Common Roadblocks to Career Changes for Teachers and How to Overcome Them
When finding education jobs beyond the classroom, it can feel scary to try something new. We all have big dreams, but the road to achieving them will most likely be peppered with obstacles. There are plenty of roadblocks that can complicate career changes for teachers, but that’s okay!
The difference between people who are successful with finding non-teaching jobs for educators and people who aren’t is that successful people don’t give up. To stay persistent and motivated, you need to make a plan for how to deal with potential roadblocks.
From my own experience and working with hundreds of Educator Forever students, I’ve found that there are some typical challenges that many of us experience when looking into new career paths. Read on to think about how you will deal with these obstacles before you find them in front of you.
Roadblock: Not enough time
I think we’ve all felt this one, right? Especially as teachers, we never have enough time - it’s one of the most common reasons teachers look to leave the field in the first place! But it can also become a barrier to career changes for teachers.
After finding myself faced with this thought over and over, I’ve realized that we can make time for the things we prioritize. It’s less about the amount of time we have to devote to our goals and more about consistently showing up to make little bits of progress.
What to Do About It
Even if you have just 10 minutes a day, you can use those ten minutes to make progress towards achieving your goals of finding other jobs for teachers. Break bigger goals into smaller tasks that you can accomplish in 10 minutes, 30 minutes, and one hour. Keep a list of the tasks and the time that you estimate that they will take.
For example:
When you have a pocket of extra time, think about how much time you have available and refer to your list to choose an appropriate task to try to complete. Instead of telling yourself that you don’t have enough time, try repeating the mantra “I have all the time that I need.” Making the most of your time is key to working toward career changes for teachers.
Roadblock: Young kids at home
I left the classroom when my daughter was born, then didn’t have kid-free work time for a long time. But that didn’t stop me from making progress towards my goal of becoming a curriculum developer and education consultant. If you have young kids at home, it can make career changes for teachers even harder to achieve (it all goes back to that first roadblock of not having enough time).
What to Do About It
The solution to getting started with jobs outside the classroom when you have young kids at home? Try to set up tiny chunks of independent work time each day. This could be when your kids are napping, when your partner is home, or when your kids are engaged in relatively independent play.
One of the biggest roadblocks to career changes for teachers actually comes from feeling like you can’t make it happen. So don’t underestimate the power of just thinking about your goals.
If you have young kids, you likely have a lot of time where you are the only adult around. Instead of missing adult interaction, give yourself a chance to reflect on what you would like to achieve and make a plan for what you will accomplish during your independent work time. No matter how short that time is, you can use it to make progress. Again, it’s all about consistency.
Roadblock: Not enough experience
It’s totally understandable to feel like you might not be qualified for the jobs you want to find. One of the common obstacles to career changes for teachers is feeling like classroom experience hasn’t prepared you for a different job.
But your teaching skills can take you a lot further than you think! And the good news is that anything you don’t know how to do, you can learn!
What to Do About It
Challenge yourself to create the experience you need. For example, if you want to set up a blog but don’t know how, you can figure it out. Research different blog platforms, analyze the blogs you enjoy reading to figure out how they are constructed, and try to draft your own blogs. The first times we try things, they likely aren’t going to be amazing. That’s okay! Keep going, keep learning, and keep getting better. Don’t pressure yourself to get everything right the first time.
If you want to make one of the many possible career changes for teachers, you may want to seek out mentors who can help you take strategic steps towards gaining the experience you need.
Think about reaching out to colleagues (past or present), contacts on LinkedIn, or other people you admire. You can also join us in the Beyond the Classroom course to learn how to gain the experience you need to work as a curriculum developer, education consultant, online tutor/coach, education writer, business owner, or other flexible roles in education.
Roadblock: Fear of failure
It’s amazing how many things we don’t do because we are afraid of the unknown. This isn’t just a challenge when making career changes for teachers - it’s a challenge for just about anyone trying something new in their professional life.
But I’m here to encourage you to do those things in spite of the unknown. The best way to deal with a fear of failure is to embrace every failure as a learning opportunity. Know that no matter what professional opportunity you might not get, you are still amazing and worthy of greatness. Your self-worth does not have to do with your professional accomplishments.
What to Do About It
Practice positive self talk, reminding yourself of the obstacles you have overcome in the past and embracing your experience. Remind yourself that you can do great things! Any bump in the road is a chance to reflect and learn, but not to stop making progress towards your goals.
Overcoming Barriers to Career Changes for Teachers
If you’re feeling ready and inspired to move past these common obstacles to start working outside the classroom, then now is the time to take action. Add one small action to your to-do list every day and you’ll soon find yourself well on your way to a career change from teaching.
And if you need extra support to use your teaching experience to find a non-teaching job in education, then be sure to check out our Beyond The Classroom course. You’ll learn how to use your experience to start working outside the classroom and get the support you need to make your goals a reality.