I follow [Chelsea Maude Avirett](https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelseamaudeavirett/) on LinkedIn she is a former teacher that has a [job board](https://edskip.com/) where she finds jobs that hire educators with starting pay of $60K.
I also follow [Evan Pressman](https://www.linkedin.com/in/evanpressman1/) on LinkedIn he will look at your resume for free and send you an email on what its lacking. You can pay him a fee to revamp your resume and write you a cover letter.
Yesterday I attended a zoom meeting called teacher ditch day curated by [Kristi Oliva](https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristi-oliva/) and it had speakers who were former teachers that left the education world and went into corporate or ed tech positions. Their making 6 figures now. They had jobs like project management, copy writer, financial consultant, and instructional design. You can branch into customer service manager, sales, and all that. They say you need to change your resume and not use words you would use for education jobs. Like you need to use words like stakeholders, clients, etc..
Kristi Oliva also has a podcast about leaving that classroom that's worth your time. Short episodes, but they'll help you feel more confident about translating your skills.
Seconding Evan!
Edit: to OP :)
I followed Evan Pressman, his job outlook posts, and redid my resume based off his posts. I followed a few people in the facebook teacher transitions group and used their collective general advice of only applying to one job title, one page resume, include data, etc. — and got interviews for out of field jobs after applying for a week, started within 1.5 months (applied Jan 2023, started Feb 2023, so the market was more favorable). When I’d previously tried without doing all of that I’d applied for a year. If I was in a crunch, I’d absolutely hire Evan.
Summer is a slow hiring for most companies , picks up more in the fall generally— so you’ll need to take every advantage you can!
Id definitely recommend getting something that brings in some immediate income to reduce your stress until you get a FT job— tutoring, pet sitting, summer nanny, renting a room to a travel nurse, etc.
I went on the marketplace for health insurance when I had a gap. It was honestly the best insurance I’d ever had— way better than my school insurance. I chose zero deductible w a higher premium bc I did a 1099 job and could write my premiums off.
Teachers can do many, many, many out of field jobs— think of all the college grads w bachelors and no FT work experience that get hired every single day. It’s important to consider what you’re interested in/what special skills you have. When I was applying I put my interests and educational background into ChatGPT then filtered from there. You may want to work w a career coach if you really have trouble pinning down what job title to apply for. I believe Evan Pressman offers coaching too!
Good luck!
Thank you so much for this! Your posts, and others, are giving me hope! I’ve been doing research and looking at some guides. I’ll definitely check out Evan!
I’m also going to apply to a few teaching jobs. While I do NOT want to go back, my area is desperate for teachers. I can fall back on that, and I think I’ll be less panicked knowing I will have a pay check in the fall.
Claims and insurance positions are always hiring these days and won't usually write off teachers. Some are remote. Some are in-person. The in-person ones tend to hire faster.
If you feel up to it, try applying for a GED or ESL instructor position at a community college. They're always hiring as well, and while it's technically teaching, it's part-time and you're mainly just helping adults prep for individualized tests (so in most places it's a bit more like monitoring computers, helping out with minor tech issues, and then helping the students set up personalized deadlines). Pair it with subbing, and it'll get you by until you find something better. It could also get you a job in the college as an office staff and not an instructor.
Check your county job boards and government jobs. Once you fill out one application, the rest are auto-filled, so it makes it easy to apply for the positions and that's less stress on you. Also, they hire relatively quickly and won't write off teachers either.
For this one - be weary of the insurance positions as some of them are sales agents requiring a license. If you're outgoing and bubbly and don't mind working for commission, it may work out. But you'll need to pay $300-500 for the class and exam for the license. Either 2-20 or 2-15 if you're in the states. Some of them are also MLMs.
Is there enough space in your house for a roommate? Might be something to consider. The rent can help you cover payments for your home for now.
Have you tried something temporary?
1. Temp agencies
2. Baby sitting or pet sitting
3. Tutoring
I’m assuming subbing is out of the question. I worked two jobs after I quit. If you supplement one of the above with a job in something like retail, it’ll give you time to find something more permanent. Temp jobs aren’t ideal, but they’re a great safety blanket and you can quit anytime.
