OT: Making a career change

[Travelman6]

Hello and good morning! I am sorry if this is not the correct place to post this, feel free to move this post if that is the case!

Any way, there are a lot of very smart people here and I hope I can benefit from the collective wisdom of the BY after making this post. Now I will not get into the personal reasons for coming to the following conclusion but I am realizing that I want to make a career move away from teaching. To be honest, the issue is that I am a little scared and more than that, I am unsure of what move to make. What skills displayed in the classroom might be of use in another career? I am pretty open minded as long as it is a lateral move I am making. Or at least, almost lateral. I would love to get into tourism and hospitality as, well you can see my handle, I love to travel, I have a passion for it. I also have an interest in working for non-profits, especially related to helping kids and young adults in navigating cancer treatment and other related issues (patient navigator, etc).

Maybe I just need to hear from other BY posters who have made a career switch (in their 30s or otherwise), especially away from teaching. Perhaps hearing from other people will provide me with some ideas on possible new careers I can look into. I feel overwhelmed to realize I do not want to teach any more but at the same time I feel like it is a huge burden being taken off my shoulders to finally, openly, come to this realization.

I also want to say that I only have a BA and though I would love to further my education, especially in a field related to my interests, I am quite poor so that is not really a possibility at this time. Sadly.

 

[Minicoop69]

What subject/s do you teach?

 

[storrsroars]

First thing that popped into my head would be taking a PT gig at a non-profit and supplementing that with some tutoring gigs (which can pay fairly well from what I've seen).

Getting into a good non-profit is more challenging that one might think. Non-profits generally want non-profit experience and don't play well with for-profit job candidates. Lord knows I've tried. But, as a teacher, you wouldn't be viewed as one of those filthy "for-profit" people and you might have an advantage as it'll be assumed you have a history of doing more than what's on your job description, and a dedication to a higher purpose than just a buck.

The positive about this is you're doing it in your 30s. I've had to reinvent myself 4x since I turned 45 and it has been neither easy nor lucrative. Nor always by choice. I currently make less than a quarter of what I did in 2001 (adjusted to 2019 $). But, I've found peace with that.

I would think your teaching experience could be useful for developing training and education programs for volunteers, getting into volunteer management or even doing things like organizing BoD meetings and making sure they stay on agenda (which is actually an important thing). Not sure about actually working with kids as that might require a separate degree in many cases, but you've probably already got all the clearances.

Anyway, good luck. Life is better when you're doing work you really want to do as opposed to simply contributing to a balance sheet and value to anonymous stockholders. It's nice to come home and realize you actually did the world some good today.

 

[Travelman6]

What subject/s do you teach?

English, science and math in upper primary. I have some experience teaching social studies and world history/civilizations as well. I also have some experience with middle school students.

The funny thing is, I went to university and got a sociology degree. It was not until my last semester that I realized, at least at the time, that I actually wanted to teach. I had to do an internship for a senior level UNI course and worked with some international kids at an after school program and loved it. Of course it was too late to change my major and I did not have the money to go back to school for a masters in education but I wanted to be in the classroom. This was an issue because obviously I did not have the credentials to teach in the US and I was only 22 so I looked abroad where requirements are, well, lower. I found a job in China and got 18 months of experience and came back to the USA after those 18 months. Ever since that point that job in China has been a major attraction for employers when they look at my resume. I got a job at a great Pre-k in Washington DC for two years and have worked at international schools (IB) as an upper primary teacher since that point in Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Well, based on your interests, education and subject areas working as a travel tour guide may be an area to explore. I have zero experience in that field directly but I know it is a career field.
Working at a museum?? Not just as a front end spox, but possibly getting in to curating artifacts, finding new exhibits, etc.

You don't mention family situation, willingness to locate or travel. The whole work/life balance.

I switched jobs (stayed in same career field, but different company) six months ago and it was entirely quality of life. I took about a 8% pay cut on salary but 401K match, continuing education and more pay for OT makes it a push financially.

Something to consider. To make yourself competitive or really stand out you may need to top off education with some industry specific certifications or continuing education credits. Small up front cost to move you from a group of candidates to the top tier of candidates.

