A recent scroll through fellow teachers’ posts on any social media platform reveals some of the fallout coinciding with the mass exodus of teachers. Rants and regrets about the profession teachers poured their hearts into for years comprise the bulk of comments posted in many teachers' social media groups. Groups that once shared classroom management advice and lesson ideas now share their quest for new career options. Like many other businesses, the public education system realized it could function fully online, resulting in new opportunities for teachers who may have been a little tech-shy pre-pandemic. Online and non-traditional educational companies exploded and created a whole new educator workforce for certified teachers to consider. Those who have already fled have figured out that trading the classroom for corporate America can also be more lucrative than a teacher’s salary. Suddenly, teachers are updating their resumes, requesting letters of recommendation, and scrolling online job posting sites for career leads outside of the traditional classroom.
And why not? Teachers are some of the most educated professionals in the workforce.
Add their organizational and management skills and their ability to work in such an unpredictable environment, and educators are the new CEOs. Ask a CEO how he might handle an irate fifteen-year-old client who is high as a kite, wearing spikes around his wrist, and cussing you out. He would either call security or run. Not a teacher, though. A teacher would easily be able to minimize the situation and still make it to lunch duty on time to handle the next unruly crowd of customers.
In my quest for a career outside of the classroom and possibly the public education sector altogether, I discovered that educators have the skills employers are looking for. Whether it be 9-5 with a big company working remotely to freelancing, careers just as fulfilling and potentially making more money with less stress are just a few Google searches away.
Many websites suggest all the positions you are qualified to do, such as Human Resource Manager, Social Worker, or Public Relations Specialist. Depending on how desperate you are to leave the classroom, these suggestions may not sound so appealing. Not to knock traditional jobs as an alternative to teaching, though; high school teachers who specialize in specific content can easily find career swaps in their same discipline. For example, Math and Science teachers have found lucrative positions in the finance and healthcare industries. Actuaries and scientific researchers can easily earn six-digit salaries. The publishing industry has scooped up English teachers for their copywriting and editing positions. But copy and content writing is something any teacher can do. There are thousands of freelance writing jobs posted. For any content subject that you can imagine. All teachers are at least decent, if not excellent, writers. Four or more years of college writing, professional and technical writing required in the profession, curriculum writing, and all the reading required for your content and subject matter have prepared educators for the demands needed for content and copywriting. Add your knowledge of the subject matter or matters you teach or your passions and interests outside of the classroom, and you have the makings of a best-selling author. Teachers have great stories to tell, great arguments to make, and tons of information they can share with the world.
Even if the thought of composing a piece of writing brings just a tinge of dread or worry. Fear not. There is a list of writing and editing platforms and resources that can make the job more than tolerable. Besides, it’s not like writing compositions for your college professor. Most content is intentionally written on an 8th-grade reading level. It is also not a burden if you are writing about something you are passionate about. A niche, the topic or subject of your writing focus, can be strategic or something you are passionate about.
Strategic means you research the hot topics people want to know more about, and then you write about that. Or you can write for travel blogs or sports websites. Do you follow social media influencers? Social media and email content writing is in high demand. Curriculum writing seems like a no-brainer, but consider writing about the curriculum. Review and compare curriculum, pedagogies, and methodologies in the subject you’ve taught.
Getting your writing published is important to starting a portfolio, but this doesn’t have to be a major roadblock to starting your online presence as a writer. A quick YouTube video or two on how to start a blog using a template-based host site like Wix or WordPress can help you start your own website to post your articles. Don’t worry too much about the design and fluff elements in the beginning; that is what I learned (thus the basic format here on my new site). I am trusting the process and suggestions that the aesthetics are less important than getting your words out there and building an audience. There will be plenty of time to touch up and add design elements to your site as you go.
Whether your blog or website develops into something you can monetize is not necessarily important initially, either. If you would rather write for other websites than build one of your own, consider posting enough articles to showcase your talent and web skills and use your site as a portfolio to which you can provide a link.
Samples of your writing style and skills will make you more marketable when applying for freelance writing jobs.
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