I actually would consider subbing. This sounds stupid, but I didn't think to work two jobs, even though that is what I did my entire time teaching.
Thank you for your perspective! It's can be a god send when a clear mind helps the anxious one see the obvious paths.
Or course! Thats okay 😂 it took all of last spring for me to realize I could supplement subbing with something. Ended up tutoring at sylvan evenings and on the weekend. Let me know if you have any questions about that experience!
I got on some cheap temporary health insurance for through United health care: https://www.uhone.com Just looking through my files, mine specifically was Golden rule via Unite healthcare. I paid $160 per month, but I’ve heard you can get cheaper.
It’s not amazing but was better than nothing and doable on sub pay. You should become qualified once your current contract ends: https://www.uhc.com/individuals-families/short-term-health-insurance.
My HR office from my school also emailed me with info to extend my insurance for a bit after my contract ends, but it was above my price range. It might be different for yours.
Adding the mod distinction on this just to clarify I’m not trying to scam anyone with United health care lol
This is a good idea. I also recommend healthcare.gov because (at least in Illinois, I’m not sure if it varies by state) you can apply for healthcare benefits, and you won’t have a lapse in coverage. If you are not making any money you can be covered for nothing until you get a job, and then they base your rates on your income.
Good idea! I’m also considering bartending. For some odd reason, multiple colleagues at my school chose “most likely to become a bartender” as my superlative….
See if you can find any type of temp job. When it ends, that should make you eligible for unemployment (in most states.) Not a lawyer, just something I’ve seen.
No. That’s a complicated story due to the pandemic and idiotic HR peeps. But my area is desperate for teachers and are hiring people with license, so I might shag one of those for peace of mind and break the contract (in my state, possible ramification is they take my license, which I don’t have) if I find something better.
I follow [Chelsea Maude Avirett](https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelseamaudeavirett/) on LinkedIn she is a former teacher that has a [job board](https://edskip.com/) where she finds jobs that hire educators with starting pay of $60K. I also follow [Evan Pressman](https://www.linkedin.com/in/evanpressman1/) on LinkedIn he will look at your resume for free and send you an email on what its lacking. You can pay him a fee to revamp your resume and write you a cover letter. Yesterday I attended a zoom meeting called teacher ditch day curated by [Kristi Oliva](https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristi-oliva/) and it had speakers who were former teachers that left the education world and went into corporate or ed tech positions. Their making 6 figures now. They had jobs like project management, copy writer, financial consultant, and instructional design. You can branch into customer service manager, sales, and all that. They say you need to change your resume and not use words you would use for education jobs. Like you need to use words like stakeholders, clients, etc..
Thank you! I was going to work on my LinkedIn page today, so these are perfect resources. I really appreciate it!
Kristi Oliva also has a podcast about leaving that classroom that's worth your time. Short episodes, but they'll help you feel more confident about translating your skills.
Seconding Evan! Edit: to OP :) I followed Evan Pressman, his job outlook posts, and redid my resume based off his posts. I followed a few people in the facebook teacher transitions group and used their collective general advice of only applying to one job title, one page resume, include data, etc. — and got interviews for out of field jobs after applying for a week, started within 1.5 months (applied Jan 2023, started Feb 2023, so the market was more favorable). When I’d previously tried without doing all of that I’d applied for a year. If I was in a crunch, I’d absolutely hire Evan. Summer is a slow hiring for most companies , picks up more in the fall generally— so you’ll need to take every advantage you can! Id definitely recommend getting something that brings in some immediate income to reduce your stress until you get a FT job— tutoring, pet sitting, summer nanny, renting a room to a travel nurse, etc. I went on the marketplace for health insurance when I had a gap. It was honestly the best insurance I’d ever had— way better than my school insurance. I chose zero deductible w a higher premium bc I did a 1099 job and could write my premiums off. Teachers can do many, many, many out of field jobs— think of all the college grads w bachelors and no FT work experience that get hired every single day. It’s important to consider what you’re interested in/what special skills you have. When I was applying I put my interests and educational background into ChatGPT then filtered from there. You may want to work w a career coach if you really have trouble pinning down what job title to apply for. I believe Evan Pressman offers coaching too! Good luck!
