Find a Job You Really Want In
Switching up your career is more common than you think, especially for teachers. Whether you’ve realized that you don’t actually enjoy teaching or are simply burnt out, there is no shame in looking for a different job, and a career change is more than possible to accomplish with the skills you have.
We have put together 21 career alternative for teachers that can help you job search be easier.
Key Takeaways:
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The top three alternative jobs for teachers are a substitute teacher, librarian, and a school administrator.
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Skills you should highlight on your resume as a previous teacher should be communication skills, organization skills, and management/leadership skills.
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Most of these jobs will require at least a high school diploma or GED certificate and bachelors degree while some will require more advanced degrees.
21 Alternative jobs for teachers
If you’re considering a career change, don’t be afraid to get creative and pursue your goals and dreams. If you’re looking for ideas on where to start, though, keep reading.
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Substitute teacher
Average Annual Salary: $33,000Becoming a substitute teacher is an excellent option if you’re looking for more flexibility and the ability to be in the classroom without being completely responsible for it. This is also a great place to start as you’re thinking about what else you might want to do.
Requirements needed: A GED certificate or bachelor’s degree, a substitute teaching license if required by your state, and needing to pass a background check.
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Librarian
Average Annual Salary: $50,000Whether you work in a school or city library, this is a great chance to help students and adults learn and grow without working in a classroom.
Your responsibilities as a librarian include collecting, organizing, and issuing library resources such as books, films, and audio files. This is a great alternative job for teachers because you are still in a learning environment and can help educate others without the pressure of a classroom.
Requirements needed: A masters degree in library science that meets the requirements from the American Library Association Criteria.
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School administrator
Average Annual Salary: $57,000If you still want to be a part of a school but don’t want to be the one doing the teaching anymore, a position as a school administrator might be a good option for you.
School administrators are responsible for overseeing the administrative tasks in schools, colleges, or other educational environments.
Requirements needed: Most of these positions require a master’s or doctoral degree, as well as teaching experience.
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Personal trainer
Average Annual Salary: $38,000Whether you’re coaching a school sports team or individuals at a gym, these positions are great opportunities for you to put your teaching skills to work in another arena. These are also good positions if you want to work part-time.
Your main responsibilities in this position is to work with individuals to help them achieve their health and fitness goals. Many of the skills that you use in a classroom will be effective in teaching your clients how to be healthier.
Requirements needed: A high school diploma or GED certificate, completed AED/CPR certification, and certificate to your fitness specialty.
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Guidance counselor
Average Annual Salary: $47,000Guidance counselors still work in schools but don’t usually work in the classroom. If you want to continue to support students, but from a more one-on-one approach, this may be a good option for you. This is a great alternative job for teachers because you already have the skills necessary to work with kids.
You still get to interact with students daily but in a different setting. You help to guide kids who are confused or unsure of what they want to do in the future.
Requirements needed: Most of these positions require a master’s degree and a counseling license for your state.
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Non-traditional teaching
Average Yearly Salary: N/AIf you just need a change of pace more than anything, consider looking for a position teaching in a different environment. Whether you’re running online courses or working with adults to help them receive their GEDs, breaking out of your norm may be the change you need.
Requirements needed: In most states you will need to complete alternative teacher preparation program.
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Community center class instructor
Average Yearly Salary: N/AYour local community center is likely always looking for new class ideas and instructors to teach them. If you have a hobby or just want to help community members improve at balancing a budget, teaching at a community center could be fulfilling work.
Even if you don’t have an idea for a class, these centers will appreciate having a certified teacher who’s willing to help out.
Requirements needed: A High school diploma or GED certificate and an associate’s or bachelor’s depending on employer.
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Museum Tour Guide
Average Annual Salary: $28,453If your education prepared you for a specialized field such as history, art, or science, working at a museum is an interesting way to put your skills to use. You could teach workshops, give tours, or even visit schools to teach kids about what your museum does.
Requirements needed: A high school diploma or GED certificate as well as relevant work experience. A bachelors degree in fine arts, art history or any related field may be beneficial.