Reach out and network in to fields you enjoy and pick some brains. Internet should give relatively good indicators in terms of pay for different career fields.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

Random thought/question, and dont want to sidetrack the OPs thread, are MBAs still worth pursuing in this day and age?

 

[storrsroars]

@Travelman32 - based on reading your last post, are you fluent in any Chinese language and/or Spanish? Either would be a major asset, especially the former.

 

[CL82]

To your initial question, off the top of my head, I'd emphasize the fact that you can stand up in front of a group and communicate effectively. A lot of people can't. (Although some of the worst presentations I have ever seen have been teachers on parent days. Always wondered why that was.) I'd talk about how you can deal with a disparate group and keep them on task and that you know how to engage an objector or difficult person.

Regarding the switch to hospitality, is there a master's or other post grad coursework you can do? It's always tough to break into a new field. I think it helps if you can say more than "I needed a change."

Good luck. It takes a lot of courage to walk away from a steady paycheck in a field that you know you can make a career out of. Keep us informed how it is going.

 

[storrsroars]

Random thought/question, and dont want to sidetrack the OPs thread, are MBAs still worth pursuing in this day and age?

Good question. As someone who was once a CMO, I noticed that pretty much every entry-to-mid-level marketing job now requires solid Photoshop/Illustrator/InDesign skills. Back in the day, we used to pay graphic designers for that stuff while we spent our time on strategy and tactics. It's weird what "marketing" has become.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

Good question. As someone who was once a CMO, I noticed that pretty much every entry-to-mid-level marketing job now requires solid Photoshop/Illustrator/InDesign skills. Back in the day, we used to pay graphic designers for that stuff while we spent our time on strategy and tactics. It's weird what "marketing" has become.

yeah everything is constantly changing and evolving. This is my view, and i may be completely wrong, i haven't been in the workforce long enough, but learning skills whether through a class or certification can help you out more than just going back for another degree.

 

[Guapo]

Have you thought about being a guidance counselor/some form of counselor in schools? It’s a very different career than being a teacher but you get to stay working with young people in a educational setting. Furthermore, you can probably use a network of people you’ve met in the education system to not only ease finding a job but also learn what the job requires and what schools are looking for.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Still in Central America? If so, have you considered PT tourism, hotel, etc evening & weekend work? Good way to enable & smooth a transition.

If in the States, your global experience, language skills & cultural awareness should be attractive to Marriott, Hilton & other hotel chains, tourism, corporate travel AND global relocation companies.

Online courses from US unis.

LinkedIn

 

[Caronimo]

Insurance is always a good option in CT

 

[kansashusky]

I made the switch last year after teaching for five years. Believe it or not you have a lot of transferable skills. The two areas I think you would have the most application are training and development for a large company, or sales. Anything that involves relationship build is a good start!

 

[Ewekon]

Every industry from A to Z sells their product or service. Teachers are looked at as good candidates in many fields as they are viewed as "people persons", empathetic and able to convey information to sometimes difficult and disinterested audiences. Try applying to half a dozen or more areas of interest if you can see yourself in the sell side.

You intimate that as a teacher you aren't rolling in dough. With a salaried/commission and benefits position you may even get a raise at entry level and good companies tend to rapidly reward performers.

If you have a general distaste for corporate America I understand; but that is where many entry level jobs are that provide training.

Googling "sales positions in travel and tourism" and other areas of interest could get you started.

Best of luck.

 

[Deepster]

I will come at this from a different angle. Have you thought about getting into training in a corporate environment? Companies often have recruiting programs that bring classes of college grads into a 6-8 week type onboarding program so you would block out curriculum and facilitate the classes. Or, some departments have dedicated training specialists to provide training to tenured employees. Updates, advanced skills, areas that need training because of failed/poor metric or specific performance items.

I know you said you wanted out of teaching, but these types of training roles are different than the every day classroom setting. And they pay pretty well.

 

[NYC_HUSKY22]

go travel to S Korea / Asia in general. People make bank teaching English there, that at least ticks the travel box - albeit still in the teaching spectrum.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

go travel to S Korea / Asia in general. People make bank teaching English there, that at least ticks the travel box - albeit still in the teaching spectrum.