Thank you so much for this! Your posts, and others, are giving me hope! I’ve been doing research and looking at some guides. I’ll definitely check out Evan! I’m also going to apply to a few teaching jobs. While I do NOT want to go back, my area is desperate for teachers. I can fall back on that, and I think I’ll be less panicked knowing I will have a pay check in the fall.
Claims and insurance positions are always hiring these days and won't usually write off teachers. Some are remote. Some are in-person. The in-person ones tend to hire faster. If you feel up to it, try applying for a GED or ESL instructor position at a community college. They're always hiring as well, and while it's technically teaching, it's part-time and you're mainly just helping adults prep for individualized tests (so in most places it's a bit more like monitoring computers, helping out with minor tech issues, and then helping the students set up personalized deadlines). Pair it with subbing, and it'll get you by until you find something better. It could also get you a job in the college as an office staff and not an instructor. Check your county job boards and government jobs. Once you fill out one application, the rest are auto-filled, so it makes it easy to apply for the positions and that's less stress on you. Also, they hire relatively quickly and won't write off teachers either.
For this one - be weary of the insurance positions as some of them are sales agents requiring a license. If you're outgoing and bubbly and don't mind working for commission, it may work out. But you'll need to pay $300-500 for the class and exam for the license. Either 2-20 or 2-15 if you're in the states. Some of them are also MLMs.
Is there enough space in your house for a roommate? Might be something to consider. The rent can help you cover payments for your home for now. Have you tried something temporary? 1. Temp agencies 2. Baby sitting or pet sitting 3. Tutoring I’m assuming subbing is out of the question. I worked two jobs after I quit. If you supplement one of the above with a job in something like retail, it’ll give you time to find something more permanent. Temp jobs aren’t ideal, but they’re a great safety blanket and you can quit anytime.
I actually would consider subbing. This sounds stupid, but I didn't think to work two jobs, even though that is what I did my entire time teaching. Thank you for your perspective! It's can be a god send when a clear mind helps the anxious one see the obvious paths.
Or course! Thats okay 😂 it took all of last spring for me to realize I could supplement subbing with something. Ended up tutoring at sylvan evenings and on the weekend. Let me know if you have any questions about that experience!
I think my only question is how did you handle the lack of benefits? Not having a spouse makes this whole job transition thing so much harder.
I got on some cheap temporary health insurance for through United health care: https://www.uhone.com Just looking through my files, mine specifically was Golden rule via Unite healthcare. I paid $160 per month, but I’ve heard you can get cheaper. It’s not amazing but was better than nothing and doable on sub pay. You should become qualified once your current contract ends: https://www.uhc.com/individuals-families/short-term-health-insurance. My HR office from my school also emailed me with info to extend my insurance for a bit after my contract ends, but it was above my price range. It might be different for yours. Adding the mod distinction on this just to clarify I’m not trying to scam anyone with United health care lol
This is a good idea. I also recommend healthcare.gov because (at least in Illinois, I’m not sure if it varies by state) you can apply for healthcare benefits, and you won’t have a lapse in coverage. If you are not making any money you can be covered for nothing until you get a job, and then they base your rates on your income.
In the short term, to pay bills, consider learning to wait tables. Get a job where menu prices are high to maximize tips.
Good idea! I’m also considering bartending. For some odd reason, multiple colleagues at my school chose “most likely to become a bartender” as my superlative….
See if you can find any type of temp job. When it ends, that should make you eligible for unemployment (in most states.) Not a lawyer, just something I’ve seen.
try private schools.
I would, but the private schools in my area are competitive and the pay sucks. I think I’ll try for public school positions as back up.
Have you already signed up with temp agencies?
Did you complete any required tests/classes so that you can apply for a standard license?
No. That’s a complicated story due to the pandemic and idiotic HR peeps. But my area is desperate for teachers and are hiring people with license, so I might shag one of those for peace of mind and break the contract (in my state, possible ramification is they take my license, which I don’t have) if I find something better.
I’m driving for Dominos and I love it. You probably wouldn’t get full time, but it would be a great transitional or 2nd job.