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Writer
Average Annual Salary: $57,000Becoming a writer is an excellent alternative job for English teachers because you already have the knowledge and experience required for this position. You can write novels, personal or professional blogs, or articles.
When you are a writer, there are many different industries that you can work for, such as corporate settings, journalism, and even the entertainment industry. If you’re a teacher who loves to write, becoming a writer is the perfect position for you.
Requirements needed: A bachelors degree in English, communications, or journalism. Having experience and your writing examples can be helpful.
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Camp director
Average Annual Salary: $40,000Summer camps need managing and planning all year round, and ex-teachers are often the best people for this job.
You have the organizational and communication skills needed to do this well, as well as a knowledge of how to work with both kids and parents. This could also be a fun way to continue working with children outside the classroom.
Requirements needed: A bachelor’s or master’s degree in camp management or a similar field. You may also need experience working in a camp or recreational facilities.
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Life coach
Average Annual Salary: $38,105If you love helping people reach their goals, becoming a life coach might be a great option for you. Whether you choose to start your own business or join an agency, this field would allow you to continue to motivate and instruct others.
When you work as a life coach, you can work with people of all ages and in different stages of their life. You often teach useful emotional and behavioral regulation techniques, similar to what you would use to teach children.
Requirements needed: There are no specific requirements for a life coach generally speaking, but most people tend to have a background in mental health or counseling.
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Senior human resources representative
Average Annual Salary: $70,000Much of human resources is training and working to solve problems with people, just like teaching.
This position would require you to work directly with job applicants and employees within the company.
You would serve as the contact point for potential, current, and former employees and provide them with any help that they may need.
Requirements needed: A bachelors degree and some jobs may require office experience.
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Sales representative
Average Annual Salary: $56,000Sales, especially wholesale, where you’re selling from one business to another, can be an excellent opportunity to put your motivational and organizational skills to use. This field also offers chances to grow and make some good money, making it an ideal career change option for a teacher.
Requirements needed: Experience as a sales representative and customer service skills.
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Instructional coordinator
Average Annual Salary: $48,000Becoming an instructional coordinator allows you to make a difference in education from the top by overseeing and improving curriculum and teaching practices.
Your job is to supervise school curriculums and teaching standards. You will often observe teachers in the classroom, review student test data, and assess and discuss the curriculum with the school staff. This is a perfect position if you want to be involved with the educational material students learn but stray away from teaching in the classroom.
Requirements needed: You’ll need a master’s degree to hold this position, and your experience teaching will bring a much-needed perspective to the job.
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Curriculum Designer
Average Annual Salary: $57,000Designing curriculum allows you to help other teachers by putting the lessons you learned from your own teaching experience to use. You’ll be able to improve programs and set instructors and students up for success with the programs you create.
This role is an excellent alternative for teachers because you need to come up with detailed, organized, and engaging curriculum, and who better to do that than ex-teachers.
Requirements needed: Many of these positions require a master’s degree and a teaching certificate, as well as experience teaching in a classroom.
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Test developer
Average Annual Salary: $82,000If you’re interested in improving educational systems by accurately measuring students’ progress, becoming a standardized test developer might be the perfect career to segue into.
In this position, your responsibilities include writing and implementing programs that automatically test software for any bugs.
Requirements needed: You’ll likely need a master’s or doctoral degree in one subject of expertise to do this, so keep that in mind as you make your plans.
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Radiologic Technician, licensed practical nurse, or dental hygienist
Average Annual Salary: $49,023A large part of these professions is helping patients understand what’s going on and what they need to do to take care of themselves.
If you’re looking for a major career change, one of these options might be the perfect way to continue to help and educate people in a different way.
Requirements needed: Each of these areas has its own training program that takes a year or two to complete. They only require a bachelor’s or associate degree to begin, which often doesn’t even need to be in a medicine- or science-based subject.
