As teachers, we often feel that our career journey will continue from classroom to classroom until we retire. However, sometimes the classroom can be a stressful and even dangerous environment for educators to work in. Some teachers burn out, get fed up with administrative BS, or just want to try something else, raising the question: “What other careers could I have?”
When the classroom is killing you
25 alternative careers for teachers
Teaching is a noble profession, but it can be tough. You’re not just dealing with the stress of preparing lessons and grading papers—you’ve got to deal with all those kids, too! If you’re looking for an alternative career that doesn’t involve working in the classroom, here are 25 ideas:
- Try a career as a clown. You’ll get to make people laugh and make them smile. Plus, when the kids are done laughing at your jokes, they’ll be ready to go back to class!
- Become a teacher’s aide or tutor in a private school. You’ll have more freedom than you had while working at a public school and will be able to focus on one-on-one relationships with students instead of trying to manage a class full of 30 kids at once!
- Become an athletic coach after school hours so you can help out with sports teams or clubs during the day then work with other athletes outside of school hours. This way you can still work with kids but also stay active yourself!
- Get into landscaping and gardening—there’s always demand in this industry! The hours are flexible enough that you could even do some side jobs on
When the classroom is killing you 25 alternative careers for teachers
Introduction
If you have an education degree, you may be thinking that the only way to use it is in a classroom. While teaching jobs are the most common careers for people with degrees in education, there are many other options that you may not have considered. These positions can still utilize your education background while offering new opportunities and challenges. If you’re ready to take a different route than teaching, then read on as we explore 25 alternative careers for teachers!
Instructor
Instructors are teachers who teach students in a classroom setting. Sometimes, instructors may also teach online courses. Instructors can work at a college or university, or they may teach at a community college.
Reading Specialist
Reading specialists help students with reading difficulties. They work with students and teachers to develop strategies for learning and improvement, as well as identifying other causes for the student’s struggles. Reading specialists will often assess students’ skills in order to determine what types of interventions are needed, whether that be one-on-one instruction, small group work or additional resources such as books or software programs.
Guidance Counselor
Helping students navigate their way through the various academic, career and personal issues that inevitably arise in high school is a rewarding job for someone who loves to help people. Guidance counselors can help with college applications, financial aid and personal problems such as bullying or depression. They may also be responsible for organizing extracurricular activities such as dances, sports teams or clubs.
There are many different ways that guidance counselors can approach their jobs: some focus on one specific aspect of student life (such as academics), while others have a wider scope of responsibilities that include helping students with college applications as well as working with families regarding any potential barriers preventing students from achieving their full potential academically
Library Media Specialist
If you’ve ever been a teacher, you know how stressful it can be. There are so many things to worry about: your students’ performance on state tests, their social skills and behavior in general (especially if you’re an elementary school teacher), and most importantly, how to make your classroom better than everyone else’s.
But what if there was another option? What if instead of teaching your own classes, you could work with students at another school or provide services for faculty members? Or maybe even take care of all the books and videos in one location—the library!
As a library media specialist (LMS), you have lots of opportunities to help kids learn in new ways while also teaching them how valuable libraries are in today’s society. Your job duties may include developing learning programs that focus on technology use; planning activities related to technology integration; providing instruction in the use of library media materials, technologies, and other resources; assisting teachers with integrating technology into their classrooms; consulting with administrators regarding policies regarding information literacy skills development; managing budgets related to collection development plan implementation efforts; designing assessment plans that measure student achievement; evaluating automated systems used by staff members
School Administrator
School administrators are professionals who manage schools. They are responsible for the overall operation of a school, including hiring, firing and evaluating teachers; creating and implementing school policy; organizing budgets; scheduling classes and events; managing facilities such as libraries and cafeterias; providing training for employees; managing student discipline when needed (this can be particularly challenging!).
School administrators often work with other professionals like counselors or psychologists to help students learn how to adjust to their new environment. They also monitor student performance in order to make sure that students are on track academically.
Teacher’s Aid
A teacher’s aide is a person who helps teachers with administrative tasks and student assistance. These aides can be placed in schools, preschools, daycare centers and other institutions that work with children.
What does a teacher’s aide do?
Teacher’s aides are responsible for assisting teachers by performing a variety of different tasks including:
- Answering phones or taking messages;
- Taking attendance;
- Cleaning classrooms;
- Making copies/faxing documents;
- Helping students with basic needs such as food or drink if they require them during class time.
Substitute Teacher
If the experience of being a full-time teacher for an entire year isn’t for you, then subbing might be a great option. Substitute teachers are often called upon to fill in for teachers who are out sick or on vacation. They can also cover classes for teachers who are on training or taking care of personal matters.
Most schools offer substitute positions as part of their staff, but if yours does not: check out local job boards and classifieds in your area to see if there is any demand for substitutes at nearby schools. If so, begin applying right away! You may be surprised by how quickly you get hired once teachers realize they need someone to fill in at the last minute.
ESL Teacher
ESL teachers are in high demand and can work in a variety of settings. They can teach children or adults, have their own classroom or travel the world, and even earn a living while on vacation.
ESL is an acronym for English as a Second Language, which means that you will be teaching people who don’t speak English as their native language. As such, ESL teachers often come from other countries themselves so they can relate to what it’s like to learn another language.
ESL teachers can also be found working with students who only speak English but need help with pronunciation or grammar. These students may be learning English in school or at home and require some extra practice before they’re ready to communicate with others outside of class time.
