Teacher Transition Obstacles
What obstacles will teachers face in transitioning careers, and how can they overcome them?
When I decided to leave the classroom, it took me about a year to actually make the leap. Transitioning to a new career field was not easy; in fact, it was hard work.
Here are just a few of the hurdles I had to overcome in order to exit my career in K-12 education (and how I overcame them):
Finances - My last teacher paycheck arrived at the end of July 2021. I had started saving an ‘income holdover’ fund in January ‘21 because I knew I would be without a salary for a period of time. Even having this fund to fall back on, it was still scary. I was not eligible for unemployment, and I didn’t have a spouse to support me through the transition.
Build up an emergency fund in advance if you are able.
Lack of formal training - My Master’s Degree was in Social Science Education, and all of my certifications over the last decade had been related to teaching history. I decided early on that I was not going to pay for another degree or an expensive bootcamp, so I had to figure out how to learn instructional design on my own.
Use affordable textbooks, free YouTube tutorials, and budget friendly online courses.
Time - My preparation for this career change was happening while I was working full time. Considering I was leaving teaching in part because I was emotionally burnt out, my exhaustion levels at the end of each work day were not conducive to working towards a new career field.
I was so excited about the prospect of instructional design that I was able to be disciplined and make time.
Competition - For many of the positions I applied to, I could see the LinkedIn counter claiming 200+ applicants. That felt defeating because I knew how many of those candidates already had experience in the field. How would I ever get my application materials to stand out? The competition was intimidating.
I applied to ten positions a day all summer and continued to tweak and strengthen my application materials.
Ultimately, the obstacles I faced were all surmountable. I resigned from my teaching post before I had another job lined up, which motivated me to land an ID job even more.
Knowing that it’s going to be hard work, now is the perfect time to start learning the foundations of instructional design. It took me about a semester of studying and practicing before I started applying to jobs in earnest. Starting now will set yourself up for success in the summer of 2023, if that is your timeline.