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Postsecondary teacher
Average Yearly Salary: N/AA natural stepping stone for a teacher looking for a career change, postsecondary education may require an additional degree. Still, it can offer you more research opportunities in your subject and a more flexible schedule.
Plus, teaching college students is very different from teaching elementary and high school students, so it might offer you a much-needed change of pace while still allowing you to teach.
Requirements needed: Ph. D. or other doctoral degree. A masters degree may be enough at some community colleges. Other schools may just need work experience from your field or expertise.
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Psychologist
Average Annual Salary: $72,000While this profession will require an additional degree or two, becoming a psychologist can open up a world of opportunities to help people in a new capacity. You could even become a school psychologist and assist students in this way instead of in the classroom.
Requirements needed: A bachelors degree, preferably in psychology. Some may require a master’s degree or a doctorate.
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Social worker
Average Annual Salary:$51,000If you’re passionate about helping people solve problems and find ways to meet their needs, then social work might be a fulfilling profession for you.
Job opportunities abound in a variety of locales. You can work in a nursing home, a social work center, or even a school.
Requirements needed: You’ll likely need a bachelor’s degree in social work to become a social worker.
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Corporate trainer
Average Annual Salary: $54,000Companies always need motivating, engaging individuals to conduct training for their employees. They may even want you to teach their managers how to better train their workers.
This is also a great option if you want to travel, as companies will often have you visit multiple locations.
Requirements needed: At least a bachelors degree in business or a related field. Some companies may require a more advanced degree.
Marketable Skills Teachers Have
If you have experience teaching, you already have many of the skills companies seek out in employees. Highlight these on your resume, in your cover letter, and during your interview to make sure hiring managers see what you bring to the table.
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Communication. Teaching requires you to find ways to communicate your message effectively, often to an audience with a wide variety of learning styles and needs.
As a result, you’re used to finding creative ways to get your message across, whether written or verbal. This is a valuable skill in any industry.
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Organization. No matter the size of your classroom or the grade you teach, you have to know how to organize your time, space, and workload. Companies will appreciate this skill since they can trust you to get your job done without any handholding.
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Continual learning. Chances are, one of the reasons you entered into education was because you believed in its value. You understand that there is always something new to learn, so use your resume and cover letter to highlight the ways that you’re actively improving, as recruiters want to hire people who are eager to grow.
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Management/Leadership. Whether it’s wrangling 15 preschoolers or managing 62 high school semester projects, you know how to get groups of people to get things done on time. You’ve probably solved conflicts, created effective teams, and motivated your students as well.
Well-honed management and leadership skills like these are hard to come by in the workplace, so yours will make you a much more valuable hire.
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Collaboration. As a teacher, you not only have to know how to work with your students but also with your coworkers and students’ parents. When you’re applying for a job, give examples of times you collaborated with these groups to show how you know how to work as a part of a team.
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Self-motivation. As a teacher, you know how to work alone as well as in groups. You have to be the one to motivate yourself to create lesson plans and grade papers, and employers will love that you’re able to do this.
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Subject expertise. If you teach a specific subject, your expertise in this area could open up some exciting possibilities for you. For example, if you’re an art teacher, you might find work at a museum or gallery. If you’re an English teacher, you could tutor students or even help new citizens work on their English.
Alternative jobs for teachers FAQ
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What can teachers do besides teach?
Teachers can work in school administration or become a guidance counselor if you want to work in a school settings still. Working as a writer is a great alternative for English teachers because you have the skills necessary to be successful.
Working as a camp director, social worker, or substitute teacher are great alternatives if you still want to work with kids instead of teach.
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How do you get out of teaching and into another career?
You should first identify your transferable skills and how you can use them in a new career when you decide to transition out of teaching. Doing this will help you determine what type of career you can pursue. After settling on a career, be sure you get all of the qualifications necessary to be successful.
Author
Abby is a writer who is passionate about the power of story. Whether it’s communicating complicated topics in a clear way or helping readers connect with another person or place from the comfort of their couch. Abby attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she earned a degree in writing with concentrations in journalism and business.