Curriculum Developer
Curriculum developers are responsible for creating the curriculum that schools, businesses and organizations use to teach their students. This includes everything from lesson plans to entire programs.
In your role as a curriculum developer, you’ll work with other teachers and instructional designers to create new curricula or revise existing ones. You’ll also be responsible for creating training materials and instructional materials like workbooks or online tutorials that can be used in conjunction with these curricula.
A great way to get started in this field is by working as an assistant teacher at a school or university where you can gain experience using existing curricula before trying your hand at making them yourself.
Homebound Instructor
As a homebound instructor, you would teach students with special needs, who cannot attend school for various reasons. These may include children with cancer or other chronic illnesses, kids who have recently had surgery, or children in a care facility because they are recovering from an injury.
There is not much work available as a homebound instructor unless you are licensed to do so in your state. Additionally, there are some serious concerns about this kind of teaching career that need to be addressed before pursuing it:
- There is little opportunity for advancement in this field and no guarantee that you will get paid at all (though most states require employers to pay their employees).
- Some experts think that the increased number of families opting out of public schools and into private education has led directly to an increase in demand for home schooling teachers like yourself—but it’s important not to mistake correlation with causation!
Teaching Aide/Paraprofessional
Teaching aides are non-certified teachers who work under the supervision of a certified teacher. They assist with classroom management and help students with special needs. They’re also often hired to cover for teachers when they’re out on medical leave, which is how I landed my first job as a teaching aide.
I was working at the time in construction management for a local company that builds homes and commercial buildings, but I wanted more money than what I was making there. A friend of mine told me about this great opportunity where he had taught before: For $15 per hour (plus travel expenses), I would get paid to teach one class period, every other day (four days per week). That sounded too good to pass up!
Instructional Coach
As an instructional coach, you will work with teachers to improve their teaching skills. You will also help students become better learners. Instructional coaches are responsible for identifying and addressing instructional needs in the classroom.
You can become an instructional coach by earning a master’s degree in education or school counseling, or by earning a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in education and completing additional training provided through a program like Teach For America (TFA).
The salary range for this job is about $45,000-$65,000 per year. The pros of being an instructional coach include helping people learn new skills and knowledge; being able to work from home; and having flexible hours so you’re able to spend time with family members when needed or take time off during holidays if it works better with your schedule than your boss’ schedule does. The con is that you may have to deal with some difficult situations when working with children or adults who have behavioral problems at times because they might not always respond well to new ideas about how they can improve their learning process.”
Consultant or Program Developer for Education Non-Profits and Organizations (e.g., Teach for America)
Perhaps the most important thing to know about consulting is that it is far more than just a quick fix for cash-strapped teachers. Consultants can make positive changes in education through their work. They might provide advice to local school districts on how to improve teacher retention and student achievement, or help national organizations with setting up effective programs. These are the types of jobs that will take your skills as a teacher and use them in ways that can make an impact on the lives of students across the country—and sometimes even around the world!
Educational Consultant/Coach for Private Companies and Organizations (e.g., Kaplan)
If you’re looking to leave teaching but still have a passion for educating, an educational consultant/coach is a great alternative. You can work with private companies and organizations, non-profits, school districts, or even the government.
- Private companies/organizations: These are often higher education institutions that offer educational opportunities to people who want to advance their careers in some way. For example, Kaplan has many programs aimed at helping students prepare for college admissions tests like the SAT and ACT. Other companies might help students focus on applying to specific colleges or grad schools by providing information on each institution’s application requirements (e.g., GPA requirements). In addition to these types of services—which they provide generally through tutoring sessions with one-on-one tutors or in group sessions—they also offer online courses where students learn about different subject areas that are relevant to their lives (e.g., how English majors can improve their writing skills). The training and assistance provided by these kinds of firms can help people succeed at whatever they need support with professionally while also making them more employable overall across various industries and sectors outside academia itself!
- Non-profits: Nonprofit organizations may not be able to afford hiring whole staffs full time but could still benefit from having someone knowledgeable about certain subjects come work with them regularly as an independent contractor instead because this allows them access without sucking up resources needed elsewhere; if anything goes wrong then too bad so sad! This means there’s less risk involved than if someone were hired full time since there’s no guarantee either side would ever see eye-to-eye again after being together long enough (and remember: sometimes friends become enemies overnight…or vice versa).”
Editor of Educational Materials and Websites (e.g., Scholastic, Pearson)
When you think of an editor, what comes to mind? If you’re anything like me, you probably imagine a person working in a cubicle at the back of an office building with a stack of papers that needs editing. However, editorial work can take many forms—and keep in mind that this is not just limited to newspapers or other media outlets.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), editors edit written documents such as books and reports on everything from business practices to science fiction novels (or maybe even textbooks). Editors also work for people who are trying to publish their own writing or photography; they act as an extra set of eyes on these works before they go live online or in print form so that any errors can be corrected before they’re published for everyone else’s enjoyment! This can help them feel happier about themselves since no one will know about these errors unless someone decides
If teaching is no longer right for you, consider one of these other careers that utilize your education degree in a variety of ways.
It’s important to keep in mind that teaching is not for everyone. If you have been considering other careers, it may be the right time to explore them further. Here are some alternative options:
- Social Worker
- Therapist
- Speech-Language Pathologist
- Librarian
Conclusion
As it turns out, there are many careers available to education majors that don’t require teaching. Although we think it’s a great choice for people who have a passion for helping others learn and grow, we also recognize that the classroom can be a tough environment. We hope this list has given you some insight into other ways you might use your