Teacher looking to change careers

What subject(s) do you teach? I'm guessing it's not science or math, so some extensive training would be needed to get into analytical/computer areas.

A teacher with 45k in savings?

I was a teacher and hated it. I left it and got a job with my state department of insurance. It's not the world's best career but I get lots of time off still, I can go running every day, it's stable, good insurance and benefits. My job is pretty self directed so we work hard when we have to but we're free to slack off when it's not busy.

The only two things I miss about teaching is summer's off and coaching. (If I REALLY missed coaching as much as I tell myself I do I could volunteer, but I never follow through.)

Economics/business at a private school

Daniel A. Gore, Esq. wrote:

What subject(s) do you teach? I'm guessing it's not science or math, so some extensive training would be needed to get into analytical/computer areas.

Sounds interesting - how did you get into that?

One of my main criteria is working a job where I'm constantly

Improving a skillset

Hi

I'm 50. I was a teacher and ended up going back to it. I am now part time - not sure I could handle full time again as a classroom teacher. If I had not stuffed my knee I'd would have stayed in my dead end office job and just focussed on running.

In teaching try to get a non teaching role - or part time.

I wish I had never chosen teaching. Not suited to it. Would have liked to have done something in the medical field - one on one sort of stuff.

tuff career wrote:

In teaching try to get a non teaching role - or part time.

I like this idea! If you're bored with your subject area & want to keep things exciting, why not move positions such as administration or Gifted & Talented position or even I.T. within the school system? What about becoming a Media Specialist (i.e. high school librarian). There's lots you can do within the school besides teaching & only takes a few classes (that the school will likely pay for too).

Have you thought about coaching? This could help you through-out your work day as well.

I know a lot of teachers switch within the school system. They start in, say, Special Education & then go to administration.

Good luck!

Notteaching wrote:

Sounds interesting - how did you get into that?

One of my main criteria is working a job where I'm constantly

Improving a skillset

Actually I was lucky. I was miserable having to go to school and teach every day so I was perusing various job sites. I sent in a resume and was lucky enough to get an interview.

Working for the government has it draw backs. You will never get a big bonus, you won't always get big promotions, and the head of the department is always a political appointee, not an expert in your field.

The good things are what I already listed: steady, reliable, good benefits, ample time off.

i think you should try doing the gifted program if you have one. my favorite teachers and the most interesting were my gifted teachers. except when they ruined it in high school.

or sponsor clubs and coach. i would love to coach track/xc honestly. if u were any good it shouldn't be hard to develop some decent athletes. what state are u in?

Good ideas. I actually enrolled in and completed two subjects for a special ed degree but my hear twas not in it. IT is getting bigger in schools - that is where I am concentrating. Hard to come by jobs though. Kids coding is getting bigger too - perhaps teach that to yourself and get in to a elementary school.

Decent Idea Here! wrote:

tuff career wrote:

In teaching try to get a non teaching role - or part time.

I like this idea! If you're bored with your subject area & want to keep things exciting, why not move positions such as administration or Gifted & Talented position or even I.T. within the school system? What about becoming a Media Specialist (i.e. high school librarian). There's lots you can do within the school besides teaching & only takes a few classes (that the school will likely pay for too).

Have you thought about coaching? This could help you through-out your work day as well.

I know a lot of teachers switch within the school system. They start in, say, Special Education & then go to administration.

Good luck!

quickndirty wrote:

A teacher with 45k in savings?

I'm a teacher (professor) in his mid-30s with several times that amount of money saved. I don't know what the big deal is.

Podunk U. wrote:

quickndirty wrote:

A teacher with 45k in savings?

I'm a teacher (professor) in his mid-30s with several times that amount of money saved. I don't know what the big deal is.

The narrative is that teachers are paid hobo wages, therefore making it totally impossible for a poor down and out teacher to save $4.50, much less $45K. At least that's what the teachers union says.

What is your relationship like with your Principal? Could you meet with him/her and just say you would like to remain active in the school community but you have lost your steam to be an in class room teacher?

Maybe there could be a role as a guidence counselor, computer literacy instruction, reading specialist, etc... Worst they could say is no.

quickndirty wrote:

Podunk U. wrote:

I'm a teacher (professor) in his mid-30s with several times that amount of money saved. I don't know what the big deal is.

The narrative is that teachers are paid hobo wages, therefore making it totally impossible for a poor down and out teacher to save $4.50, much less $45K. At least that's what the teachers union says.