Sure, if bank is not much. However, @Travelman32 shared he already taught in China for 18 months and is focused on potentially transitioning out of teaching.

 

[NYC_HUSKY22]

Sure, if bank is not much. However, @Travelman32 shared he already taught in China for 18 months and is focused on potentially transitioning out of teaching.

Only read the initial post, in which China was not mentioned. Bank is relative. You can live quite nicely in some of those places for $10 a day. But thanks for jumping in!

 

[visitor123]

I assume your experience in China was a number of years ago, but it may be worth re-visiting.

I have a friend living in Shanghai who is making more than he would teaching in Canada (in absolute $'s). He initially couldn't get a full time teaching position in Canada so he went to Korea to teach English (10 years ago) and get more experience. After a few years in Korea he went back to Canada and could only find positions in private schools with fairly low pay. He then went to Shanghai to teach, he's bounced around a few different companies and schools since then but he now makes close to 6-figures Canadian $ and lives very well in Shanghai. He tells me he does very little prep work and the hours are reasonable. Most of the time he just walks into a class and converses and that's it. He's often sought out for 1 on 1 sessions where he makes > $100/hr just to hang out and chat with a student.

Depending on how strong your standardized test taking skills are, you should definitely consider an MBA. I went to a top 15 b-school recently and there were many students with education backgrounds who are now product managers and marketing managers for large companies. It's very easy to craft a unique story with your background that'll stand out from the typical MBA candidate. The caveat being you need a decent GMAT score (~700 should be good). If money is an issue you can probably get into a top 30-35 school with full scholarships. Getting an MBA from a half-decent school, assuming you're willing to put in the time to network and job search, opens a lot of doors for you in terms of entry level corporate positions. There are so many development, leadership and training programs that are only open to MBA's at major companies.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I would not mind teaching or training adults, actually. I would at least consider it.

Yes! I just feel so drained after a week in the classroom I literally just sleep and rest. That is one of the reasons I want to leave the field. Not even the physical aspect, but mentally and emotionally I am so drained.


I admit, I can be a little awkward in front of parents sometimes. It depends on the parent. I feel like some of them come to parent/teacher meetings just to play the blame game. I struggle with those sometimes.

No, that isn't me...but ok? (I am actully greatly against any wall). Not sure what that has to do with my topic though.


Honestly, I am probably a B1 level at this point in Spanish. I can probably utilize about 2000 to 2500 words to make basic and intermediate type comments and responses. I would require quite a bit of work to get up to B2

Corporate training, whether internally for a company, or as a contractor for other companies, can pay well. With so many industries being competitive, profit margins getting tighter and technology constantly changing, it's imperative for companies to keep their workforce viable. Still much cheaper to plus up the knowledge base of current employees compared to trying to hire in knowledge.

Pay doesn't suck either.

You aren't limited to just instructing. You can do that, or you can get in to identifying needs for the company, developing training material or assessing outcomes.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Only read the initial post, in which China was not mentioned. Bank is relative. You can live quite nicely in some of those places for $10 a day. But thanks for jumping in!

Not really, but one of us has lived over a decade and actually knows $10/day in Tier III and lesser enticing locations isn’t living an attractive lifestyle for most westerners.

If travelman hadn’t stated his desire to transition away from teaching, tas visitor123 with more knowledge shared higher reasonably paid teaching opportunities exist in Tier I & II cities for experienced teachers especially with relevant degrees.

 

[NYC_HUSKY22]

Not really, but one of us has lived over a decade and actually knows $10/day in Tier III and lesser enticing locations isn’t living an attractive lifestyle for most westerners.

Thailand begs to differ.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Thailand begs to differ.

Sure, in some ok beach areas and less enticing areas than BKK, Chiang Mai, etc and if $10 equals bank. To each one’s own, beauty and bank lies in the eyes of the beholder.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

@Travelman32 consider exploring Cartus relocation, Danbury global hq Careers and Job Opportunities – Cartus