I can contribute more.

Learning Experience Designer on Salesforce. Great transition job. Highly recommend

danielita23 said:

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Learning Experience Designer on Salesforce. Great transition job. Highly recommend

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Any further experience or education needed for something like that?

Well, when I applied I also had some other experiences like teaching web development at Kode with Klossy. I would recommend taking a UX certificate course or something of the like.

20ags08 said:

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I made the decision to leave education last Spring. I was a teacher/coach for 13 years. All at the middle school level, the last 7 as a Middle School Athletic Coordinator.

My wife works in construction and a few of her co-workers sat down with me at different times to talk about their industry. I ended up interviewing with a competitor of her company through some connections and started in July as a Project Engineer. Best decision I've ever made.

After 13 years teaching and coaching my salary for an entry level position was already pretty comparable, especially when you throw in a monthly car/cell phone allowance and bonuses.

I had my end of year review recently and that went great. The skills I have from teaching and coaching are transferring well in this line of work. It's a lot of organization and being able to talk to people and have crucial conversations. At our company we probably have 10-15 PEs, I'm definitely the oldest by far, but I can tell that I have skill sets that set me a part. Kids right out of college don't want to pick up the phone and call people or talk to them in person.

The only thing I hate is that I didn't start sooner. Most people my age at our company are Senior Project Managers or higher. I did love my time in education, but it no longer became sustainable with a family from a time commitment vs salary comparison.

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I'm in my 12th year as a high school teacher and head coach. I'm also looking to get out. Is your company hiring?

danielita23 said:

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Well, when I applied I also had some other experiences like teaching web development at Kode with Klossy. I would recommend taking a UX certificate course or something of the like.

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Are most of the jobs remote or in-office?

Our company website has open positions in our Richardson and Temple office posted.

Company Website

If you end up applying, send me your resume and I'll see if I can get it into the hands of the right people. I had applied for a couple of positions here and it wasn't until I made a connection with someone that knew someone that I got an interview.

email- username at gmail dot com

Former coach here.

Lucky for me, I was still young enough when I got out that I could attend A&M's career fair at the business school and found an entry-level job there. I also was fortunate enough that the hiring manager for the role and his boss both were big football fans and then also understood what kind of work ethic it took to be a high school football coach in Texas. They believed they could take someone in that role and mold them.

What I will tell you now that I am in the hiring manager's shoes is that you're either going to need to find something that you can sell as directly transferrable (employee training, etc.) or you're going to have to start at the entry level somewhere and work your way up.

I know a ton of teachers/coaches that want to leave, so it's a tough market for you guys out there.

I hired a teacher as a technical writer at one of my coal plants. 10 years as English/Math teacher. She is responsible for writing SOPs, formatting, union letters, pretty much anything we need to sound technical or file with the state. It has been a godsend having her. I also hired another teacher as an admin recently. She makes about the same as she was teaching but has far less stress.

Lot of the guys in the plants as operators are old coaches that instantly double their salaries. Shift work kinda sucks, but i haven't talked to a single one that regrets their decision.