Teacher Advice I Wish I’d Known Sooner in My Education Career

Reflecting on your career can help you acknowledge your progress and expertise, make informed decisions, and take action toward rewarding opportunities with greater confidence. It can also give you lots of great teacher advice to share with others in your field.

Our Educator Forever team is reflecting on our career paths this week, specifically on the career advice for teachers we wish we had sooner when working in the classroom.

We’re educators like you, and we’ve all been classroom teachers at one point. While the road beyond the classroom is windy at times, we’re here cheering you on and reminding you that you can successfully transition beyond the classroom to a rewarding, sustainable career. 

We hope that this advice for teachers helps you in some way on your career journey:

Teacher Advice We Wish We Knew Sooner

Evonne Hall, Program Coordinator

Advice for Teachers on Transferable Skills

“That the skills I learned in the classroom were actually skills in demand in other vocations. Not everyone can accomplish a minimum of six things at the same time every minute of the day!  I wish I would have known all the incredible ways I could impact education outside of the classroom. I think teachers should be empowered with all the information we can give to help them care for themselves, their families, and their students well.”

Allison Williams, Business Mentor (and owner of Tutor Tots Online)

Teacher Advice About Work-Life Balance

“One thing I wish I knew earlier in my teaching career is the importance of work-life balance. During the first 5 years of my teaching career, I sacrificed a lot of my personal time that should have been used to take care of myself physically and mentally. Now, I truly understand that setting boundaries does not mean that I am less passionate about my work. Instead, creating work-life balance is a crucial part of preventing burn-out so that I can show up for my students in the best way possible.”

Jasmine Gibson, Editorial Project Manager

Career Advice for Teachers Leaving the Classroom

“I wish I would have known that there were many different paths outside of being a classroom teacher (e.g., teacher coaching, curriculum design, specialist). Knowing about multiple paths and that these were available to me as a certified teacher would have allowed me to be more flexible with the kinds of training and experiences I chose to focus on early in my career and supported my ability to transition within education jobs.”

April Brown, Learning & Development Manager

Teacher Advice About Making an Impact

“I wish I would have known that my identity as an educator wasn’t attached to teaching in a classroom. Although my educational career hasn’t been linear, I think I always had a goal of staying in the classroom for x number of years. Since my daughter was born in 2016, and I found the Beyond the Classroom course, I realized that I could continue to use my passion and expertise to advocate for children and teachers beyond the classroom. You can continue to drive change in so many different ways! It’s truly limitless.”

Lily Jones, CEO of Educator Forever 

Advice for Teachers About Self-Care

“I wish I would have realized that the physical, mental, and emotional toll teaching took on me was not my fault. I wish I would have realized how truly unsustainable teaching can be and stopped putting unrealistic expectations on myself. Learning how to center our own well-being really is one of the best things we can teach ourselves and model for our students.”

Blair Petersen, Marketing Manager

Career Advice for Teachers on the Power of Community

“I wish I would've known a few things sooner, including that I wasn’t alone in dreaming of career options beyond classroom teaching, and that I didn’t have to figure it all out on my own. There are so many rewarding and more sustainable ways to work in education beyond the classroom. Having a supportive community like the Educator Forever community has made all the difference in helping me find and land rewarding work. I also wish I had known and believed sooner that while taking a leap can be scary (and bring up fears and doubt), it will work out and be worth it. While leaving behind your traditional "teacher identity" can seem difficult, it’s a chance to carve out a new identity and combine your passions while still working in the education space.”

Explore Your Own Career Reflections

Teacher advice from experienced educators is great, but sometimes you can learn even more about your goals and your needs by looking back on your own career so far.

Whether you’re just starting your education career or have been working for many years, taking the time to reflect on your journey can be incredibly beneficial. It can be easy to get caught up in the day-to-day challenges of teaching and forget to acknowledge the progress you have made. 

By reflecting on your career, you can celebrate your accomplishments, discover what brings you the most joy, and build confidence in your abilities. It can also help you better understand your strengths, the skills and knowledge you have developed, and the areas where you’d like to grow or improve. 

With this, you can set new goals and identify areas where you want to focus your development so you can pursue the next steps toward the career of your dreams.

Need More Teacher Advice, Support & Guidance?

Whether you’re ready to leave the classroom or want to start a side hustle while working in a school setting, you don’t have to go at it alone. One of the best accountability strategies is to be in a community of people who support your goals. 

At Educator Forever, we’re here to be that support system for you! Consider joining one of our programs and being part of a community of educators expanding their impact beyond the classroom. 

Join our upcoming Empowered Educator workshop series to get the confidence, clarity, and support you need to make your career dreams a reality.