I'll address your point in a moment. Focusing on the topic of this thread, I want to build off of what others have suggested: If you are not totally disillusioned by the education system as a whole (though I understand if you are), you might consider a different career within your school or undertaking a course of study that allows you to teach or do consulting work at a higher educational level. I can elaborate about what this might look like if you are interested.

quickndirty: I hear you. I feel I've been fairly compensated for the work I do. I can't speak to the state of play in states other than mine, or in levels of education other than mine, or with unions other than my own. I'm a part of a university prof union, not the teacher's union. For all I know, their grievances are legitimate. I do not know. All of this stuff is quite variable and more complicated than the campaign sloganeering of the different sides of the political spectrum.

I also do not have children and until recently did not have a wife to provide for. I also suspect that my ability to generate secondary income as a consultant, editor, etc. might be different than most K-12 teachers.

The narrative is that teachers are paid hobo wages, therefore making it totally impossible for a poor down and out teacher to save $4.50, much less $45K. At least that's what the teachers union says.

I'd say that only having $45K saved at the age of 37 is indicative of one of two things:

1) low wages

2) poor spending habits

While 2) is definitely a possibility, such modest savings certainly doesn't exclude 1) without additional information. At 37 a person with a college degree has been working for 16 years. $45K in savings indicates that the OP has only managed to put away, at best, ~$2800 per year.

Also, so as to offer something of value to the OP:

You could try an MBA as a means of switching careers. There were several former teachers in my class at business school. I also encountered a couple at the major international strategy consulting firm I worked for immediately post-MBA. In order to make it worth your while financially, your going to have to get into a good enough bschool to allow you to break into investment banking or high end strategy consulting. These are the fields that are going to have high enough starting salaries to offset the costs of the degree. Realistically this means one of the top 10ish programs. Your age will work against you, but if you had good grades (3.7+) from a decent undergrad and can do well on the GMAT then it is not impossible.

If I had been working for 16 years I might agree with you. I didn't start teaching at 21 though - I think that is pretty unrealistic. Traveled a fair bit after university and started at 27 dead broke. I know everyone on this forum is a super saver but I feel 45k and no debt in a decade on a teachers salary isn't too shabby. One of the reasons I'm looking to change though is I want to have a family at some point and a higher salary would be nice when I'm supporting others besides myself.

Getting Old wrote:

The narrative is that teachers are paid hobo wages, therefore making it totally impossible for a poor down and out teacher to save $4.50, much less $45K. At least that's what the teachers union says.

I'd say that only having $45K saved at the age of 37 is indicative of one of two things:

1) low wages

2) poor spending habits

While 2) is definitely a possibility, such modest savings certainly doesn't exclude 1) without additional information. At 37 a person with a college degree has been working for 16 years. $45K in savings indicates that the OP has only managed to put away, at best, ~$2800 per year.

I've thought about it. I did well in undergrad and actually killed it on the GMAT. I think given my age though and timeline for having a family it's too big of a risk. And I'm not keen on becoming a banker or working for a big corporate entity. Hoping to do something fun and technical where I can develop a skill set that pays off in 5-10 years.

Getting Old wrote:

Also, so as to offer something of value to the OP:

You could try an MBA as a means of switching careers. There were several former teachers in my class at business school. I also encountered a couple at the major international strategy consulting firm I worked for immediately post-MBA. In order to make it worth your while financially, your going to have to get into a good enough bschool to allow you to break into investment banking or high end strategy consulting. These are the fields that are going to have high enough starting salaries to offset the costs of the degree. Realistically this means one of the top 10ish programs. Your age will work against you, but if you had good grades (3.7+) from a decent undergrad and can do well on the GMAT then it is not impossible.

You can get a tech job without a tech related degree. I am a web developer with a 3 year general science. One great thing about computer science is it is an easily demonstrable skill so credentials don't matter as much as what you can actually do. If you're interested in web design I suggest spending the summer just studying all you can and building practice projects for a portfolio. If you can show employers a decent site, you can get a job and from there you can keep advancing so long as you don't stop learning which no developer should.

Hi, Thanks! I have thought about this as well. May I ask what type of company / job do you work in and what skillset? (are you javascript/html/css or more backend?)Are the wages decent?My main issue is I don't want to be spending all my time debugging code for a corporate entity or on the flip side freelancing sporadically for $15 an hour. It would be great though working on projects for smaller companies for a decent wage!

ttthhhh wrote:

You can get a tech job without a tech related degree. I am a web developer with a 3 year general science. One great thing about computer science is it is an easily demonstrable skill so credentials don't matter as much as what you can actually do. If you're interested in web design I suggest spending the summer just studying all you can and building practice projects for a portfolio. If you can show employers a decent site, you can get a job and from there you can keep advancing so long as you don't stop learning which no developer should.